COMING SOON!

You Might Need a Jacket

By Earl Austin Jr.

Hilarious Stories of Wacky Sports Parents

Behind every successful young athlete, there is a highly-motivated parent obsessed with the idea of their son or daughter becoming a big sports star.

  Earl Austin Jr.’s latest book, You Might Need a Jacket: Hilarious Stories of Wacky Sports Parents, is dedicated to those mothers and fathers and other loved ones who go above and beyond the call of duty to ensure their children’s success in the athletic arena. Way, way beyond.

  In 22 years of covering amateur sports in the St. Louis area, Earl has virtually seen it all on the playing fields and in the bleachers and now he is sharing some of those funny stories with you in his new publication. Be ready to laugh out loud.

  This delightful 100+ page book contains nearly 200 stories and little anecdotes that chronicle the activities of “Strait-Jacket Parents,” which is the term created to describe these overzealous sports parental units. Some of these stories may be hard to believe, but they are all true. They range from the funny and cute to the strange and truly bizarre. Most of them are of the humorous nature, but others take on a more ominous tone which have led to serious trouble for the overbearing parent.

  Strait-Jacket parents are present all over the world and they represent all  all races, social classes and nationalities. They come from all walks of life, yet they all have one thing in common. They want their children to be the best and they will do just about anything to make that happen. You Might Need a Jacket provides a small dose of what happens when the parents’ good intentions can sometimes get the best of them. The foreward to the book has been written by St. Louis radio and television personality Frank Cusumano, who has been a youth sports coach for many years in town.

  Earl has been able to capture the spirit of overzealous parents with such humorous stories as: 

  *The proud mother who spent thousands of dollars to have bobblehead dolls made in her daughter’s likeness when she was a high school basketball player.

  *The crazy father who knocked himself unconscious, banging his head against the door trying to get inside the referees room for a post-game confrontation after a youth hockey game.

  *The nervous mother who would always wet her pants whenever her son trotted on to the football field to attempt a field goal.

  *The out-of-control dad who ended up being arrested, tasered and taken away in handcuffs from his eight-year old son’s football game.

  Earl’s stories are not just relegated to just parents. Siblings, aunts, uncles, husbands and wives are also prone to strait-jacket bahavior and Earl has captured many of these wild stories and much more in this look inside the world of the “strait-jacket parent.”

  The book is scheduled for release in early August. It is published by Prioritybooks Publications.

*The DVD chronicles the history of Public High League basketball, beginning from the 1940’s up to today in chronological order. The 1940’s section features the Beaumont dynasty are rare video footage of some of the star players…The 1950’s features the excellence of Beaumont and Cleveland, plus the integration of the PHL, including a look at the all-black Ill-Mo League….The 1960’s and 70’s section brings about the explosion of the PHL as one of the top high school basketball leagues in the country. The 1980’s section features top teams such as the 1981 Soldan Tigers, the high-scoring 1981 Central Redwings as well as the beginning of the Vashon High dynasty…The stars of today are featured in the 1990’s and 2000’s section…A special look at the girls history of PHL basketball follows, with special features on the Gateway Tech and Metro dynasties….The top coaches in the history of the PHL are also honored

From the Editor and Publisher

The book will chronicle the history of the PHL in many special sections. There will be a special section that spotlights the great players of the league. Read about the exploits of former PHL greats such as Jo Jo White, Bob Ferry, David Thirdkill, Stanley Woods and many, many more. Who was the best PHL team of all time? The 1969 Sumner Bulldogs or the 1988 Vashon Wolverines? Who was the best little man in the history of the league, Bennie Moore of Sumner, Darryl “Pee Wee” Lenard of Central or Joel Shelton of Vashon. This book will provide all of the barber shop material you need to argue over who was the best. Read about the great coaches, great teams and programs that are a permanent part of history. Many of the athletes who appear in the section on great players were voted by many of you who filled out ballots because you wanted to see them included. I also spoke to many former players, coaches, media members and sports historians as he put together a comprehensive list that represents the many generations of PHL excellence. I have also compiled a list of memorable moments from the history of the PHL, including a brief history of the PHL Christmas Tournament. I will also introduce you to the old “ILL-MO” League, an all-black conference where many of the black city schools such as Sumner and Vashon, competed before integration. I will also spotlight the girls of the PHL, who have really been a force in area basketball since the mid-1970’s. Make sure to purchase your copy of “The PHL in the STL” and be a part of the greatness of the Public High League once again.

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