Our Time

About the Book

A coach is part teacher, part parent, part student, part mentor, and part guru. He must possess a stern hand and a comforting touch—and the wisdom to discern when each is needed. Each decision he makes is a part of a perilous high wire act that can propel a team forward or send a season tumbling downward.

But when does a coach truly become a coach? Is it after some athletic director looks across the desk, offers his hand, and says, “Congratulations, you’ve got the job?” Is it after that first win? That first championship? Or is it when all those nagging questions in the back of the mind finally stop nagging?

Scott Illiano, head baseball coach of the West Essex High School Knights, chronicles his incredible journey from waiter in a chain restaurant to veteran coach in Our Time. Discover how an unproven coach and a patchwork group of underdogs battle injuries, biting cold temperatures, and fierce competition in their quest to win the Greater Newark Tournament, the oldest and most prestigious baseball tournament in the state of New Jersey.

Twenty kids and four coaches share a dream and a whole lot of heart. Through their journey, in victory and defeat, struggle and success, readers will find out when a coach becomes a coach.

About the Author

Scott Illiano is a special education teacher and the head baseball coach at West Essex High School in North Caldwell, New Jersey. In 2010, he was named Northeast Region Coach of the Year by the National Federation of State High School Associations. He holds a master’s degree in educational administration from Montclair State University and lives in Pompton Lakes, New Jersey.