Put Him In Coach!

Four-year-old Sam Payne can knock the baseball out of the park. That the park is only the back yard of his suburban home makes little difference to his mother Martha Payne who understands baseball a lot better than she understands parenting. She yearns to make her son a star on the Little League field where promising young players are rewarded with a spot on the All-Star team.<p> Fueled by endless ambition but only a pinch of maternal instinct Payne helps her son navigate through the thrilling but often heartless world of Little League baseball. While revealing a host of parental neuroses and coaching excesses <I>Put Him In Coach! </I>delves into the inscrutable bond between mother and son-a bond sometimes forged in unlikely places.<p> As Sam progresses from tee-ball through years of strikeouts and wild pitches and up to the brink of adolescence he and his mother discover as much about each other as they do about the perils of the game. Most importantly Payne learns that in raising a son sometimes less is more-even if your kid does have a shot at becoming the next Babe Ruth.<p> Put Him In Coach! A Mother's All-Star Memoir is a recipient of the prestigious Mom's Choice Award. The Mom's Choice Awards honor excellence in family-friendly media products and services. The Awards esteemed panel of judges includes education and media experts as well as parents children librarians performing artists producers medical and business professionals authors and scientists including Dr. Twila C. Liggett ten-time Emmy-winner and founder of Reading Rainbow; Julie Aigner-Clark creator of Baby Einstein and the Safe Side Project; Jodee Blanco New York Times best-selling author; LeAnn Thieman motivational speaker and coauthor of seven Chicken Soup For The Soul books and Tara Paterson Certified Parent Coach and founder of the Mom's Choice Awards. Parents and educators look for the Mom's Choice Awards seal in selecting quality materials and products for children and families. Martha Payne's memoir has been honored with this distinguished award.