A ball on a string attached to the front cover passes through a hole in each page on which an animal is pictured trying to catch it. On board pages.

From age-appropriate drills to motivation strategies, this step-by-step guide to youth baseball offers all the information parents and coaches need to help young players reach their full potential.

Despite eighteen broken bones, three major surgeries, and seven broken cups, Johnny Bench knows what it took to be the catcher on the World Champion Cincinnati Reds. These terrific, little-known stories from Bench's childhood, his baseball years, and his travels are the groundwork to help you learn to: Ask questions. Surround yourself with intelligent people. Move on after triumph and tragedy. Have confidence in yourself. Take control of your life. Believe in yourself. And catch every ball. Book jacket.

Journey with prolific author and avid baseball fan Ethan Bryan on an exciting quest to play catch every day for a year, and discover the lessons he learned about the sacredness of play, finding connections, and being fully present to the human experience. Ethan Bryan played and wrote about baseball for years. Then his daughters challenged him to set out on a yearlong experiment: to play catch with someone every day. This experience led him across 10 states and 12,000 miles on a quest both quixotic and inspiring. Taking you from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to the home of the Daytona Tortugas in Florida, Bryan played ball and swapped stories with public school teachers, veterans, journalists, nurses, musicians, entertainers, entrepreneurs, athletes from every level--amateur to pro--and members of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Plus, he visited famous destinations such as the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, Miracle League fields, and the original "Field of Dreams" in Iowa. But throughout the book, Bryan reveals it's about much more than who he played catch with: it's what he learned from their vastly different stories. Lessons include: How play can reignite a fire within you and transform your life How to find joy in the simple things How one life can impact a whole community . . . and more. For baseball fans and everyone who loves a good story, A Year of Playing Catch is an inspiring journey about finding joy in the simple things, and the power of play to transform our lives.

CATCHING-101: The Complete Guide for Baseball Catchers is the most comprehensive book ever written for baseball catchers. It contains tips, drills, and proper mechanics that will help every catcher or coach better understand the most difficult position on the field. This book contains information on EVERY aspect of catching that Coach Barksdale has learned through his years of experience from coaching nationally ranked NCAA teams, and playing at almost every level from Little League to professional baseball. A few of the topics covered in CATCHING-101 are: Receiving Blocking Catching Pop Flies Throwing Fielding Bunts Plays at Home Plate Drills Pitchouts Pass Balls/Wild Pitches Giving Signals And More! If you have been searching for a source with lots of high quality information about catching, this is the book for you! CATCHING-101 was written by Coach Xan Barksdale who is currently an NCAA Division I baseball coach and an ex-professional baseball player. Coach Barksdale played in the Atlanta Braves organization and has been a featured speaker at the prestigious ABCA (American Baseball Coaches Association) national convention.

Knowing how to fold a paper airplane can make you a better parent! Well, maybe not better, but you’ll certainly have more fun with your children, who understandably assume that you know how to do just about everything. If they only knew! Catch a Fish, Throw a Ball, Fly a Kite is for parents who want to teach their children what they really want to learn--even the skills you never mastered or haven't practiced in a few decades. This book contains clear, simple, step-by-step instructions for teaching more than twenty little life skills that every child should know, including how to: • Work a yo-yo • Build a fire • Eat with chopsticks • Skip a stone • Fly a homemade kite • Throw a Frisbee While you teach your children, you get to learn the skills too, or at the very least improve on them. Activities range from practical, like locating the constellations, to completely frivolous fun, like turning a blade of grass into a musical instrument. Some are simple enough for four-year-olds, and others will appeal to the most jaded adolescent. Each skill is illustrated and is rounded out with fascinating trivia (did you know that the world’s largest sand castle measured six stories high?) or funny jokes. Age-appropriate information is given for each skill, but they all have one thing in common: You and your kids can do them together!

Jessie is a little girl learning the skills she needs to play baseball with the help of her dad. First, she learns how to throw. Next, she learns how to catch—which can be scary when a fastball flies right at her face. Finally, she learns how to hit the ball, all with the guidance of her father, who encourages and simplifies. Throw, Catch, Hit captures the terminology, techniques, and feelings of excitement every first time athlete finds. With the help of Jessie’s story, other young ball players will be introduced to techniques of the sport and be inspired to go out and play. Jessie’s father is a constant guide as she learns—and also loves—baseball, showcasing how the bond between parent and child is enhanced through sports. Jessie learns more than just technique, though. She learns that it’s not about how far she can throw or how well she catches and hits. It’s all about the fun in trying a new sport and learning new things.