Parenting Young Athletes The Ripken Way

Unparalleled advice for parents of young athletes, from father and beloved future Hall of Famer, Cal Ripken.

Few athletes embody sportsmanship and class as perfectly as Cal Ripken, Jr. Since he retired from baseball in 2001, Ripken has devoted his time to coaching kids, including his own two children. His daughter, Rachel, plays basketball; his son, Ryan, plays baseball. The Babe Ruth League even changed the name of its largest division (more than 700,000 five-to-twelveyear-olds) from Bambino Baseball to Cal Ripken Baseball in 1991. But Ripken is troubled by what he sees in youth sports: a competitive intensity that removes the element of fun from playing. Drawing from his experiences as a father, a player, and a coach to his charges at Ripken Baseball, the legend offers his insights and advice in Parenting Young Baseball Players the Ripken Way, including:

• How an overemphasis on winning can harm your child’s game

• Why it’s counterproductive to correct your child’s technique during a game

• Mistakes well-meaning parents can make

• A complete guide to the structure of youth baseball leagues

• How Ripken’s techniques can be applied to other sports

• And much more

Showcasing his proven philosophy (keep it simple, explain the “why,” celebrate the individual, and make it fun!), Cal Ripken has created a plan that will delight baseball lovers for generations to come.

"The beauty of Growing Up Gronk is that you never really have to grow up at all. A fascinating look inside a larger-than-life football family. Enjoy the romp of Growing Up Gronk." -- Dan Shaughnessy, Boston Globe columnist and bestselling author (with Terry Francona) of Francona: the Red Sox Years "If football is the ultimate American sport, it follows that the Gronkowskis are the ultimate American family. That equation isnand#8217;t based merely on their talentsand#8212;which are extraordinary enough. No, itand#8217;s their unbridled exuberance and irreverence that sets them apart. From Gordie Senior on down, they are the Peter Pans of football, men-children who refuse to take themselves or the game too seriously. Anyone whoand#8217;s spent time around the Brothers Gronkowski will surely agree that Growing Up Gronk captures them in full." -- Jeremy Schaap, ESPN commentator and bestselling author ofand#160;Cinderella Manand#160;and Triumph

Unparalled advice for parents of young athletes is offered by the beloved future Hall of Famer, who has created a plan that will delight baseball lovers for years to come.

Troubled by what he sees as a competitive intensity in youth sports that removes the element of fun, baseball legend Cal Ripken, Jr., draws from his experiences as a father, a player, and a coach to provide insights and advice on playing well while still having a good time.

The incredible story of how one family raisedand#160;three NFL players (including superstar Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski), a professionaland#160;baseball player, and an up-and-coming Division 1 football player, by harnessing the raw talent and strength of this band of determined giants and committing them early on to a carefully calibrated fitness and health regimen .

The Gronkowski family is a legitimate miracle. 5 towering brothers:and#160;Three who play in the NFL -and#160;a Denver Bronco, a Cleveland Brown and a record-breaking tight end with the New England Patriots, Rob Gronkowski, who is realizing aand#160;meteoric rise to a spot in NFL history. Another who played major league baseball. And the youngest, an up-and-coming Division 1 football player.and#160; Growing Up Gronkand#160;takes readers behind the scenes to tell the Gronkowski's incredible story, revealing how they were raised, how they were motivated, how they trained, how they played, even how their mother kept them fed.and#160;It all started with their father, Gordy, under whose tutelage this collection of giants has broken every rule about how 21st century athletic success functions. Beyond their monstrousand#160;size, physicality, and raw talent, Papa Gronk recognized early on that a clear commitment to fitness, health, and determination would give his boys a leg up in a way other families simply couldnand#8217;t match.and#160;

This unique story of the NFL's new first family reveals the secrets to the Gronkowski's collective success and opens the door a one-of-a-kindand#160;household, a veritable incubator ofand#160;athletic greatness.

CAL RIPKEN, JR., played twenty-one seasons with the Baltimore Orioles and has broken numerous baseball records, including Lou Gehrig’s record for consecutive games played (Ripken played 2,632). He is one of only seven players in history to reach 400 home runs and 3,000 hits. His previous books include The Only Way I Know (which was a New York Times bestseller and a #1 Washington Post bestseller) and Play Baseball the Ripken Way: The Complete Guide to Fundamentals, coauthored with his brother Bill Ripken, also a national bestseller.

Coauthor RICK WOLFF is an executive editor at Warner Books and the chairman of the Center for Sports Parenting.

and#160;and#160; Gronk Lineupand#8195;ix

and#160;and#160; Introduction: The Day the Dream Turned Realand#8195;xiii

1.and#160;A Star Is Bornand#8195;1

2.and#160;Gordy: Papa Gronkand#8195;11

3.and#160;The Evolution of Trainingand#8195;31

4.and#160;Gordie Jr.: Doesnand#8217;t He Know the Rest

of the Family Plays Football?and#8195;45

5.and#160;Mental Toughnessand#8195;67

6.and#160;Dan: The Talented Workhorseand#8195;81

7.and#160;Competition and Physical Playand#8195;99

8.and#160;Chris: Brains and a Pedigreeand#8195;115

9.and#160;A New Generation of Tight Endsand#8195;133

10.and#160;Rob: The Superstarand#8195;143

11.and#160;Rob Explodesand#8195;161

12.and#160;Goose: Greatness Expectedand#8195;179

13.and#160;Get Gronked!and#8195;191

and#160;and#160; Acknowledgmentsand#8195;201