As you know, I didn’t really start reading your book until Christmas Eve… today is New Years Day and I just finished the last chapter. I found myself wiping tears from my eyes many times as I read the end of the book. The lessons learned from Coach Spellman, your Dad, the strength and determination of your son, the story about your brothers triple and how he was your hero as a little boy.
Just great stuff! This was a great gift for me over these holidays. You and I are not much different in age, I will turn 52 this year and I think you will turn 54. The difference is I started my family late and have two boys Colin and Casey who are 12 and 9. The tremendous gift of your book is that you’ve been where I am going. You and I share many of the same beliefs. I love your thoughts on the four traits of Passion, Hard Work, Respect and Selflessness. These traits represent what life and baseball are all about. Funny how the game has changed, I too only played from March to the end of the summer. I find myself preparing this weekend for the beginning of winter workouts. We start January 6th and for the next 12 weeks we will work inside for two hours a week to get ready for the big season ahead. You know we better be prepared because there are some REALLY TOUGH 9 year old travel teams out there. Just kidding…our kids are having a blast and we are learning about a lot more that baseball, we are actually having fun. I feel honored to be able to coach these boys, 6 of my 11 have been together for two years now and I will tell you that I think we are on track to come as close as you can to creating that “perfect team”. Your book will help keep me focused on that goal.
Jim Weiskopf
Olney Baseball
