I had the opportunity to review Raising an Athlete by Jack Perconte (I received a free copy of the book), and I found it to be a great resource for parents whose children play organized sports as well as coaches of young children.
Jack Perconte, who also wrote The Making of a Hitter, is doubtlessly an expert in raising an athlete. He is a former second baseman for the LA Dodgers and Chicago White Sox and taught baseball for over 20 years. He and his wife also raised three sports-loving children.
I had two preconceptions before I started the book. First, with the over-scheduling of children and the competition between many parents to see whose kid is the most successful, I thought this book could feed into that hysteria. I was pleasantly surprised by Perconte’s balanced approach to the importance of fun and sport. Second, I have to be honest, I am not a huge baseball fan. It has nothing to do with the sport of baseball itself, but rather the unfortunate timing of my birthday and the World Series. Seems there was always a World Series game on my birthday when I was growing up, which meant less attention for me and more for the game on TV. But there were so many sweet baseball stories (along with other sports) throughout the book, I may have to reconsider my boycott of the World Series.
Perconte uses his years of experience in major league baseball, as a coach and as a parent of an athlete to inform both children’s parents and coaches on how to aid, motivate, and inspire a child’s love of sport. Perconte places an emphasis throughout the book on keeping winning, losing, success and failure in perspective and gives very specific tips for parents and coaches to help young players do just that. He gives practical advice on how to encourage a child who doesn’t want to play and to know when letting your child quit is the best choice. What is more important, Perconte discusses how to make your child understand that being a success in a sport takes hard work, with my favorite tip being that the best way to teach this lesson is for parents to work hard in everything they do. There is also a detailed discussion of how to talk to a coach if you or your child is having issues and how to identify a good (or bad) coach. Not playing your son or daughter may not be a sign of a bad coach, and the book can help parents separate their own emotions from the situation to successfully address concerns with the coach. Finally, a great discussion of nurturing a team concept is full of thoughtful advice. There is a lot of information in Raising An Athlete, but the best part of this book is that Perconte doesn’t talk in generalities about the issues facing kids, parents, and coaches. Instead he gives very specific do’s and dont’s on every challenge that may be encountered, enabling the parent to foster a happy, healthy child.
I think most parents will benefit from the information and sensible guidance Raising an Athlete provides. This is a book that I expect to refer to repeatedly as my son grows up to ensure that he is loving and excelling in the sports he enjoys. Heck, after reading this book, I may even encourage him to play baseball!
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey there – found you back! I’m going to get this book – sounds like it addresses a lot of questions I’ve had…
I’ll be reading!
Melissa
Great! Lots of good info in there.
Glad you found me back.