⇒ PDF Free One Shot at Forever A Small Town an Unlikely Coach and a Magical Baseball Season Chris Ballard 9781401324384 Books

One Shot at Forever A Small Town an Unlikely Coach and a Magical Baseball Season Chris Ballard 9781401324384 Books

Download As PDF : One Shot at Forever A Small Town an Unlikely Coach and a Magical Baseball Season Chris Ballard 9781401324384 Books

One Shot at Forever A Small Town an Unlikely Coach and a Magical Baseball Season Chris Ballard 9781401324384 Books

Even though I am somewhat ambivalent to baseball, I could not put this book down. I really loved it. Here are my top 3 reasons:

1. I can relate to being the small town underdog. In 1970-71, the Illinois state baseball championship was one big playoff. There were no class divisions (1A, 2A, etc). So, big schools from the Chicago area played against the small schools from rural Illinois. The book chronicles the unlikely winning season of the Macon Ironmen and their magical run in the state championship playoffs. Macon is a tiny town with a tiny school. Although they had some success in the season immediately prior to the time covered in the book, they were coming off several losing seasons. No one considered the Ironmen a serious threat.

I attended a small high school, and although it was not as small as Macon, we were seen as the country kids from the small school. Like the kids from Macon, it gave us a wee bit of a chip on our shoulders, but also a deep bond. We felt a sense of commitment to each other. It was something I missed later when I went to college. I felt a serious sense of nostalgia reading One Shot at Forever.

2. The colorful (and real) characters. The Macon Ironmen and their coach were not your typical high school baseball team. Their coach was an unlikely hero. He had just started teaching English at Macon High School. Macon was a conservative town. Lynn Sweet, English teacher and soon to be baseball coach, was anything but conservative. He held liberal ideals, frequented the local bars, had long hair and a Fu Manchu mustache, and lived a nomadic existence. He eschewed the English curriculum for his own unorthodox teaching methods. In short, the towns people considered him a hippie. Not all of them approved. But he won over their kids. They loved him. Their English grades improved and they became more engaged in class.

These methods carried over into baseball. For example, practices were optional. Some of the team members grew their hair out, wore peace signs on their hats, and they began listening to the sound track from Jesus Christ Superstar on a boom box during warm up at games. This is the kind of teacher I would have loved as a kid.

The players and their parents are also interesting, complex people. There are the unlikely heroes, the star athletes, the small and scrappy players. But they are not just stereotypes. We learn about their lives, what drives them, their relationships, and how they lived and grew during those two remarkable seasons.

3. The excellent sports writing. Let’s face it, with a nonfiction book such as this, the outcome is known. Even the cover of the book says “the magical season”. So I went into the book knowing the Ironmen experienced a remarkable winning season. But there were still twists that I didn’t see coming (yay!) and the storytelling of the games had me on the edge of my seat. I couldn’t stop reading. In fact, I stayed on the elliptical machine an extra 15 minutes to finish a certain section.

I definitely recommend this book, even if you are not a baseball fan. I even recommend it even if you don’t like sports. It’s about a lot more than sports or baseball. It’s about a group of people who come together, form a bond, inspire each other, and triumph against overwhelming odds. How can you not love that?


Tags : One Shot at Forever: A Small Town, an Unlikely Coach, and a Magical Baseball Season [Chris Ballard] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <b>  The Inspirational Story of a Coach, a Baseball Team, and the Season They'll Never Forget</b> In 1971,Chris Ballard,One Shot at Forever: A Small Town, an Unlikely Coach, and a Magical Baseball Season,Hachette Books,140132438X,Baseball - History,Baseball - Illinois - Macon - History,Baseball;Illinois;Macon;History.,High school athletes - Illinois - Macon - History,High school athletes;Illinois;Macon;History.,Macon (Ill.) - Social life and customs,Macon (Ill.);Social life and customs.,BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY Educators,Baseball,HISTORY United States State & Local Midwest (IA, IL, IN, KS, MI, MN, MO, ND, NE, OH, SD, WI),High school athletes,History,HistoryUnited States - State & Local - Midwest(IA,IL,IN,KS,MI,MN,MO,ND,NE,OH,SD,WI,Hoosiers of baseball; books about the Atlanta Braves; books about Brian Snitker; Friday Night Lights; books like Miracle; underdog story; underdog sports; sports comeback; baseball memoirs; books about high school sports; books about high school baseball,Illinois,Macon,SPORTS & RECREATION Baseball History,Sports,Sports & Recreation,United States - State & Local - Midwest,books about the Atlanta Braves; books about Brian Snitker; Hoosiers of baseball; Friday Night Lights; books like Miracle; underdog story; underdog sports; sports comeback; baseball memoirs; books about high school sports; books about high school baseball;,BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY Educators,HISTORY United States State & Local Midwest (IA, IL, IN, KS, MI, MN, MO, ND, NE, OH, SD, WI),HistoryUnited States - State & Local - Midwest(IA,IL,IN,KS,MI,MN,MO,ND,NE,OH,SD,WI,SPORTS & RECREATION Baseball History,United States - State & Local - Midwest,High school athletes,History,Illinois,Macon,Sports & Recreation,Sports,Baseball

One Shot at Forever A Small Town an Unlikely Coach and a Magical Baseball Season Chris Ballard 9781401324384 Books Reviews

Very fine book about small towns and small town athletics. If you are familiar with this genre it will remind you of the movie The Final Season about Iowa baseball. Don't be surprised if there is a movie made of this book some day.

I got this book partly for myself as a part time prep school coach and partly for my 8 year old who loves baseball, but it was beyond his ken, now that he is nearly ten he's ready for me to read it to him, explain some things, and skip a few others.

The description is at times hyperbolic. The coach really wasn't a hippie, left leaning for sure, but this adds to rather than distracts from the story given the contrast with the small town. Coach Sweet had some coaching experience and certainly knew how to play ball as did the team--they certainly were not a rag-tag bunch as described. The 'Eisenhower-era' comment is thrown out as an epithet rather than a good descriptor--don't let these lead you away from this fine book. The customer reviews do the potential reader a real service on this story.

Yet, this is a real underdog story covering two seasons plus the effect on the young men of the memorable run at the state championship. It is a worthy underdog story, told in a compelling style. If you are looking for a late summer read and scholastic athletics, small town america, or baseball are of interest, this could be your final beach read of the summer.

As an adult, this is a good read, and the impact on the players 40 years later is visible--high school athletics and this run at the championship leads you to see how these boys became the men they are today.

Buy it, read it, enjoy it. Start the discussion with your kids why they should participate in high school sports. You'll be glad you did.
Great book with a personal interest. Ed Papciak was my GRADE schools playground supervisor before Lane Tech. I spent many hours at the playground under the mentorship of Mr.Papciak. A great instructor who taught me the intracies of many sports. Besides baseball, he was an excellent football coach. The book by Ballard is very well written and documents the times of the early 70's. I lived in WAUKEGAN AT the time, and remember their winning the state championship. WAUKEGAN has had strong baseball and football teams the fifteen years I lived there. Illinois high school sports are very popular. Can't wait to read ADDITIONAL Ballard writings.
Even though I am somewhat ambivalent to baseball, I could not put this book down. I really loved it. Here are my top 3 reasons

1. I can relate to being the small town underdog. In 1970-71, the Illinois state baseball championship was one big playoff. There were no class divisions (1A, 2A, etc). So, big schools from the Chicago area played against the small schools from rural Illinois. The book chronicles the unlikely winning season of the Macon Ironmen and their magical run in the state championship playoffs. Macon is a tiny town with a tiny school. Although they had some success in the season immediately prior to the time covered in the book, they were coming off several losing seasons. No one considered the Ironmen a serious threat.

I attended a small high school, and although it was not as small as Macon, we were seen as the country kids from the small school. Like the kids from Macon, it gave us a wee bit of a chip on our shoulders, but also a deep bond. We felt a sense of commitment to each other. It was something I missed later when I went to college. I felt a serious sense of nostalgia reading One Shot at Forever.

2. The colorful (and real) characters. The Macon Ironmen and their coach were not your typical high school baseball team. Their coach was an unlikely hero. He had just started teaching English at Macon High School. Macon was a conservative town. Lynn Sweet, English teacher and soon to be baseball coach, was anything but conservative. He held liberal ideals, frequented the local bars, had long hair and a Fu Manchu mustache, and lived a nomadic existence. He eschewed the English curriculum for his own unorthodox teaching methods. In short, the towns people considered him a hippie. Not all of them approved. But he won over their kids. They loved him. Their English grades improved and they became more engaged in class.

These methods carried over into baseball. For example, practices were optional. Some of the team members grew their hair out, wore peace signs on their hats, and they began listening to the sound track from Jesus Christ Superstar on a boom box during warm up at games. This is the kind of teacher I would have loved as a kid.

The players and their parents are also interesting, complex people. There are the unlikely heroes, the star athletes, the small and scrappy players. But they are not just stereotypes. We learn about their lives, what drives them, their relationships, and how they lived and grew during those two remarkable seasons.

3. The excellent sports writing. Let’s face it, with a nonfiction book such as this, the outcome is known. Even the cover of the book says “the magical season”. So I went into the book knowing the Ironmen experienced a remarkable winning season. But there were still twists that I didn’t see coming (yay!) and the storytelling of the games had me on the edge of my seat. I couldn’t stop reading. In fact, I stayed on the elliptical machine an extra 15 minutes to finish a certain section.

I definitely recommend this book, even if you are not a baseball fan. I even recommend it even if you don’t like sports. It’s about a lot more than sports or baseball. It’s about a group of people who come together, form a bond, inspire each other, and triumph against overwhelming odds. How can you not love that?