Thanks so much for the promotion of my book, Orange and Brown. Shoehorn is correct, I graduated from Meigs High School and actually remember playing against Fred Gibson's teams in the late 80's, which were absolutely loaded. In 2005 Coach Gibson invited me to join his coaching staff, where I worked as his pitching coach for 8 years. When Gibby retired after the 2012 season, Athens High School was gracious enough to give me the opportunity to take over as head coach. I resigned from that position after last season so that I could take the next 3-4 years and watch my daughter finish her high school softball career, and also have the opportunity to travel and watch my son's college baseball career at Alderson Broaddus University.
There is something about coaching, though. It's hard to stop when it is still in your blood. That has been my experience since this past summer. Which is why I began to write. I certainly do not assume that I am qualified to write a book. In fact, ever since I pressed the APPROVE button on the publishing page I have had an overwhelming sense of "imposter syndrome" (one who has trouble internalizing an accomplishment due to a fear of being exposed as a fraud). I've always heard from others about how imposter syndrome can set in and paralyze your mind, but now I feel it first hand. All kinds of questions of doubt have entered my mind, like... Why would anyone want to read what I have to say? What makes me think I know anything about the subjects I've written about? Don't I realize that people who know me know I am no expert? And all sorts of other interrogating thoughts.
But I've come to learn that it doesn't take an expert to write a book. It just takes someone with stories to tell or observations to make that might help another person, even if just one. And that's why I published Building Champions. If there is one person on this earth that might pick up a copy of my book, read it and decide to change their life, then it was worth every second it took me to write the manuscript, lay it out in book format, design a cover, and publish it.
My goal for the book is that it will find its way into hands everywhere there is a team meeting, coaches meeting, or parent meeting. Using books and the wisdom of others has been so valuable to me and my teams over the years, and I hope Building Champions can become a tool for coaches, teams and families to use to get just a little bit better. Come to think of it, promoting the book on this website is the perfect idea, because this is the exact audience to whom I was writing.
Another goal for the book is that it might become a conversation piece. That perhaps it will grant me opportunities to meet more people and speak to more teams about the many lessons I have learned through my own failures, lessons that have inspired me to jot down a handful of simple principles about how we can all CHOOSE to become a champion. You don't need luck. You don't even need to play a sport. Yes, it is a sports-heavy book. But it reaches beyond the field and the court, as I think you will see.
Let me say in advance, if you decide to buy my book, THANK YOU! Please feel free to leave an honest review on Amazon.com, and by all means, please contact me directly if you'd like to ever sit down and talk more in depth about any part of the book.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1986508684/re ... +champions
Chris Stewart
http://chrismstewart.com