Athletics Books

I thought this was a great read! Here is an article I found about the book from the August Gannetteer:

"Indy staffer bares basketball player's 'sole'"

Probably the only thing you know about Chuck Taylor is that his name appears on a shoe. Abe Aamidor wants you to know why.

The Indianapolis Star reporter has penned "Chuck Taylor, All Star"(Indiana University Press), a biography of the man whose name became synonymous with the Converse basketball shoe that bears his signature.

"I learned that Chuck Taylor was the most famous name in sports no one knew anything about," Aamidor says. "There had been no biographies written about him, and some people thought the name was fake, like Betty Crocker or Juan Valdez. I felt there had to be a story to tell."

Aamidor was granted access to Converse's corporate archives and Taylor's stepson gave him permission to visit the Port Charlotte, Fla., home and estate of Taylor's second wife to collect materials. He discovered correspondence between Taylor and legendary University of North Carolina coach Dean Smith, as well as UCLA's John Wooden. Smith wrote the foreword for Aamidor's book and Wooden "was by far my best living source."

The three-year project also took Aamidor to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio - Taylor was coach of the Wright Field Army Air Force "Air-Tecs" basketball team during World War II - and the National Archives in Washington, D.C.

The book, Aamidor's third, has brought him national attention, with interviews on ESPN2's "Cold Pizza" and syndicated radio shows "Sports Byline USA" and "The Bob and Tom Show." Aamidor has also penned two college-level journalism texts, "Real Feature Writing" and "Real Sports Reporting."

by Ryan Corazza
Indiana Daily Student
Published Wednesday, March 22, 2006


His signature resides on the ankle patch of perhaps the most popular shoe in American history. He's a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame and mingled with such basketball legends as John Wooden, Red Auerbach and Dean Smith. But up until now, nobody knew the true story of Chuck Taylor.

Enter Abe Aamidor.

The former IU adjunct professor and current feature writer at The Indianapolis Star spent three years digging up the facts and filtering out the myth of Chuck Taylor's life to write the first-ever biography on the Columbus, Ind., native.

"I was excited to learn there was never a book written about him," Aamidor said. "It was kind of like finding a gold coin in the street and nobody's around -- you just pick it up."

Because Taylor played in the pre-modern era of basketball that newspapers did not cover much and Converse misled the public about which pro teams Taylor played for, there was a lot for Aamidor to discover.

"Part of the mission was to debunk the mythology," Aamidor said. "There was a lot of junk in the standard brief stuff on Chuck's life, but there was also a lot that wasn't talked about."

Taylor was born in 1901 and spent most of his early years in Azalia, Ind., and Columbus, Ind.

He never played college basketball, which before World War II was the most watched and publicized level of the game. Instead, Taylor became involved with industrial league hoops, more prominent during the 1920s than professional basketball.

Taylor was also a great basketball coach -- a part of his life that is often overlooked, Aamidor said. He coached the Wright Field (Ohio) Army Air Force "Air-Tecs" of the U.S. Army's Special Service Division. The team toured the country playing college and other military teams and is regarded by some as the best service basketball team in history, winning more than 90 percent of its contests during the 1944-45 season.

"All the good players from colleges that were already playing pro ball were drafted (for military service)," Aamidor said. "In those days, you didn't get a deferment from the draft because you were a great ball player."

Instead of being well-known for his coaching abilities, Taylor became most famous for his relationship with Converse and its "All-Star" shoe. Although stories range on just how Chuck became involved with the company, he most likely became a salesman for Converse in 1921 and after proving to be a valuable asset to the company, his name was added to the All-Star patch in 1932.

One way Taylor marketed the shoe was through the "Fundamentals of Basketball" clinics he put on throughout the country. These clinics were put on at high schools and small colleges and on average drew about 300 to 400 guests.

"Before World War II, football and baseball were the big sports," Aamidor said. "So, in the clinics, he explained the game to a lot of people who weren't familiar with it."

Taylor promoted the shoe in a variety of other ways, ranging from traveling with the Converse All-Stars basketball squad to personally contacting and visiting owners of small-town sporting goods stores.

"In a way, his dealings were a bit shady, but he was ultimately honest and likeable," Aamidor said. "Nowadays, every photograph is airbrushed and any statement made is through a spokesman and interviews have to be granted. While Chuck's ways weren't perfect, they were much more honest."

Ryan Corazza
Published Wednesday, March 22, 2006

This book is one of the best coaches books I have ever read. IT's an easy read, with great insight into the female athlete. Everything I have either said, done, tried, observed or whatever in coaching female athletes is addressed in this book. What I thought, its down on paper here in an easy to read style that is very functional for coaches.

"A coach's guide to creating team chemistry: Tips on coaching female athletes" by Cindy Bristow is a great addition to any coaches collection. I found the book to be both useful and informative. I highly recommend.

The Coach's Strength Training Playbook is a must read for Strength and Conditioning professionals, sport coaches, or any individual who is looking to expand their knowledge on the development of athletes. This book is truly a valuable and comprehensive tool as it covers all aspects of strength training program design such as annual plan development, training cycles, as well as daily and weekly plans.

In addition, this book exposes the reader to the Tier System in which Coach Kenn has done a tremendous job meticulously breaking down every aspect of this athletic based training approach. I have personally gained a tremendous amount of knowledge from this book and have and will continue to use the principles of the Tier System.

The Coach's Strength Training Playbook is an excellent resource for anyone responsible for the training of athletes. Rare are the texts that so thoroughly outline all of the components of a successful athletic based training program. Coach Kenn holds back no secrets as he breaks down the entire Tier System from the development of the annual plan all the way to specific training cycles.

This is an excellent book for the beginner coach or the coach who has many years of experience. It introduces the reader to different types of motivation and how to motivate teams and players of superior levels of performance and teams and players that are perennial losers. Warren also talks about other coaching issues such as assistant coaches, coaching women, the superstar athlete, and dealing with administrators and parents.

This is a very good book. I am on my second time reading it. Good book to read inbetween seasons or at the begining of your season. A lot of common sence ideas, but they remind you or open your eyes again. Also a lot of new approaches or ideas to try out. Each part of the book deals with differend aspects of coaching and motivating players. I highley recommend this book to any coach who needs help motivating players, or just as a refresher. You will learn something new by reading it and it is sure to help your team.

I have appreciated the Dummies series as the publisher has some fun with topics that we might not have a clue. Having coached both Little League and softball (ASA), I saw this book on the shelf and decided to buy it to see if there are any hints that I might have been missing. Overall, this book is excellent for those who are just starting out in the coaching world. Handling kids and knowing the sport can be quite tricky, especially when parents are part of the equation. I think looking this over before stepping onto the field (and looking like a "dummy") is a very wise investment of money and time. I pretty much experienced most of what he explained, but Wolff was very straightforward and to the point. I appreciated his insights and will consider using several of the tips that I had not thought of before. Parents, get out of your lawn chairs, quit complaining behind our backs, and help us other parents coach!

I bought this book when I heard the author was going to be on Oprah. I wasn't sure I was ready to let my child participate in organized sports at a young age, but this has helped me figure out what my child should expect from her coach and how I can be a supportive parents too, without putting pressure on anyone.

Cobi Jones is the soccer player kids watch in the United States. He is their hero. This book will help the beginner through advanced increase their skills. The format of the book is very user friendly. First, the reader learns some valuable information about Cobi Jones, then he takes you step by step through all of soccer's skills. Mr. Jones goes over the rules of the game, then stresses the need for warming up and details some exercises to do just that. He also emphasizes fair play. Each chapter then discusses and demonstrates a soccer skill. Mr. Jones offers excellent graphics appropriate for kids, and gives tips to enhance the skill. To complete each chapter skill, the champion provides games for perfect practice. This book is a very personalized approach to soccer instruction derived from a book. A great gift and "personal coach" for soccer enthusiasts! An autographed practice ball is included!

I loved all the detailed soccer tips I could share with my kids when I coach their AYSO teams. Cobi is their favorite professional athelete and his instruction really influences my kids in a positive light both on and off the field.

well im a professional basketball player im my country , and i just bought several books to improve my strength , well this book just gave me a total new perspective of how i should do it. sometimes we do our weight work with other body builders and our head stay so confused for what you ear , well this book will help you understand what you really need to be in shape.

As a high school basketball coach, developing a comprehensive strength and conditioning program can be a difficult process. I searched high and low for materials that I could reference, this book offers 'far and away' the most comprhensive and practical methodology. It is very easy to understand and implement with your players. I use this for the development of pre, post and in season conditioning regimes. The court conditioning drills were used throughout our practices. I recommend this book to any coach or parent who is serious about the benefits of a practical basketball conditioning program. Great book!!

This was my first year teaching high school soccer. After thorough research I develop a preseason workout, a season workout, and a thorough stretch routine. I did not suffer one muscle injury this year and I think that the stretches had a lot to do with this. Overall, This book has many great ideas and if you need a little guidance this is definately the book for you.

This book is what every soccer player needs.
you can use it for short or long term goals.
enjoy the easy but complete instructions to improve your game.

I picked up this book at a bookstore and started reading it. It was amazing, so I bought it. I've never been the best coach of my abilities, so I thought the book would help. And it has--immensely. The book is painstakingly detailed, researched (sources at the end of each chapter)--basically, it's the best running book out there.

This book by a world class athlete with over 40 world records is very easy to read due to the frequent headings, colour coding throughout, 50 action photos in colour, and the conversational,concise writing style.

Due to the great detail (e.g., comprehensive index, and over 300 expert references) in 440 pages and 22 chapters, it serves as an excellent reference book on running. However, half the chapters are applicable to athletes in general: e.g., large chapters on nutrition, mental training, injury prevention, weight training, stretching, inspiration etc. Hence it is a book on body, mind and spirit training.

The detailed material would be useful for coaches and trainers, and a range of runners from beginner to elite, and for young and old competitors.

It covers all important aspects of running training including detailed schedules for sprinters to marathoners,i.e., the five energy systems, the five training systems, recovery, etc.

After reading and understanding this book you become your own running coach and an athlete capable of excellence in performance.

This book is very easy to follow and I have used it for about 14 weeks now and have seen incredible gains. However, the only drawback to this book is the amount of time it takes to complete every thing on a day to day basis. I have unfortunatly not had time in my personal life to do all the book reccomends, yet I try. This book is great if your serious however it will take up much of your time. 2-4hr workouts consistantly.

Zupancic presents the optimal football conditioning program for enhancing strength, endurance, agility and speed. As a football player and coach I have tried a number of programs. The Zupancic program is the program I selected for my own two sons who play at the High School level. My son's coaches have commented on the vast improvement in the play of both my sons.

Zupancic breaks workouts into Chest and Arms; and Shoulders and Legs. Workout intensity also varies. Monday is a heavy Chest and Arm day. Tuesday is heavy Shoulder and Leg Day. Wednesday is an off day. Thursday is a light Arm and Chest day. Friday is a light Shoulder and Leg day. Workouts change from week to week in 16 week cycles. Each workout consists of stretching, weights, running, agility and speed drills.

What is different about the Zupancic workouts is the number of different types of exercises recommended. The only drawback is the amount of time each day one must dedicate to the program. This program is designed for the serious football player. However, both my sons gained more strength, speed and agility than their team mates who followed a less intense program recommended by the school trainer.

The strength portion of the workout is the same for all postions. However, the agility and speed portion of the program is position specific.

If you are looking for an edge on the playing field, I recommend Zupancic's program. However, you best want to work hard. This is not a program for the faint hearted.