Put Him In, Coach!: A Mother's All-Star Memoir

By Martha Payne

Book Overview

Four-year-old Sam Payne can knock the baseball out of the park. That "the park" is only the back yard of his suburban home makes little difference to his mother, Martha Payne, who understands baseball a lot better than she understands parenting. She yearns to make her son a star on the Little League field, where promising young players are rewarded with a spot on the All-Star team.

Fueled by endless ambition but only a pinch of maternal instinct, Payne helps her son navigate through the thrilling but often heartless world of Little League baseball. While revealing a host of parental neuroses and coaching excesses, Put Him In, Coach delves into the inscrutable bond between mother and son-a bond sometimes forged in unlikely places.

As Sam progresses from tee-ball through years of strikeouts and wild pitches and up to the brink of adolescence, he and his mother discover as much about each other as they do about the perils of the game. Most importantly, Payne learns that in raising a son, sometimes less is more-even if your kid does have a shot at becoming the next Babe Ruth.

Put Him In, Coach A Mother's All-Star Memoir, is a recipient of the prestigious Mom's Choice Award. The Mom's Choice Awards honor excellence in family-friendly media, products and services. The Awards esteemed panel of judges includes education and media experts as well as parents, children, librarians, performing artists, producers, medical and business professionals, authors, and scientists, including Dr. Twila C. Liggett, ten-time Emmy-winner and founder of Reading Rainbow; Julie Aigner-Clark, creator of Baby Einstein and the Safe Side Project; Jodee Blanco, New York Times best-selling author; LeAnn Thieman, motivational speaker and coauthor of seven Chicken Soup For The Soul books, and Tara Paterson, Certified Parent Coach and founder of the Mom's Choice Awards. Parents and educators look for the Mom's Choice Awards seal in selecting quality materials and products for children and families. Martha Payne's memoir has been honored with this distinguished award.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0595427820
• ISBN13: 9780595427826
• Release Date: June 2007
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Length: 188 Pages
• Weight: 0.54 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Home run

In sprightly prose, Martha Payne delivers a smashing memoir of baseball and motherhood. In it she details both her extreme love for the sport, and how her little slugger grows up. This is a portrait of the ultimate tee-ball, Little League mom. She catches both the lively banter of coaches and young players as well as the yearnings of a baseball-avid mother's heart. Payne tells her story with self-deprecating humor and charm. --Jean Grant, author, The Burning Veil

Ems

This book is fabulous! i strongly advise you read this! it is a mother-kids bond like no other! it just touched my heart! and i know martha payne personnally, we are very close! anyway, this book is soo AMAZING! you should definately read this for the crisp writing and SPECTACULAR baseball..(and gymnastics/soccer)!!!!!!

funny, heart-warming and real

In "Put Him in Coach" every word has been carefully weighed, every line polished. I'm not a fan of baseball, but I am a fan of fine writing and devoted mothers. Sam is a character you won't soon forget, and Martha Payne is nothing short of legendary. These characters breathe.

Hilarious, Heartwarming and Honest

A book that just about anyone (mothers, fathers, coaches, grandparents) who has ever spent a Saturday in April sweating or shivering on a metal bleacher will relate to. The author's observations and experiences as an "over-the-top" little league mom are often hilarious and always honest. Her love for her son and family is evident on every page, and the book is a refreshing look at a real American family that most of us will recognize and appreciate. I can't wait to give this book as a gift to all of the coaches and little league parents in my life!

Batting a Thousand

Martha Payne hit a home run with this book. The tongue-in-cheek approach to the world of little league through the eyes of a competitive mother blinded by love rings crystal clear to anyone who's ever had a child in sports, been a child in sports, or known a child in sports. Mrs. Payne is vulnerable, hysterical, and fresh. Her dry wit compliments the underlying tenderness of a devoted mother's heart to create an endearing glimpse into the uncharted waters of young parenthood. I sniggered, smiled, and laughed out loud at the perceptions and predicaments played out between the pages of this book. I only wish it had gone into extra innings.