Coaching Youth Baseball the Ripken Way

by Cal Ripken Jr., Bill Ripken, Cal Ripken Jr.

Book Overview

Coaching young players, developing their skills, and cultivating a love for the sport may be the most rewarding experience baseball can offer. Cal and Bill Ripken understand this like few others.

From their father, Cal Sr., a legend in the Baltimore Orioles organization for 37 years, they learned to play the game the right way. Those lessons, paired with their combined 33 years of big league experience, helped develop the Ripken Way, a method...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0736067825
• ISBN13: 9780736067829
• Release Date: December 2006
• Publisher: Human Kinetics Publishers
• Length: 264 Pages
• Weight: 2.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 7.1" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Great Book!

I've already coached one kid from tee-ball thru the 11-12 group. Just about to start again with a 4 year old next season so figured I'd buy a few books to do a better job. Got some personal validation when I found out that I have much of the same philosophy as the Ripkens, and also got some great new drills and coaching advice to go along with that. I bought two books, Play Baseball The Ripken Way, and Coaching the Ripken Way, and both have great tips from dealing with parents and then going on to cover just about every aspect of youth baseball coaching and playing that you will need to know, including illustrated drills. I'm a slow reader, these books are interesting and very easy to read, I had no trouble at all getting through them and will definitely continue to use them once the practices start up again. And for the price, way worth it! In my opinion paying ten or eleven bucks for even just a good really good drills would be money well spent, but these books have way more than that.

Great Coaching Tool - HIghly Recommended

We think anyone who coaches young baseball players should read and use this book. One of Cal and Bill Ripken's biggest goals is to get young players to LOVE THE GAME and have fun! We originally picked this book because it is written by the Ripkens (and we think Cal Ripken is one of the best ballplayers of all time!) The book is not just a list of drills but they also take time to discuss coaching responsibilities and philosophies and reasonable expectations. They include great ideas for practices and how to run games at the younger levels - we wish this book was required reading for ALL volunteer youth baseball coaches. Drills included are several for Hitting and Baserunning, Throwing and Pitching, and Fielding. The best part of the book is the Practice Planner, where they go over Practice Particulars for each age group (4-6, 7-9, 10-12, etc.) They also tell you what skills you should be teaching kids at what age level. I was amazed at the "basics" that my 8 year old son hasn't learned yet. The Ripkens want kids to learn and have fun doing it so they love the game. We found ourselves agreeing with everything the Ripkens had to say and we will be using the rest of the spring/summer to "backyard coach" our 5 year old, 8 year old and 10 year old daughter now that baseball is over for the year - keeping it fun, of course! We would love for our children to go to one of the Ripkens' baseball camps, but this book will have to suffice.

A must read for coaches who want to succeed!

An excellant book for new and experienced coaches. Full of great drills, practice plans, and advice on how to motivate your players. There is even a section on dealing with parents, a very useful section if you want to enjoy coaching for a number of years. The drills and practice sections are broken down by age group, not many books do this. The Ripkens stress teaching the fundamentals which is missing in todays high profile sports. They cover it all: hitting, pitching (Cal used to be a pitcher), fielding, time management, game situations, etc... A must read for coaches who want to succeed!

Excellent Product

I bought this book to help with specific tips for coaching my daughter's softball team. Although softball pitching is not covered (after all, this is a bok on coaching baseball) the book provides a multitude of teaching points for teaching kids of all age groups. Although there is some overlap, I would strongly suggest purchasing Play Baseball the Ripken Way: The Complete Illustrated Guide to the Fundamentals also. That title breaks down the necessary skills by age groups and provides a series of drills that can be brought right to the diamond. Both of these books seek to instill the Ripken Way - a philosophy of how to approach youth sports (with obvious emphasis on baseball) with a focus on making the game fun for the kids, while teaching the fundamentals.

Fundamentally Sound coaching book

Very well written book on coaching baseball for all ages. I read this book to get more informed on how to coach 5-6 year old T-Ball. This book provided a very good framework for this age group. Many well timed photographs used to describe practice drills. Table of contents Part 1 1 Responsibilities of Coaching 2 Realities of Coaching 3 Reasonable Expectations 4 Baseball Practice Basics Part 2 5 Hitting and Baserunning Drills 6 Throwing and Pitching Drills 7 Fielding drills Part 3 Practice Planner 8 Practice Particulars for Ages 4 to 6 9 Practice Particulars for Ages 7 to 9 10 Practice Particulars for Ages 10 to 12 11 Practice particulars for Ages 13 to 14 12 Practice Particulars for Ages 15+ Favorite parts of the book: Page 6 As coaches, we need to be able to cater to the needs of the kid who can't catch one ball and still make baseball fun and exciting for the kid who can. It's a difficult balance but one that's important to understand at all levels.