New Memoir Document Engh’s Life Journey

New Memoir Document Engh’s Life Journey
New Memoir

OCEAN CITY — From a rather inauspicious childhood in the resort area to the founder and president of one of the nation’s leading advocates for positive and safe sports opportunities in America and across the globe, long-time Ocean City resident Fred Engh has led a remarkable life he details in his newly-released memoir “You Gotta Be Kidding Me.”

Engh has come a long way from growing up in poverty in Ocean City to becoming the founder and president of the National Youth Sports Alliance (NAYS), a major leader in nurturing and providing rewarding sports opportunities for less fortunate children in America and around the globe. He has seen remarkable achievements in his ongoing career, but he has also suffered a number of setbacks and tragedies along the way.

Ten years ago, Engh lost his grandson, Sammy Wilkinson, in a tragic accident at Northside Park when the child fell through the frozen pond at the athletic complex. From that tragedy was born the Sammy Wilkinson Memorial Golf Tournament and the associated Jam for Sam fundraiser held each summer in the resort area. The events are held each summer to raise funds and awareness for NAYS’ efforts to help provide children worldwide with opportunities to play and enjoy sports. Engh has dedicated his recently-released memoir to Sammy.

“You Gotta Be Kidding Me” chronicles Engh’s early days growing up in poverty on the property of the Humane Society on Herring Creek, where he often had to euthanize and bury animals as a young child, to his current position as the founder and president of NAYS. While Engh now travels around the globe in his current position, Ocean City and Worcester County are still special to him and the local area is a part of the fabric of the book.

In “You Gotta Be Kidding Me,” Engh pulls back the curtain on his extraordinary life, sharing stories filled with heartache, humor and honesty, that will have readers taking a step back and examining their own lives and help them define and accomplish their own goals.

The book covers his life growing up in Ocean City and details the amazing path he followed, including the critical juncture at a time when he was 43 years old with a wife and seven kids and a full-time job when he decided to start NAYS so he could make a difference in children’s lives through the power of sports. There’s a chapter in the book devoted to the time Engh received a personal email out of nowhere from Baltimore Orioles Hall of Famer Cal Ripken, Jr. that led to the two men forging a special relationship and ultimately working together to help improve sports for children worldwide.

Another chapter details Engh attending Maryland State College, now UMES, in the 1960s where he was a white student at the traditionally all-black school. Engh played his way onto the school’s golf team and helped them capture a conference championship. Along the way, Engh got a first-hand look at the horrific racial injustice that was prevalent wherever the team traveled to play.

There are also plenty of stories with not-so-happy endings that shaped his character and strengthened his resolve, such as the time he appeared on Good Morning America and left the set feeling like a failure as Elizabeth Vargas caught him off guard by firing questions at him that weren’t what the show’s producers had previously gone over with him.

Through these and other setbacks shared throughout the book, Engh persevered, found humor in even the darkest moments and stared down every obstacle in his path. It’s been his trademark from the beginning, as evidenced by the extraordinary work NAYS has done through the years under his guidance, where its programs and resources are utilized in more than 3,000 communities nationwide, and on U.S. military bases worldwide.

Engh also shares his secrets for success, as he devotes a special section at the end of the book on ways readers can make positive changes in their lives to increase their chances of realizing their own dreams. He talks about vision, passion and commitment, about not being afraid to make mistakes, and the immense value of humor in everything that you do.

Engh recently returned from Qatar, located in the Middle East, where he was one of the featured speakers at a global forum on youth sports. His life journey began in Ocean City, but has taken him to places like Qatar and dozens of other countries worldwide, all in the pursuit of making a positive difference in children’s lives through the amazing power of sports. Readers will gain incredible insight behind a true visionary who has dedicated his life to making a difference for children and will surely say to themselves, “You Gotta Be Kidding Me.”

“You Gotta Be Kidding Me” can be purchased at Beach Music on Route 611 just south of Old Bridge Rd. in West Ocean City or online at nays.org/book. Proceeds from the sale of the book go to support the Sammy Wilkinson Memorial Foundation.