Inside the Batter's Box
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About the Book
Everyone has memories from their childhood. Mine just all happen to be about baseball: Players, coaches, hard-fought games, losing seasons, and of course- my dad. These were my teachers growing up. Finding myself on a Navy ship thousands of miles from home, I had to reach pretty deep inside my 'leadership toolbox' to figure out how to motivate my Sailors, my peers, and even myself. I didn't know it at the time, but baseball had already taught me everything I needed to know to conquer even the most challenging situations.
Inside the Batter's Box is a look at the lighter side of being a junior officer. There was Big Head Jim who ate anything we put in front of him, the sex professor stowaway, life inside the JO Jungle, and of course playing catch on the flight deck. The Navy is a serious business, but we still manage to find time to play. But how do you tell a Sailor he won't see his family for 9 months? How do you get excited to wake up every day and do the same thing- over and over again? How do you satisfy a lifelong craving for a sport when you don't see land for months? Oddly enough, baseball is the answer.
Broken up into short anecdotes from little league, high school, and summer camps, each chapter teaches a lesson about leadership- but more importantly about life. Ride along for a summer at sea and see what life is really like when you are haze gray and underway.
About the Author
Justin Cole is a lieutenant in the United States Navy. A former surface warfare officer, he spent three years on an amphibious ship in Norfolk, Va. as the Combat Information Center Officer, Training Officer, and Operations Officer. A native of Virginia Beach, Justin grew up in a Navy family that includes his younger brother, father, and grandfather.
A 2001 graduate of the United States Naval Academy, Justin majored in "staying out of trouble." As a freshman, he racked up conduct violations for listening to baseball games on the radio in his room and traveling outside of the allowed 20-mile radius to see a baseball game in person at Camden Yards. A true fan, Justin's favorite companion at a ball game is his 80-year old grandmother from Baltimore, Md.