Fun over Fear

Myths and Realities of Youth Baseball. Ages 3-9

By: Walter A. Beede

Narrated by: Frank Gerard

Length: 2 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

Parents, do you want to make sure your child has as much fun as possible when they start playing baseball? Did you know that youth baseball is the second most popular boys’ sport in the United States? The sandlot and neighborhood pickup games have been replaced by the explosion of "pay for play" travel baseball that can start as early as six years.

The myth: Recent studies of parents of adolescent athletes identified a belief among parents that travel baseball and early specialization are necessary for advanced skill set development. Many feel that specialization will increase their child's ability to play baseball beyond high school.

The reality: Any travel team coach or instructor that tells you, as a parent of a three- through 12-year-old, that lessons and being a part of travel baseball will result in a college scholarship, is only concerned with one thing: your money!

As the parent of two sons who went on to play baseball in college as well as a former head baseball coach at the NCAA level, I want to share alternatives with parents that will allow their children to avoid the anxiety and stress that many face within the overstructured and overorganized world of travel baseball. The hamster wheel of travel ball is a business model and not a baseball development model. At the ages of three through 12, baseball should be all about one thing—having fun!

We play it as kids, we watch it and listen to it as adults, and we pass down our love of the game through generations. Baseball is an American family tradition, and I am sharing many stories from my childhood as well as my journey as a baseball dad. My hope is that this audiobook will allow you as a family to create many moments and memories through the sport of baseball. Some of my greatest memories as a child are from the pickup games with my neighborhood friends and local Little League games we played in.

Baseball should be an outlet for children, a chance for them to be creative, to exercise, and to learn how to succeed.

©2021, 2022 Walter Beede (P)2022 Walter Beede

Superb information!

This book is fantastic and contains incredible subjects to think about! You'll have a greater knowledge of all facets of what makes a player not only excellent, but the embodiment of what it means to be a great all-around player on the field. So many wonderful lessons. Parents and players, as well as our teammates, will undoubtedly benefit! Definitely worth it.

Perfect for my son!

My son is 7 and has done T-ball for a few years now. But as standard kids go...there was always a lot more playing in the dirt than there was actually playing the game. Now that he is getting older and his friends are starting to become more serious he wanted to work on his skills as well. We practice but he also enjoys books so I thought what a fun way to work on our baseball skills and knowledge. The author seemed to have a lot of experience on the subject and a vast background of the game. We both enjoyed the audiobook and recommend it to others.

Inspirational!

This is such a beautiful insight into baseball for youth. It should be about fun and not the high stress and pressure of the world of travel baseball. Baseball is such a fantastic sport for youth, and they should be playing for fun, exercise, and as a means to learn. If you want a better insight into your children's sport, I would highly recommend listening to this.

Great book for parents of young boys playing baseball.

This is a great book. I grew up playing sandlot baseball and then little league. I never see kids playing sandlot ball anymore. It’s all organized ball. Travel baseball is very time consuming for the entire family of a young ball player and I doubt whether it is needed to help a ball player. Kids and families can get burnt out on baseball by having to travel every weekend. Let’s go back to sandlot ball and pick up games.

This is seriously great ❤️

My 6yo is just now starting to become seriously interested in sports and this book is an awesome guide for parents trying to navigate their kids’ first sports experiences. I love, love, LOVE the advice about how to talk to your kids about sports, their experiences, and their skills without being pushy or too hard on them. And an emphasis on development and teamwork at this age rather than just focusing on success/winning.

A wealth of great information!

This book is phenomenal and has incredible topics to consider! You will have a better understanding of all aspects of what makes a player not only great, but the embodiment of what it means to be an exceptional, all around player on the field. So many great lessons!! Parents and players will surely benefit as have our teammates! Definitely recommended!!

Good guidance

This book is a must read for any parent of a budding young athlete. The authors speaks from his own experience raising boys who have become professional athletes. He offers good perspective on how to not overdo it as parents and how to keep sports fun for the kids. I look forward to reading the other books in the series for older kids.

Awesome audiobook!

This is a must for all young budding baseball stars! great fun as well as very educational. I would recommend this!

Play is the way kids learn!

I really appreciate this author and his books on baseball for the youth. Instilling a love for the sport is the first thing to do with a child and funplay is the way to do it! The author takes the child into consideration and the anxiety and stress out of it. I see the what he means by over-structured and over-organized as I help my nephew with his sports practice and sometimes i feel like he cant enjoy it like he should. I'm glad to have found this author and his other books to give me the information i need to support my nephew through his childhood sports career as well as when he's ready to start college sports. definitely reccomend to any parent with children in sports so much of what he says can be applied through out all sports!

Fun and informative audiobook!

This audiobook really opened my eyes to all the benefits baseball can provide to kids. I loved the author's perspective and his own story. Highly recommend it to all parents. I especially liked hearing about the myths. Overall a joy to listen to!