The Perfect Season: How to Practice and Play Youth Baseball

By Brett R. Bartlett

Designed to fit in any coach's back pocket, The Perfect Season guides little league/youth baseball coaches, parent, and players through a complete baseball season, from that first parents' meeting to... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0972957006
• ISBN13: 9780972957007
• Release Date: June 2003
• Publisher: Whirlwind Press
• Length: 194 Pages

Customer Reviews

Great Book for Mangagers of 9-10 year olds

I had been looking for a book on how to conduct practices with 9-10 year old players. This book's title was "perfect". It outlined my first 5 practices and gave me precise instructions on how and when to conduct each drill. I consider myself a knowledgeable baseball guy but always had trouble on what drills to run for this age group. This book gives easy to understand detail of each drill with diagrams when needed. I have just completed my fifth practice and have had parents of the players come up to me and tell me that they think my practice and drills are great. I owe it all to this book. The twinkie eating contest at the end of the first practice was a player favorite. Also, as a graduate of Eastern Illinois University, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the author was from Charleston, IL.

Simple and Effective

There are numerous books out there for coaches that have the same goal as The Perfect Season: to arm the coach with tons of drills at his disposal to get the most out of his players. Unlike other books, these drills aren't needlessly complicated, don't require all kinds of pricey equipment that isn't standard in your bag (you probably want to purchase a tee and some simple cones, but that's all I needed), and won't confuse your children as they try to execute them.Also, Bartlett provides solid estimates for the time to complete every drill, allowing you to mix and match to meet the needs of your team and your timeframe. I've found myself falling in love with many of the drills, and the players do enjoy them. This book doesn't eliminate time spent standing around, but it reduces it exponentially.The drills are good for all ages, as even high school players would benefit from some. However, it's perfect for coaches in 9- and 10-year old leagues, where kids are first able to bunt and steal and coaches struggle to teach and strategize these new tools. If you coach in a league for 9- and/or 10-year olds, I would recommend you order this immediately. Everyone will benefit from it, but that demographic needs it.

Buy copies of this book for your coaching friends!

I own more than a dozen books on how to coach youth baseball, so when a fellow coach dropped "The Perfect Season" on my lap, I wasn't exactly excited about reading it. I figured that I already knew it all. I was wrong. I was so impressed with this book that I am writing this review as I place an order for four more copies, which I plan to pass out to my baseball-coaching friends. Any baseball coach who deals with pre-teens -- from T-ball teams to U-12 travel teams -- would be neglecting his duty to his players and their parents if "The Perfect Season" weren't in his library. This book covers the needed basics for both new coaches and veteran youth coaches, from dealing with parents who fly into rages to dealing with the infield fly rule. I especially liked the detailed descriptions of fun drills that I had never even heard of. The book's main emphasis is to teach youth how to play baseball by improving their individual techniques and their game strategies. The author recognizes that creating better baseball players is a more important coaching goal than finishing a T-ball season undefeated. More power to him!

The Perfect Handbook

Coaching youth sports sounds so simple - just roll the ball out and watch them play. But for anyone who's actually given it a try, it becomes all-too-obvious in a hurry there's much, much more - especially if you want the kids to actually learn something. Now there's help - Brett Bartlett has written a practical guide that will transform any Mom or Dad into a veritable Joe Torre. From running practice to managing the game, his insights are incisive, his advice spot-on. This book should be on the shelf of every youth baseball coach in the country - and probably also of every parent of a youth player.

Manual for Baseball Coaches: Build your All-Star Team!

"If words of command are not clear and distinct, if orders are not thoroughly understood, the general is to blame. But if his orders ARE clear, and the soldiers nevertheless disobey, then it is the fault of their officers." from Sun Tzu, _The Art of War_Circa 500 b.c. The Chinese general, Sun Tzu wrote a very famous book called _The Art of War_ that describes the intricate details of effectively and successfully waging war. It is said that Sun Tzu was able to defeat an army of 200,000 men with his small army of only 30,000. _The Perfect Season: How to Practice and Play Youth Baseball_By Brett R. Bartlett is to baseball what Sun Tzu's book is to warfare, and much, much more. It is a manual intended to train the trainers.This book provides training and theory to the Coach (es), a how to manual for everyday of the season. Both the newby coach and the gristled old veteran coach will benefit from a read through this masterpiece. I honestly considered sending a copy of this book to Dusty Baker, the manager of the Chicago Cubs. Perhaps then they could win the World Series!Starting with the first team meeting, and running up to the end of the season (and beyond). This concise & enjoyable book will change the way you and your players approach the game of baseball. It's loaded with drills, techniques, theory, diagrams, suggestions and so much more. From the moment you begin reading the introduction, you will realize the tremendous value of such a systematic, well-planned manual. This book will be near and dear to your heart (and sanity) on and off the field. Turn player weaknesses into skills, and skills into mastery. Following the formulae in this book will revolutionize not only the way your team plays the game, but also, how they feel while doing it. Because in baseball, if you're not enjoying it, you may be doing it wrong, and this book will set you on the path to true American Baseball Fun! As meaty and rich as apple pie, this is The Ultimate Baseball Bible! Check it out:Table of ContentsIntro: What You'll Learn insideChapter 1: The Team Meeting (Why have a team meeting? Considerations. Sample Agenda. Player Survey)Chapter 2: Equipment (a list of what you'll need & how to get more)Chapter 3: Practice One-Throwing (Drills: five and dime, hot shot, relay/cut throws, knee to first, pick and throw, diamond drill, around the horn, target practice, bucket throw, running the bases Chapter 4: Practice Two-Fielding (Drills: egg rolls, goalie drill, short-hop drill, cone drill, receiver catch, double jeopardy, short to first, mine mine mine!, coming off the field, running the bases)Chapter 5: Practice Three-Bunting/Hitting (Drills: okay, you get the point, every chapter has numerous highly effective conditioning drills)Chapter 6: Practice 4-Pitching, Fielding Refreshers, Baserunning, and HittingChapter 7: Practice 5-Rules Refresher, Special Plays, StrategyChapter 8: Practice 6-The Six-on-Six Scrimmage or Practice GameChapter 9: The First GameChapter 10: P