Ages 6-16 · Book 3, Confidence · 4,299 places
Baseball and Softball
A sport where the best players fail most of the time, which makes it the honest place to teach what failure means.
Built on Ellis Abel and the Magic Triangle — “Turn fear into confidence, one step at a time.” A character series, not a curriculum with a worldview attached.
The five sessions
- Session 1
Name the one skill, small enough to practise this week
- Session 2
Read the story and connect the wall to their own thing
- Session 3
Set the rep count, write it down, keep it boring
- Session 4
Miss, fail, and log it as a rep rather than a verdict
- Session 5
Show the count at the end and let them read it themselves
Questions leaders ask
Is baseball and softball in your area a religious program?
No. Ellis Abel is a character series. Each volume carries one named core value — this one is confidence — and the story does the teaching. There is no doctrine in it, nothing to opt out of, and it is used in public schools, libraries and secular programs as readily as anywhere else.
What ages does this work for?
Ages 6-16. The story is read aloud, so a child who cannot read yet is fully in it, and the discussion prompts are written in two bands so one adult can hold a mixed-age room.
When in a your area season does this fit?
Preseason for the first three sessions, then one mid-season and one at the end. Ten minutes before practice, sitting on the floor, is the whole footprint.
Our coaches are volunteers with no time. Is that a problem?
No. The script is one page per session and assumes the coach read it in the car park. The point is the athletes talking, not the coach presenting.
The rules that make it work
Confidence is earned, in that order, every time
Commitment, then competency, then confidence. Almost every adult teaches it backwards by trying to install the feeling first, and children can tell.
Ugly reps are the work, not a warning sign
A child promised that practice feels good quits on the third attempt. Say in advance that it will look bad, and the bad-looking part stops meaning anything.
Praise the count, never the talent
"You're a natural" is a compliment a child cannot use and cannot rebuild from. Sixty reps is a fact they own and can do again.
Nobody is compared to anybody
The count is against last week's count. A room where children are ranked teaches the ones at the bottom to stop starting.
Adults commit out loud too
A coach or a parent naming a thing they are bad at and are practising anyway is worth more than any session on effort.
This is a character story, not a performance program
Technique belongs to the coach and the teacher. This handles the part that has nothing to do with technique, and never scores a child on either.
Baseball and Softball by metro area
Northeast
- Baseball and Softball — New York, NY
- Baseball and Softball — Philadelphia, PA
- Baseball and Softball — Boston, MA
- Baseball and Softball — Pittsburgh, PA
- Baseball and Softball — Providence, RI
- Baseball and Softball — Hartford, CT
- Baseball and Softball — Buffalo, NY
- Baseball and Softball — Rochester, NY
- Baseball and Softball — Bridgeport, CT
- Baseball and Softball — Albany, NY
- Baseball and Softball — Worcester, MA
- Baseball and Softball — Allentown, PA
- Baseball and Softball — Poughkeepsie metro area, NY
- Baseball and Softball — Syracuse, NY
- Baseball and Softball — Harrisburg, PA
- Baseball and Softball — New Haven, CT
- Baseball and Softball — Portland, ME
- Baseball and Softball — Scranton, PA
- Baseball and Softball — Lancaster, PA
- Baseball and Softball — York, PA
- Baseball and Softball — Springfield, MA
- Baseball and Softball — Waterbury, CT
- Baseball and Softball — Reading, PA
- Baseball and Softball — Manchester, NH
- Baseball and Softball — Trenton, NJ
- Baseball and Softball — Atlantic City, NJ
- Baseball and Softball — Utica, NY
- Baseball and Softball — Norwich, CT
- Baseball and Softball — Erie, PA
- Baseball and Softball — Binghamton, NY
- Baseball and Softball — Barnstable, MA
- Baseball and Softball — Burlington, VT
- Baseball and Softball — Kingston, NY
- Baseball and Softball — Amherst, MA
- Baseball and Softball — Chambersburg, PA
- Baseball and Softball — Bangor, ME
- Baseball and Softball — State College, PA
- Baseball and Softball — Vineland, NJ
- Baseball and Softball — Lebanon, PA
- Baseball and Softball — Johnstown, PA
- Baseball and Softball — Pittsfield, MA
- Baseball and Softball — Glens Falls, NY
- Baseball and Softball — Altoona, PA
- Baseball and Softball — Lewiston, ME
- Baseball and Softball — Williamsport, PA
- Baseball and Softball — Watertown, NY
- Baseball and Softball — Gettysburg, PA
- Baseball and Softball — Ithaca, NY
- Baseball and Softball — Elmira, NY
Midwest
- Baseball and Softball — Chicago, IL
- Baseball and Softball — Detroit, MI
- Baseball and Softball — Minneapolis, MN
- Baseball and Softball — St. Louis, MO
- Baseball and Softball — Cincinnati, OH
- Baseball and Softball — Kansas City, MO
- Baseball and Softball — Columbus, OH
- Baseball and Softball — Indianapolis, IN
- Baseball and Softball — Cleveland, OH
- Baseball and Softball — Milwaukee, WI
- Baseball and Softball — Grand Rapids, MI
- Baseball and Softball — Omaha, NE
- Baseball and Softball — Dayton, OH
- Baseball and Softball — Des Moines, IA
- Baseball and Softball — Madison, WI
- Baseball and Softball — Akron, OH
- Baseball and Softball — Wichita, KS
- Baseball and Softball — Toledo, OH
- Baseball and Softball — Springfield, MO
- Baseball and Softball — Lansing, MI
- Baseball and Softball — Fort Wayne, IN
- Baseball and Softball — Youngstown, OH
- Baseball and Softball — Flint, MI
- Baseball and Softball — Canton, OH
- Baseball and Softball — Davenport, IA
- Baseball and Softball — Ann Arbor, MI
- Baseball and Softball — Peoria, IL
- Baseball and Softball — Lincoln, NE
- Baseball and Softball — Rockford, IL
- Baseball and Softball — Green Bay, WI
- Baseball and Softball — South Bend, IN
- Baseball and Softball — Sioux Falls, SD
- Baseball and Softball — Duluth, MN
- Baseball and Softball — Cedar Rapids, IA
- Baseball and Softball — Evansville, IN
- Baseball and Softball — Fargo, ND
- Baseball and Softball — Kalamazoo, MI
- Baseball and Softball — Appleton, WI
- Baseball and Softball — Champaign, IL
- Baseball and Softball — Topeka, KS
- Baseball and Softball — Rochester, MN
- Baseball and Softball — Lafayette, IN
- Baseball and Softball — Columbia, MO
- Baseball and Softball — Joplin, MO
- Baseball and Softball — Elkhart, IN
- Baseball and Softball — Springfield, IL
- Baseball and Softball — St. Cloud, MN
- Baseball and Softball — Racine, WI
- Baseball and Softball — Saginaw, MI
- Baseball and Softball — Iowa City, IA
- Baseball and Softball — Muskegon, MI
- Baseball and Softball — Eau Claire, WI
- Baseball and Softball — Oshkosh, WI
- Baseball and Softball — Bloomington, IL
- Baseball and Softball — La Crosse, WI
- Baseball and Softball — Terre Haute, IN
- Baseball and Softball — Waterloo, IA
- Baseball and Softball — Kenosha, WI
- Baseball and Softball — Janesville, WI
- Baseball and Softball — Bloomington, IN
- Baseball and Softball — Jackson, MI
- Baseball and Softball — Traverse City, MI
- Baseball and Softball — Rapid City, SD
- Baseball and Softball — Monroe, MI
- Baseball and Softball — Jefferson City, MO
- Baseball and Softball — Niles, MI
- Baseball and Softball — Sioux City, IA
- Baseball and Softball — Bismarck, ND
- Baseball and Softball — Wausau, WI
- Baseball and Softball — Manhattan, KS
- Baseball and Softball — Springfield, OH
- Baseball and Softball — Battle Creek, MI
- Baseball and Softball — Ames, IA
- Baseball and Softball — Mansfield, OH
- Baseball and Softball — Lawrence, KS
- Baseball and Softball — St. Joseph, MO
- Baseball and Softball — Sheboygan, WI
- Baseball and Softball — Muncie, IN
- Baseball and Softball — Sandusky, OH
- Baseball and Softball — Michigan City, IN
- Baseball and Softball — Kankakee, IL
- Baseball and Softball — Grand Forks, ND
- Baseball and Softball — Mankato, MN
- Baseball and Softball — Fond du Lac, WI
- Baseball and Softball — Bay City, MI
- Baseball and Softball — Lima, OH
- Baseball and Softball — Dubuque, IA
- Baseball and Softball — Decatur, IL
- Baseball and Softball — Cape Girardeau, MO
- Baseball and Softball — Columbus, IN
- Baseball and Softball — Kokomo, IN
- Baseball and Softball — Midland, MI
- Baseball and Softball — Grand Island, NE
- Baseball and Softball — Minot, ND
South
- Baseball and Softball — Dallas, TX
- Baseball and Softball — Houston, TX
- Baseball and Softball — Atlanta, GA
- Baseball and Softball — Washington, DC
- Baseball and Softball — Miami, FL
- Baseball and Softball — Tampa, FL
- Baseball and Softball — Orlando, FL
- Baseball and Softball — Charlotte, NC
- Baseball and Softball — Baltimore, MD
- Baseball and Softball — San Antonio, TX
- Baseball and Softball — Austin, TX
- Baseball and Softball — Nashville, TN
- Baseball and Softball — Virginia Beach, VA
- Baseball and Softball — Jacksonville, FL
- Baseball and Softball — Raleigh, NC
- Baseball and Softball — Oklahoma City, OK
- Baseball and Softball — Louisville, KY
- Baseball and Softball — Richmond, VA
- Baseball and Softball — Memphis, TN
- Baseball and Softball — Birmingham, AL
- Baseball and Softball — Tulsa, OK
- Baseball and Softball — Greenville, SC
- Baseball and Softball — New Orleans, LA
- Baseball and Softball — Knoxville, TN
- Baseball and Softball — Sarasota metro area, FL
- Baseball and Softball — McAllen, TX
- Baseball and Softball — Charleston, SC
- Baseball and Softball — Baton Rouge, LA
- Baseball and Softball — El Paso, TX
- Baseball and Softball — Columbia, SC
- Baseball and Softball — Cape Coral, FL
- Baseball and Softball — Lakeland, FL
- Baseball and Softball — Greensboro, NC
- Baseball and Softball — Little Rock, AR
- Baseball and Softball — Deltona, FL
- Baseball and Softball — Winston-Salem, NC
- Baseball and Softball — Palm Bay, FL
- Baseball and Softball — Augusta, GA
- Baseball and Softball — Durham, NC
- Baseball and Softball — Fayetteville, AR
- Baseball and Softball — Jackson, MS
- Baseball and Softball — Chattanooga, TN
- Baseball and Softball — Port St. Lucie, FL
- Baseball and Softball — Huntsville, AL
- Baseball and Softball — Pensacola, FL
- Baseball and Softball — Lexington, KY
- Baseball and Softball — Killeen, TX
- Baseball and Softball — Wilmington, NC
- Baseball and Softball — Corpus Christi, TX
- Baseball and Softball — Ocala, FL
- Baseball and Softball — Savannah, GA
- Baseball and Softball — Brownsville, TX
- Baseball and Softball — Gulfport, MS
- Baseball and Softball — Myrtle Beach, SC
- Baseball and Softball — Lafayette, LA
- Baseball and Softball — Asheville, NC
- Baseball and Softball — Naples, FL
- Baseball and Softball — Mobile, AL
- Baseball and Softball — Spartanburg, SC
- Baseball and Softball — Beaumont, TX
- Baseball and Softball — Tallahassee, FL
- Baseball and Softball — Fayetteville, NC
- Baseball and Softball — Montgomery, AL
- Baseball and Softball — Shreveport, LA
- Baseball and Softball — Hickory, NC
- Baseball and Softball — Lubbock, TX
- Baseball and Softball — Huntington, WV
- Baseball and Softball — Gainesville, FL
- Baseball and Softball — Clarksville, TN
- Baseball and Softball — Columbus, GA
- Baseball and Softball — Roanoke, VA
- Baseball and Softball — Hagerstown, MD
- Baseball and Softball — Fort Walton Beach metro area, FL
- Baseball and Softball — Kingsport, TN
- Baseball and Softball — Waco, TX
- Baseball and Softball — Longview, TX
- Baseball and Softball — College Station, TX
- Baseball and Softball — Tuscaloosa, AL
- Baseball and Softball — Laredo, TX
- Baseball and Softball — Slidell, LA
- Baseball and Softball — Amarillo, TX
- Baseball and Softball — Lynchburg, VA
- Baseball and Softball — Daphne, AL
- Baseball and Softball — Tyler, TX
- Baseball and Softball — Lake Charles, LA
- Baseball and Softball — Hilton Head Island, SC
- Baseball and Softball — Macon, GA
- Baseball and Softball — Fort Smith, AR
- Baseball and Softball — Panama City, FL
- Baseball and Softball — Charlottesville, VA
- Baseball and Softball — Gainesville, GA
- Baseball and Softball — Athens, GA
- Baseball and Softball — Monroe, LA
- Baseball and Softball — Punta Gorda, FL
- Baseball and Softball — Jacksonville, NC
- Baseball and Softball — Johnson City, TN
- Baseball and Softball — Lexington Park, MD
- Baseball and Softball — Warner Robins, GA
- Baseball and Softball — Auburn, AL
- Baseball and Softball — Florence, SC
- Baseball and Softball — Charleston, WV
- Baseball and Softball — Houma, LA
- Baseball and Softball — Bowling Green, KY
- Baseball and Softball — Dover, DE
- Baseball and Softball — Midland, TX
- Baseball and Softball — Burlington, NC
- Baseball and Softball — Abilene, TX
- Baseball and Softball — Jackson, TN
- Baseball and Softball — Greenville, NC
- Baseball and Softball — Blacksburg, VA
- Baseball and Softball — Odessa, TX
- Baseball and Softball — Vero Beach metro area, FL
- Baseball and Softball — Homosassa Springs, FL
- Baseball and Softball — Decatur, AL
- Baseball and Softball — Hattiesburg, MS
- Baseball and Softball — The Villages metro area, FL
- Baseball and Softball — Florence, AL
- Baseball and Softball — Dothan, AL
- Baseball and Softball — Sherman, TX
- Baseball and Softball — Valdosta, GA
- Baseball and Softball — Winchester, VA
- Baseball and Softball — Wichita Falls, TX
- Baseball and Softball — Rocky Mount, NC
- Baseball and Softball — Alexandria, LA
- Baseball and Softball — Dalton, GA
- Baseball and Softball — Texarkana, TX
- Baseball and Softball — Albany, GA
- Baseball and Softball — Morgantown, WV
- Baseball and Softball — Hammond, LA
- Baseball and Softball — Harrisonburg, VA
- Baseball and Softball — Jonesboro, AR
- Baseball and Softball — Wheeling, WV
- Baseball and Softball — Cleveland, TN
- Baseball and Softball — Salisbury, MD
- Baseball and Softball — Staunton, VA
- Baseball and Softball — Morristown, TN
- Baseball and Softball — Elizabethtown, KY
- Baseball and Softball — Lawton, OK
- Baseball and Softball — Goldsboro, NC
- Baseball and Softball — San Angelo, TX
- Baseball and Softball — Brunswick, GA
- Baseball and Softball — Anniston, AL
- Baseball and Softball — Owensboro, KY
- Baseball and Softball — Steubenville, WV
- Baseball and Softball — Sebring, FL
- Baseball and Softball — Pinehurst, NC
- Baseball and Softball — Beckley, WV
- Baseball and Softball — Sumter, SC
- Baseball and Softball — Gadsden, AL
- Baseball and Softball — Paducah, KY
- Baseball and Softball — Rome, GA
- Baseball and Softball — Victoria, TX
- Baseball and Softball — Hot Springs, AR
- Baseball and Softball — Hinesville, GA
- Baseball and Softball — Parkersburg, WV
- Baseball and Softball — Enid, OK
- Baseball and Softball — Eagle Pass, TX
West
- Baseball and Softball — Los Angeles, CA
- Baseball and Softball — Phoenix, AZ
- Baseball and Softball — Riverside, CA
- Baseball and Softball — San Francisco, CA
- Baseball and Softball — Seattle, WA
- Baseball and Softball — San Diego, CA
- Baseball and Softball — Denver, CO
- Baseball and Softball — Portland, OR
- Baseball and Softball — Sacramento, CA
- Baseball and Softball — Las Vegas, NV
- Baseball and Softball — San Jose, CA
- Baseball and Softball — Salt Lake City, UT
- Baseball and Softball — Fresno, CA
- Baseball and Softball — Tucson, AZ
- Baseball and Softball — Honolulu, HI
- Baseball and Softball — Bakersfield, CA
- Baseball and Softball — Albuquerque, NM
- Baseball and Softball — Boise, ID
- Baseball and Softball — Oxnard, CA
- Baseball and Softball — Stockton, CA
- Baseball and Softball — Colorado Springs, CO
- Baseball and Softball — Provo, UT
- Baseball and Softball — Ogden, UT
- Baseball and Softball — Spokane, WA
- Baseball and Softball — Reno, NV
- Baseball and Softball — Modesto, CA
- Baseball and Softball — Santa Rosa, CA
- Baseball and Softball — Visalia, CA
- Baseball and Softball — Vallejo, CA
- Baseball and Softball — Salem, OR
- Baseball and Softball — Santa Maria, CA
- Baseball and Softball — Salinas, CA
- Baseball and Softball — Anchorage, AK
- Baseball and Softball — Eugene, OR
- Baseball and Softball — Greeley, CO
- Baseball and Softball — Fort Collins, CO
- Baseball and Softball — Boulder, CO
- Baseball and Softball — Kennewick, WA
- Baseball and Softball — Olympia, WA
- Baseball and Softball — Merced, CA
- Baseball and Softball — Bremerton, WA
- Baseball and Softball — San Luis Obispo, CA
- Baseball and Softball — Bend, OR
- Baseball and Softball — Yakima, WA
- Baseball and Softball — Santa Cruz, CA
- Baseball and Softball — Prescott metro area, AZ
- Baseball and Softball — Bellingham, WA
- Baseball and Softball — Las Cruces, NM
- Baseball and Softball — Lake Havasu City, AZ
- Baseball and Softball — Yuma, AZ
- Baseball and Softball — Medford, OR
- Baseball and Softball — St. George, UT
- Baseball and Softball — Chico, CA
- Baseball and Softball — Billings, MT
- Baseball and Softball — Coeur d'Alene, ID
- Baseball and Softball — Yuba City, CA
- Baseball and Softball — Redding, CA
- Baseball and Softball — El Centro, CA
- Baseball and Softball — Idaho Falls, ID
- Baseball and Softball — Pueblo, CO
- Baseball and Softball — Grand Junction, CO
- Baseball and Softball — Logan, UT
- Baseball and Softball — Maui, HI
- Baseball and Softball — Santa Fe, NM
- Baseball and Softball — Hanford, CA
- Baseball and Softball — Flagstaff, AZ
- Baseball and Softball — Mount Vernon, WA
- Baseball and Softball — Napa, CA
- Baseball and Softball — Albany, OR
- Baseball and Softball — Bozeman, MT
- Baseball and Softball — Missoula, MT
- Baseball and Softball — Wenatchee, WA
- Baseball and Softball — Sierra Vista, AZ
- Baseball and Softball — Twin Falls, ID
- Baseball and Softball — Farmington, NM
- Baseball and Softball — Longview, WA
- Baseball and Softball — Cheyenne, WY
- Baseball and Softball — Corvallis, OR
- Baseball and Softball — Helena, MT
- Baseball and Softball — Fairbanks, AK
- Baseball and Softball — Pocatello, ID
- Baseball and Softball — Grants Pass, OR
- Baseball and Softball — Great Falls, MT
- Baseball and Softball — Casper, WY
- Baseball and Softball — Lewiston, ID
- Baseball and Softball — Walla Walla, WA
- Baseball and Softball — Carson City, NV
Cities and all 3,143 US counties are covered too — every place page is live. The campaign sitemap lists every one.
