Sports Product Review

I’ll start by disclosing that I am involved with this company and thus, am biased toward the product. However, judging by the feedback we’ve had from youth baseball coaches who have seen CoachDeck, (www.coachdeck.com), I could write a glowing review and still be objective.

CoachDeck is a simple idea: Over 50 good, solid, fundamental sports drills and games written in a concise, easy-to-understand manner, contained within a deck of transportable and accessible playing cards.

As a former professional baseball coach, and now in my 10th year as a youth sports volunteer coach, I have seen a glaring need for a training system for the coaches who are training the kids. In 2004, a partner and I launched CoachGuide.com, an online instructional course for youth coaches. CoachDeck is the natural extension of CoachGuide.

Youth sports coaches, for the most part, are well-intentioned but lack either fundamental knowledge or time to plan an effective practice, or both. CoachDeck can be used by the inexperienced rookie and the seasoned veteran alike. A coach can literally show up to practice straight from work, with no preparation, and run a dynamic and valuable clinic by simply opening up this deck of cards.

Though CoachDeck is primarily designed for the coach of the team, the drills in the deck are easily adapted to one-on-one teaching as well. If you are one of the millions of parents who devote parts of your weekend at the park or in the backyard kicking the soccer ball or playing catch with your children, CoachDeck can benefit you as well.

There are many other sources for baseball drills available, most namely, books and videos. We chose to use a deck of cards because there are so many advantages. The deck can be fanned out to provide instant access to every drill. Coaches can let players choose a card to add intrigue and excitement. Assistants can take cards and work with smaller groups. But the bottom line is, when someone is handed a book, they think ‘this means work.’ When someone is handed a deck of cards they think, ‘this will be fun.’ We believe more people will actually use the drills and games we’ve developed.

If you have kids from 6-16 playing baseball, pick up a CoachDeck and see if there isn’t something new you can teach, while having fun. And check back, because other sports will be coming soon.

SOURCE: CoachDeck