Football Books

I am a young coach, who doesn't have much experience with the offensive line. I bought this book hoping to gain some insight into pass pro. This book did just that and much more.

As a Brit living in the US who had played soccer for many years, I became involved in coaching youth soccer (U10) a couple of years ago. I purchased numerous books for ideas on drills and approaches to teaching soccer. I consider this book to be one of the best! It includes 5 different levels of development models to take kids from 'basic abilities and capacities' through mini-soccer, 7 v 7, 8 v 8 and 11 v 11.

All of the drills are well illustrated and explained. I have personally used most of the drills in the book. The narrative explain the characteristics of children at various stages of development and how best to develop their play from basic concepts to team play. If you are serious about 'teaching soccer' and not just running drills, I recommend this book!

The outcome has been written. But for those that really enjoy college football, and The Ohio State University Buckeyes, specifically, this is the book for you.

Contents:
Foreword
Introduction
Chapter 1: Hope Springs Eternal
Chapter 2: Outside the Lines
Chapter 3: Great Expectations
Chapter 4: The Journey Begins
Chapter 5: Eyes on the Prize
Chapter 6: The Game
Chapter 7: Waiting for an Opponent
Chapter 8: The Long Layoff
Chapter 9: The Heisman Trophy
Chapter 10: The BCS Championship Game
Chapter 11: Moving Forward
Appendix

Diary of an Unforgettable Season, by Steve Snapp, takes you inside big time college football. Snapp, the Associate Director of Athletics for Broadcasting for The Ohio State Buckeyes, kept a diary during the 2006 season which has been turned into this 166 page book. He brings you right inside the coaches and player meetings, the preparations for the season, the awards season, and the BCS Championship Game. It is a wonderful insiders look at big time college football told in a very personal manner.

Even if you are not a fan of the Buckeyes, the entries on the season ending awards (Lombardi, Heisman, etc.) are eye opening as to the amount of travel, meetings, dinners, and interviews that the winners and finalists go through. That they are able to play a game after all of that travel is incredible. Snapp spends time on most of the major players from that team, allowing the reader to learn more about their development and the highlights of their season. He also writes about the coaching staff, giving you another perspective of the season, one that was probably not in any media outlet.

While a good, fast read, it needed a little tighter editing. My only complaint with the book is that some of the word choices were curious, causing me to pause on some entries to try to figure out what Snapp meant. On the plus side, he adds pictures to the diary, giving a nice visual from select games and events. Even though this is a diary of a specific season, Snapp infuses some of the entries with the history of the Buckeyes to give you a look at the past and how it is used to motivate the current team. If you are fan of The Ohio State University Buckeye football team and you would like a remembrance of the 2006 season from someone that had inside access to the coaches and team, this is a great addition to your library. If the Buckeyes aren't the team for you, you will appreciate Snapp's insights of the awards ceremonies and mainstream media.

Go Bucks!

Unfortunate that this is out of print. It is an excellent book about all defenses. It lists odd and even defenses and the strengths and weaknesses of each. Particularly valuable is a position by position list, and their basic alignments and keys. I've used it for high school, but you can see application to just good teaching at all levels. I "loaned" mine out and can't get it back. Well worth the time to look for it.

Mike Ditka didn't always have good times, or good luck. What Mike has is drive, hope, goals, believe in himself and some great experiences with family, friends & team mates.

It wasn't always easy playing hurt, but Mike endured tremendous odds and kept coming back time after time.

Mike had the best of his athletic and human abilities surface time after time. He is a legend and then some. Play with him, enjoy the game. Play against him and feel the pain.

Its a great book for any bobcat or grizzly fan. The passion, the excitement, everything about this great rivalry are all here in this book.
I especially liked the comments from the players about what this game means to them. I also got to speak to the author of the book and he is super with sending out books in a quick hurry. This is really a must read book.

Jay Anderson
Helena, Montana

I was looking for a sports trivia book for a young friend. This, along with Do You Know Baseball, turned out to be an excellent choice. Good for all ages, compact, and nice question and answer format.

Doak Walker is more than my hero for making this book possible. One of football's purist players, it is refreshing to hear his story. Buy the book and you will be enlightened as well by SMU's true hero.

Ah, the 1978 World Cup had it all for Scotland. The raving lunacy of mgr Ally MacLeod actually thinking Scotland could win it all. The Willie Johnston failed drug test and the flops vs. Peru and Iran all topped by a historic 3-2 win over '78 Finalists Holland.

It's all here--the tears and the joy but mostly the tears. Great inside stuff on what went on behind the scenes and how the vaunted "best midfield" in the world failed miserably on the big stage.

I got to read this book and it is amazing. It really shows who great Mcnabb is off and on the field. I suggest that you should not even hesitate while buying it. Great book, peace!!