A Book for Coaches, Parents & Players
Brave Enoughto Try
Coaching players from the inside out — a complete philosophy and system for developing players who believe in themselves and love the game
"Youth sports are overrun with coaches who have no ability to handle their feelings toward their players. These are children. Haven't you taken enough emotional lunch money from the world already?"— Parent & assistant youth sports coach
The Book
Not a book about drills.
A book about people.
Brave Enough to Try is a complete coaching philosophy and practical system built from coaching countless seasons of youth softball in Nashville. It covers everything from how to read a player's developmental profile to how to build a culture that makes players want to come back next season.
It is written for the coach who sits in the bleachers watching someone talk to children in ways they would never talk to an adult — and decides to do something about it. For the coach who shows up every Tuesday not entirely sure she is doing it right, who cares deeply about getting it right. For the parent who wants to understand what great coaching looks like from the inside.
The philosophy is simple and it runs through every page: you cannot coach confidence you don't first build. You cannot demand urgency you haven't modeled. And you can never want to win more than the kids want to win.
Where It Starts
If you've ever sat in those bleachers...
You know the feeling. You watch your child's face. You see the shoulders drop. And somewhere in the back of your mind a quiet thought forms:
Years ago, Matt Charette stopped having that thought and started being that person. This book is what countless seasons of showing up has produced. Not a perfect coaching manual. An honest one — from someone who is still learning every practice.
What's Inside
Seven parts. Fifteen chapters.
One complete system.
Part One
The Foundation
The Five Elements · The Player Profile Framework · The Active Coaching Guide
Part Two
The Invisible Variables
Agency · Coach Emotional Regulation · Winning & Healthy Pressure
Part Three
The Environment
Messy Practice · Look Sharp. Be Sharp. · Anticipation
Part Four
The Player's Inner World
Physical Fear & Physical Confidence · Brave Enough to Try
Part Five
The Culture
When One of Us Shines · The Vulture Culture
Part Six
The Craft
Practice Design · The Shape of a Season
Part Seven
The Relationships
Trust & How It's Built · Parent Communication · The Coach in the Mirror
Who This Is For
Three different seats.
The same problem.
The Coach
You care deeply about getting it right. You show up every Tuesday and do your best. This is the framework you've been building toward without knowing it existed.
The Parent
You've sat in those bleachers. You've had the thought. This book will help you understand what great coaching looks like — and what you can do from where you sit.
The Player
You love this game. This book is about building the confidence, resilience, and self-belief that makes every part of it — including the hard parts — worth it.
Free Download
Coach Matt's
Softball Scorecard
Most scorecards are built for scorekeepers. This one is built for coaches — the person who needs to track what happened on the field and remember what it meant.
Simple enough to use from the dugout or the coaches box. Detailed enough to review with your team after the game or at next practice. Four pages, both teams, eight innings. (Most youth softball games are time limited - 4 inning scoresheets are ussaully enough)
- Pitch count tracking — balls, strikes, and fouls — per at-bat, per inning
- Stolen base boxes built right into the base path — fill the box, it happened
- D3 indicator on the first-base line for drop-third-strike reaches
- Large notes area for every player, every inning — enough room to actually write something
- Runs and RBIs visible at a glance without digging through a grid
- Works for youth softball and high school — 12 players, 8 innings, both teams
Free · Send Me an email if you would like an Instructional Video · Ready to Print & use
What's on the card
Pitch Count
B-Balls · S-Strikes · & - F-Fouls per at-bat
Base Running
SB-Stolen Base boxes on the base path
Special Plays
D3 drop-third-strike indicator
Scoring
R-Runs & RBI at a glance
Format
4 pages · Both teams · 8 innings
Roster
12 players per side
About the Author
Matt Charette
Entrepreneur · Marine · Executive Coach · Coach
Matt Charette is an entrepreneur, executive coach, and lifelong student of what it takes to help people believe in themselves. A former United States Marine, he has spent more than two decades building businesses, investing in companies and real estate, and coaching entrepreneurs through the Confidence Gap — the space between what people know they should do and what they actually do.
He teaches the Catalyst program through the Entrepreneurs' Organization, mentors founders through Nashville's BrainTrust, and hosts The Daily Dirty Dose — a daily 90-second podcast built around one idea: self-worth is a practice.
He has been coaching youth sports since high school and has spent many seasons as coach of the Vulture Softball Team in Nashville. He is married and the father of five.
Coming Soon
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when Brave Enough to Try is available.
Just send me an email and I'll make sure you're first to know when it's ready — and maybe share a few things worth reading between now and then.
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