Coaching Yourself First

WINNING WORDS FROM THE AMERICAN BASEBALL COACHES ASSOCIATION'S HIGH SCHOOL COACH OF THE YEAR FOR ALMOST A QUARTER CENTURY, Coach Bob Greco has devoted his life to the art and science of coaching baseball. In this unique and intensely personal memoir, he charts his own transformation from a blood-and guts commander of the dugout to a winning approach that has earned his teams numerous state championships and slots in the American Legion Baseball World Series. Greco shares his insights on motor learning and mental toughness, and the process by which he perennially molds young, soft players–marshmallows, in his words–into tough competitors that "get after it," playing full out while maintaining an all-important sense of fun. An invaluable read for coaches or anyone tasked with shaping the lives of young adults.

WINNING WORDS FROM THE AMERICAN BASEBALL COACHES ASSOCIATION'S HIGH SCHOOL COACH OF THE YEAR FOR ALMOST A QUARTER CENTURY, Coach Bob Greco has devoted his life to the art and science of coaching baseball. In this unique and intensely personal memoir, he charts his own transformation from a blood-and guts commander of the dugout to a winning approach that has earned his teams numerous state championships and slots in the American Legion Baseball World Series. Greco shares his insights on motor learning and mental toughness, and the process by which he perennially molds young, soft players–marshmallows, in his words–into tough competitors that "get after it," playing full out while maintaining an all-important sense of fun. An invaluable read for coaches or anyone tasked with shaping the lives of young adults.

BOB GRECO is a 1980 graduate of South High School in Omaha, Nebraska. He went on to play college baseball at Indiana University, Iowa Western Community College, and Dallas Baptist College. Greco earned an associate's degree from Iowa Western University, along with bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Greco has been coaching baseball and teaching math at Westside High School in Omaha, Nebraska for more than twenty years. His Westside High baseball teams have won seven high school state championships and six American Legion State Championships. In 2013, Greco was named the Omaha World Herald's High School Coach of the Year, and in 2014, the Lincoln Journal Star gave him the same honor. The American Baseball Coaches Association named him National High School Baseball Coach of the Year in 2014. That same year, his Westside High School KB American Legion baseball team finished third at the national American Legion World Series in Shelby, North Carolina. Bob is currently coaching and teaching at Westside High and also spends time at Ron Wolforth's Texas Baseball Ranch and the Florida Baseball Ranch. He and his wife Cathy have three children–Chaeli, Chelsea, and Joey.