Playoff Fever & Split Pants

12 year-old, Cliff Vermont, and his baseball team, the Blue Hens, are in the championship game. Leading up to the game, Cliff faces challenges, both on and off the field.

If Cliff Vermont had only slid home, his team would have already clinched the championship. Now the Blue Hens find themselves in a third and deciding playoff game with everything on the line. Cliff not only has to deal with the burden of his baseball blunder, but also the pressure from his teammates and classmates as he prepares for pitching the biggest game of his life. The days leading up to the big game, Cliff learns what it takes to navigate through the strange and often turbulent world of adolescence, both on and off the field, with the help of his younger brother, Sam, and his best friend, Jamaal.

Marty Schupak, the author of the Cliff Vermont book series, has been coaching baseball for 22 years. He has coached over 1,400 kids in youth athletics in a variety of sports in addition to baseball. Many of his former players have gone on to play in high school and beyond. Many have received athletic college scholarships. In addition to coaching baseball, Schupak has coached children in basketball and soccer. He has served on many leagues’ boards of directors and is a member of the American Baseball Coaches Association. Thousands of youth baseball coaches have been trained at his clinic, How to Run a Youth Baseball Practice. He is the founder and president of the Youth Sports Club, a group dedicated to improving coaching and youth baseball practices. His website, YouthSportsClub.com, is one of the most popular resources for youth coaches and parents. He is the creator of the best-selling baseball videos, The 59 Minute Baseball Practice, Backyard Baseball Drills, Winning Baseball Strategies, Hitting Drills & Techniques, and six others. He is the developer of the Baseball PakPad™ and the iSports Universe iPhone Applications. He also authored the popular book Youth Baseball Drills and the e-book: Baseball Coaching: A Guide for the Youth Coach and Parent. He received a bachelor's degree from Boston University in 1975 and a master's degree in physical education from Arizona State University in 1978. Schupak lives in Valley Cottage, New York.