When Luis joins his new baseball team, the Manatees, things seem pretty hopeless at first. Some of his new teammatesâ including âloud and obnoxiousâ home-run slugger Jimmieâare mean to him or to each other. His new coach doesnât tell the players everything to do like his old coach did. And some of the Manatees seem more interested in goofing off than in sportsmanship or working hard.
When Luis joins his new baseball team, the Manatees, things seem pretty hopeless at first. Some of his new teammatesâ including âloud and obnoxiousâ home-run slugger Jimmieâare mean to him or to each other. His new coach doesnât tell the players everything to do like his old coach did. And some of the Manatees seem more interested in goofing off than in sportsmanship or working hard.
Chapter 1
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If youâre a baseball player, springtime is the best time. Thereâs just no doubt about it.
Football players have autumn, with the changing leaves and cooling temperatures. Basketball and hockey players have winter, with their indoor games played in heated or air-conditioned arenas.
But baseball? Baseball simply owns the spring. Yes, baseball season goes on throughout the summer. And if you make it to the Majors, you might be playing right up to the edge of fall.
But if youâre 11 years old and you play baseball, spring is where itâs at. After a long winter away from the game, everyone is happy to be back. Everyone is excited. No one has even lost a game yet!
Yep, Luis thought. This is it. This is where I want to be. These are the best days of myâ
âLuis! What are you doing over there? Why are you staring at the sky? Weâre having a team meeting over here! Do you want to be part of this team, or not?â
Luis shook himself awake from his daydream. After having moved from Texas to Ohio, Luis often thought about his old friends back in Texas. His new coachâCoach Joe was his nameâwas halfway across the field. The players were beginning to gather around Coach Joe for the meeting. Some had already taken a knee, ready to listen to whatever guidance their leader had to offer.
Luis had lost track of time and fallen behind.
âRight, Coach! Sorry! Coming!â
Luis hustled over to join his teammates. Not a great start to his first practice with his new team, but thatâs OK. Heâd have plenty of chances to show his new coach that he was willing to do whatever was asked of him.
Here I amâthe perfect follower, Luis thought. Whatever you say, Coach, Iâll do it.
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Luis was going to make the best out of this situation.
He missed his old team and his old coach. Coach Terry always told them exactly what to do.
Stand over here.
Hit the ball over there.
Relax, youâre too tense.
Straighten up, youâre too relaxed!
But Coach Terry had to go and take a job in another city, and he took his two baseball-playing daughters with him. Everyone was kind of left on their own to find a new teamâand a new coach. And then Luisâs Dad got a new job in Ohio.
And now, Luis had Coach Joe.
It was Luisâ mom who found the Manatees, a community team of boys and girls from around the neighborhood. Weird mascot, but whatever. The mascot didnât matter. What mattered was how you played the game. Luisâ mom said the other parents wouldnât stop talking about how much they love this coach. She knew some of them from school and others from the neighborhood, and she trusted their opinions.
OK, fine, thought Luis. Iâll do my best. Keep a positive attitude. Work hard. Do whatever he says. Show him I can be a good follower. What else am I going to do, quit baseball?
That wasnât an option, of course.
Luis sat down on the outer edge of the circle of players. Most of them appeared to know each other already.
âOK, everybody,â said Coach Joe. âWelcome to another baseball season with the Manatees!â
Coach Joe paused as if he was expecting everyone to cheer or clap or something. No one did, except one kid wearing catcherâs gear, who clapped twice, said, âYay!â kind of softly, looked around and realized no one else was doing it, then immediately stopped.
âOK,â Coach Joe continued. âThank you, Gary, for clapping there. Seems like maybe last yearâs team would have applauded more. Itâs fine. You guys are just getting older, I guess. Too cool for that kind of stuff now. Good. WellâŚif you played for us last year, welcome back. Weâre glad to have you here. Again. WithâŚus. The team. And if youâre new, Iâm Coach Joe.â
Coach Joe waited again as if he was expecting someone to say something, like âHi, Coach Joe!â or, âYay, Coach Joe!â Or something.
No one said anything, except the kid in the catcherâs gear, who saidâso faintly you could barely hear itââHi, Coach Joe.â
It seemed like it took forever for Coach Joe to figure out what he was going to say next. Some of the players shifted from one knee to the other. Others just looked around nervously.
Was Coach Joe about to say somethingâŚimportant?
âOK. Yes. Well, it seems like this team might be a little bit different than last yearâs. Which is fine, because I want you guys to know Iâm going to do things a little bit differently than you might be used to. Everyone is a year older now, and itâs time for the playersânot the coachâto lead this team. When you were little, you needed a coach to tell you every single thing to do. Well, you arenât little anymore. Most of you, at least.â
Coach Joe chuckled a bit and waited for someone to laugh. No one did. Not even Gary the catcher.
âWow. OK. Right. So, the first thing weâre going to do, before we start practice, is name our team captain. Now, Iâm here to tell you, anybody can be team captain. It doesnât matter if you were here last year, or if youâre new this year. The future is wide open for all of you.â
This seemed to get everyoneâs attention. All the players who were slouched over before suddenly sat up straight.
âWhat does the team captain have to do?â asked a girl who was sitting next to Coach Joe.
âWow! Finally! Someone spoke up! This is great!â said Coach Joe.
âI actually said something two times,â said Gary, but it was so quiet that Coach Joe didnât hear him.
âIâm glad you asked that question, Aliyah. So, listen. Iâm still the coach. Iâm going to set the practice schedule. Iâm going to decide what kind of drills we do in practice. Iâm going to set the lineup. Decide who pitches. All of that. But the team captain? Well, the team captain maybe has an even more important job than mine.â
Coach Joe paused, waiting for someone to ask, âWhat job is that, Coach Joe?â
No one said anything.
Garyâthe kid in the catcherâs gearâlooked like he really wanted to say something, but then thought better of it.
Coach Joe, clearly disappointed, shook his head.
âMy gosh, what in theâŚâ Coach Joeâs voice trailed off. He put his hand on his forehead.
âOK, listen. So, that job is, making sure we practice the right way,â he said. âMaking sure we do our drills the right way. Making sure we have a good attitude. And being the person that your teammates can talk to if they have a problem. Maybe calling a players-only meeting, if they want to talk about things.â
This is different, thought Luis.
âIsnât that your job, Coach?â said the biggest kid on the teamâmaybe the biggest kid Luis had seen in his whole life. (I mean, this kid was so big, it seemed like there was no way he was the same age as the rest of players. He was a different species, almost.)
âAnother question! Wow! Thatâs two in one meeting! This is going great!â said Coach Joe. âBut seriously, Iâm glad you asked that question, Jimmie. All the best teams in every sport have good team captains. A coach can only do so much. When you get to a certain age, you need to have a leader whoâs also one of your teammates. Because whatever the message is, it means more coming from them than it would from me.â
Coach Joe paused to see if anyone else was going to ask a question.
No one did. But they were all paying attention, thatâs for sure. The ones who werenât really interested earlier? Well, they were interested now, absolutely. It seemed like maybe everyone thought being team captain would be pretty cool.
But Luis didnât think itâd be cool at all. He was a follower, not a leader.
âSo, this is what weâre going to do. Weâre going to go around our little circle here. Every player is going to introduce themselves. Everyone is going to tell us what they like about baseball. Then Iâm going to tell you whoâs going to be our team captain.â
Oh boy. This is really different, thought Luis. This just got real.
Luis wasnât particularly worried. Surely heâd have a few minutes until it was his turn. He would just listen to what the other kids said, then take something that sounded good and change it up just enough so thatâ
âLuis,â said Coach Joe. âSince you were the last one here, you get to go first.ââ¨
Oh, great. This would never have happened if I had just paid attention, thought Luis.
Sports are an integral part of many children's lives. Adults too. No matter the age group that plays the sport, teams have to learn how to play as a cohesive unit. That takes time. Patience. Communication. Trust. And lots and lots of practice.Â
The thirteen chapters are told from Luis's viewpoint. He shares how the team learned to band together, assist each other, and become friends, not just teammates on the field. From the first practice to the playoff game, we see a reluctant leader, Luis, step up and be the leader Coach Joe knew he could be.Â
Playing sports is supposed to be fun, but you also want to win at some point. However, when you win big, sometimes a team as a whole or select members can go complacent or even cocky. They no longer feel like they have to put in as much effort. That's the case in this baseball story. Luis was selected as team captain because he wanted the team to have fun, but he soon realized that his teammates were now wasting time instead of focusing on the game. Luis needed cooperation; he needed help getting people to attend team meetings and get back on track. Thankfully, his friend Gary stepped up to the plate.Â
Communication and respect are the keys to any healthy relationship, including a sports relationship. One by one, we saw fences mended and players giving tips and going the extra mile for one another. They won games. They lost games. But they remember to cheer teammates on for what they did right and not jeer them for mistakes. Positive reinforcement made them a stronger team and strengthened their bond off the field.Â
Sports can be intense. People want to win. This story reminds everyone that it's nice to win, but having fun in the process is the target goal of the sport âany sport!Â
I adored the chapter book and every single illustration. There were so many fantastic drawings that really brought the story to life. However, it was missing one key imageâone of the entire team. As far as I can tell, those players were not in any image. One final group team photo would've been a lovely addition to the bottom of chapter twelve or in the after credits. I also would've liked to know who staked a permanent claim to second and third base and left field. Those players were never formally acknowledged. I am assuming the spots belonged to Jimmy's friends.Â
If your child loves baseball, they will want to read this book. It shows perfectly how a team grows, how friendships are formed, and demonstrates the proper way to behave in the sport. Any sport, for that matter!Â