Read Online 60 000 Hitting Lessons A Hands on Baseball Guide for Parents Coaches and Players 1st edition by Jack Perconte Perfect Paperback Jack Perconte 9780979356209 Books

Product details Perfect Paperback 185 pages Publisher Second Base Publishing; 1 edition (August 9, 2007) Language English ISBN-10 0979356202

60 000 Hitting Lessons A Hands on Baseball Guide for Parents Coaches and Players 1st edition by Jack Perconte Perfect Paperback Jack Perconte 9780979356209 Books Reviews

• Hitting a baseball with power and precision is one of sports' most difficult tasks. Teaching that skill requires not only technical expertise but an informed heart. Former major-leaguer Jack Perconte understands both the dynamics of hitting and the art of teaching; his insightful and humane "60,000 Hitting Lessons" is much more than a manual on hitting. In fact, "Lessons" deconstructs a hitter's swing and offers important lessons as to how to teach. In this sense, Perconte transforms baseball into larger life lessons. He writes to coaches and parents, never varying in his insistence that dignity, trust and fun are as important as the sweet sound of a bat hitting a pitched ball.
  
  Written in an easy-to-understand outline fashion, "Lessons" emphasizes the importance of coaches and parents. Perconte insists "it is important that...parents learn how to communicate with their child in the manner they would like the coach to treat their son or daughter." A capable hitting instructor needs to understand hitting, develop trust, to demonstrate patience, provide homework and challenge his/her clients. "Lessons" includes numerous well-explained and generously illustrated drills designed to develop the skills described in the text. The author has underlined crucial ideas, enabling the reader to remember the most important precepts.
  
  One of the greatest strengths of "Lessons" is its awareness of the place of baseball in a child's life. Perconte is adamant in his insistence that young players take time to rest and reflect on what they are learning. It is refreshing to have a hitting instructor actually argue against his own self-interest. Even more rare is an instructor who has the perspective to perceive that sports is but one component to a healthy, balanced life. In the pressure-packed world of competitive youth athletics, it is a pleasure to read the words of a man who places kids first.
  
  Like the best hitters in baseball, "60,000 Hitting Lessons" swings and misses in several areas. The book's photographs are amateurish, and the author on occasion is repetitive. Another problem is voice. Perconte cannot decide if it is best for him to have a conversation with the reader or write dispassionately.
  
  These minor difficulties, however, do not diminish my respect for the author and his work. Jack Perconte knows baseball and kids; any parent who wishes to improve his or her child's swing will discover that much more will be improved after reading this caring and knowledgeable book.
• "See the ball, hit the ball." - Jack Perconte
  
  In a major league career from 1980-1986 with the Dodgers, Indians, Mariners and White Sox, infielder Jack Perconte hit a pair of round-trippers. But he smacks one out of the park and into the parking lot with this outstanding book on hitting, coaching and parenting.
  
  "My definition of power to most young hitters was made with the question, 'Can you hit a solid ground ball that can get through the infield?'" Perconte says. "If the hitter can consistently do that then they have power."
  
  In nearly 20 years Perconte has given around 60,000 lessons for players of all ages and abilities. The 11 chapters and Drills Summary deliver a holistic approach to hitting, with practice tips for players as young as the age of four.
  
  "Fundamentals are fundamentals - they don't change from a big leaguer or the little leaguer," Perconte writes. "(Teaching the strike zone) should begin at an early age."
  
  He initially discusses bat size, gripping the bat, plate positioning, feet alignment and balance before delving into the complete swing through words and photographs. The most common problems are clearly explained and Perconte includes a wealth of drills that includes the use a hitting tee or multiple tees, a weighted bat, balance beam, towel and a bench, which is aptly called the "timber drill."
  
  Perconte says "Baseball is a game of repetition - challenges and variety erase boredom."
  
  For parents and family members, Perconte discusses how to positively support the young player. He provides direction on how to teach, which he focuses on a "Caring Coach," who gives each player a chance to compete well through a variety of games and contests. "Notice I didn't say a knowledgeable coach," Perconte writes. "I've seen players improve tremendously without much instruction just by being challenged by a coach who cares.
  
  "Leaving the game for playing and using practices for coaching is one of the keys to having focused players."
  
  A latter section on the mental aspect is a vital tool for coaches of older players. Perconte mentions a tennis book, probably Tim Gallway's The Inner Game of Tennis, that actually helped him with focus at the plate while playing pro ball. "The game wasn't designed so the pitcher can throw the ball by you," he says, "so stay back and trust your swing."
  
  60,000 Hitting Lessons A Hands on Baseball Guide for Parents, Coaches & Players is truly a hands-on guide which could be used by a team during practices throughout a season or as a means for parents to guide themselves and their child in the life-skills of positive education.
  
  "Knowledge creates confidence - the good coach is the knowledge creator," Perconte writes. "We had a rule at our camps that the only players who could yell at a fellow camper were the players who had never made an error or never struck out before.
  
  "That usually would quiet up the players and keep them accountable for their own play and not criticizing everybody else's play."
  
  There is not a better teaching guide available on hitting a baseball for players at all ability levels and being a successful coach and teacher on and off the field.