Short of scaling Mount Everest, New Hope-Solebury baseball coach Tony Vlahovic has done it all.
He’s played minor league baseball for the Boston Red Sox organization, and played ball overseas. After a debilitating car wreck, he went back to school and obtained a master’s degree. He has established fitness centers both here in Pennsylvania and in New Jersey. He now runs a successful medical practice as a therapist helping athletes and non-athletes overcome both physical and mental challenges.
As a varsity coach for the past 13 years at New Hope-Solebury, Vlahovic recently surpassed 150 wins. During that time, he helped form the first Special Olympics baseball team in the region, leading a team based in New Jersey to a national championship in 2014.
And now, he’s written a book.
Released June 9, published by Books For Athletes, “Just Need An Opportunity: Let's Play Ball” is available on Amazon in digital, paper and hardback copies.
Vlahovic says the book is about his work with people with disabilities and how it has changed his life, even given him a sense of purpose, you might say.
And though he just started coaching Special Olympics baseball a little more than a decade ago, Vlahovic says he’s been involved with people with disabilities nearly his entire life.
“When I was younger, I would protect the kids in the neighborhood who were in special-ed,” he explains.
“Other kids would pick on them because they were different. They were abusive to them, either physically or verbally. I didn’t think it was right. And they couldn’t protect themselves.”
“And that theme has continued throughout my life.”
When he first had the idea of forming a Special Olympics baseball team, Vlahovic was told it wasn’t possible — that the special needs athletes wouldn’t be able to grasp the complexities of the game. Well that was all proven wrong when New Jersey defeated Rhode Island for the gold medal in June 2014 at Arm & Hammer Park.
Vlahovic is no stranger to overcoming life challenges — everything from beating a bout with cancer as a teenager to rehabbing from injuries caused by a drunk driver as a young adult that derailed what might have been a career in professional baseball.
“I consider myself a lifetime learner and have never given up with some of the things that I’ve dealt with in my life from physical to mental issues throughout my high school, college and professional career,” he said.
All of that is in the book.
“He did amazing,” said Books For Athletes publisher Kelly Cole. “First week pre-orders, he hit No. 1 on Amazon best-sellers list.
“It’s a well-written story. It sounds great, looks great, especially, the fact that it’s driven by an actual heartfelt story.”
Vlahovic was a two-sport athlete at Whitehall High and also at Wilkes University where he was an undergrad, and while a freak injury he sustained in high school was a godsend as it helped doctors discover the cancer hiding in his body, the car wreck sent him careening in a different direction.
There were months — that numbered more than 12 — of pure pain and misery that included the fact that his injuries meant he was never going to make it to the big leagues. But the experience helped direct him toward the path he’s on today. By the time it was over, Vlahovic knew he wanted to be a rehabilitation specialist.
Vlahovic has told his story before but short versions of it and usually in verbal form. He was delivering one such epilogue at the “Sneaker Gala,” an affair organized by former Philadelphia 76ers power forward Jumaine Jones, who played eight seasons in the NBA and another nine internationally.
Hosted by Jones’ organization Beyond the Hardwood, the gala is an event that’s meant to raise awareness for athletes and non-athletes who are challenged by mental issues.
And that’s a topic upon which Vlahovic is well-versed. He broached the subject briefly but personally in his address.
“I just said ‘It’s O.K. to talk about it; it’s okay to get help,’” Vlahovic explained.
Cole, the Books For Athletes publisher, was there and after hearing Vlahovic’s story, approached Vlahovic with the idea of writing a book. Now Tony V is a great coach but the longest thing he’d ever written was his master’s thesis during his time at West Chester and that was a while ago.
So he worked with a writing coach at BFA and figured it out, as they say. And though parts of the book delve into Vlahovic’s personal hurdles, the book is not about him.
“By writing this book, I thought it would be a great platform to help bring awareness to people with disabilities, especially athletes with disabilities.
“They love the game as much as any athlete who doesn’t have a disability.”
At the end of the day, there’s a much bigger goal.
“The aim is to bring awareness to these individuals,” he said, “and hopefully create more opportunities for them to play baseball or any other sport that they want to play that they’ve never had the opportunity to play.”
As chairman of baseball development for Special Olympics, North America, Vlahovic hopes to expand Special Olympics baseball to parts of the Caribbean.
In his current occupation, Vlahovic now specializes in rehab, dealing with patients who have suffered either severe injuries or had major surgery and sometimes both. After undergoing physical therapy, patients come to him seeking to get past hurdles preventing them from getting on with their lives. Sometimes the hurdles are physical, sometimes mental, sometimes a little of both.
With a master’s in psychology and mental performance, the coach addresses what’s going on upstairs.
“The mental part of healing is huge and it’s not touched by a whole lot of people,” said Vlahovic. “But it’s very important to the healing process.”
“The part of the healing process that people just don’t talk about — the anxiety and depression that goes along with it — I’ve been through it myself,” he adds.
Part of the book is an essay on life’s trials and overcoming tribulations.
For the athletes he aids in Special Olympics, those life challenges include overcoming barriers placed by society that keep them off the playing field.
Like the title of the book says: “Just Need an Opportunity: Let’s Play Ball.”
Notes: Vlahovic recently received a lifetime pass to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown for his work with Special Olympics.
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