Athletics Books

Shows good drills, but nothing spectacular, Most Coaches with experiance will know all of them in the book. It is written more to the swimmer than the coach, which gets annoying after a while. The drills tend to be more geared to people just learning to swim competitivly than the more nit picking fixs for strokes that I was looking for. However for my JR. Team, I have been using the book and my assistant that tends to coach them and has just started coaching has used it So For beginners, its fine, but if you are looking for more advansed drills, look else where

I purchased this book thinking it would help me with my adult learn-to-swim classes. It did in a round about way. I would purchase this book only if your into drill swimming and need help with the basics.

THIS IS A GREAT BOOK TO ASSIST THE BEGINNER TO ADVANCED SWIMMER. FANTASTIC FOR THE SWIM TEAM STUDENT TRYING TO IMPROVE STROKE PERFORMANCE.

The Swimming Drill Book
This book is well written and illustrated. There are easy to practise drills wich state 1) the purpose of the drill, 2) the procedure to follow and 3) the focus points to concentrate on to achieve body position. The author has covered the four swimming strokes, the starts, turns and finishes in an easy to cognitively assimulate style of writing. Overall if you wish to improve your swimming strokes the practise drills in this book will aid your endevours, all you need is to practise, practise and then practise.

This book is quite good for a review of the majority of strokes - great help to coaches and swimmers. It cover's about 90% of all the drills I have ever seen in my swimming lifetime.

Excellent book. Well written, and in the right vein for kids. Too many coaches today push these kids to the point of making them drop out of running. And worse, they ruin that kid for what could be a fun and rewarding activity into their adult lives.

This book covers in systematic order the pros of training and setting up a four-pronged approach to training and the cons of over training. I especially appreciated the coach examples of the schools that were included. The pictures are a good reference for all the stretch activities.

This is a must book for a coach who is working with this age group. They hit it right on the head and if you follow the guidance in the book, you'll turn out winners and lifetime runners - who have FUN!

Coach John

This is the second best training book for runners i have read ( Daniels running formula is number 1)it is stillgood value for money and covers most things..there are so many crappy garbage filled running books out there it makes me sick..so when a good one comes along you know it...i coach young athletes and found this book about 80% usefull...good value

Great book, for coaches who are training young distance runners. Lots of ideas for the coach to build on as he navigates the pubescence years of both male and female athletes.

I am a Cross Country Coach for Lakeshore Middle School in Stevensville, MI and am building a program. I found the "Training for Young Distance Runners" book to be very helpful. I have found the section on Psychology right on target. I have a son that runs High School Cross Country who runs year around and after a successful summer road racing season started the Cross Country Season doing very poorly. Using the Psychology section helped me get him back on track. The Nutrition section has also been helpful for some of my runners. I give the book a two thumbs up.

kandssteve@qtm.net Steve Nielsen

I've been running for 35 years and coaching for many so I expected to pick up a book that would give some insight into a young runner's mind or some biomechanical needs of a young runner. The book is a cursory view of coaching and training. It's fine if you are just starting out with no background. But where's the meat and potatoes?

Do NOT buy this book. If you buy it, please buy my used one listed in Amazon Used Books. Pardon me for my english in my writing. It is second language for me.

This book is not such a good one. Bob Babbit writes a better magazine called Competitor. I guess I expect too much of him and the book fall short on expectation.

I buy book because he make an ad in his magazine I pick up in California. This book not so good.

This is truly a coffee table book - the photographs are stunning and the stories are amazing. The Hawaiian Ironman is a special race and this book conveys all the beauty, drama, joy, and pain that make up the unique experience of the race.
Leave this book on your coffee table and you will be touched again and again by the memorable images and inspirational stories. The people who have finished this race are truly amazing individuals and they are colorfully profiled in this book. A must have for anyone who dreams of calling themselves an "Ironman."

Forget about the coffee table,t his book is one you should keep by your bed side and dream of the Ironman.
In one book, the author manages to capture the characters and color that define the Ironman Triathlon-this will become the quintessential history on the event and it earns the 25th anniversary title.

From the historical race figures such as Dave Scott and Mark Allen to the Judy Molnars, this book reaches the common reader and fanatic. The pictures are great, I am going to take mine with me all season and have people autograph their pages...Enjoy it!

In short this book is superb , anyone that has had anything to do with the Ironman and especially those that have finished the Ironman will relish this book . The book provides a wonderful historical documentation of the Ironman through words and photos . The photos are wonderful and the stories contained within are written in Bob Babbitts unique quirky style . The book also lists the the placegetters of every race since the inaugral race of 1978 .

Put it along side Tinleys historical photo book . Well worth getting this one !

If you know who Bob Babbitt is, you don't need any other reason to purchase his book. In that case, I will assure you that it is everything you could possibly expect from the editor of Competitor Magazine and then some. As you read the captions and relive the moments in each year's race summary, you can't help but smile with gleeful anticipation of your next trip to the finish line. If you have difficulty explaining your compulsive addiction to your family and friends, this book will help bridge the gap. The pictures are stunning not only in their completeness but also in the quality with which they have been reproduced. You might remember the scene from a videotape or broadcast or maybe you were even lucky enough to see it live. But never have you seen the athletes leap from such glossy pages with the detail and ferocity that they do from Babbitt's creation.

Still, perhaps you don't really know who Bob is. Honestly, I didn't realize he had been inducted into the Ironman Hall of Fame in 2001 until I saw the list in his book. I understood his mantra and I have always been happy to digest his publication whenever I stumble upon it. But, I never really assimilated what was so unique about Bob Babbitt until the night I spent with my nose glued to the pages of his book. I read every word, cover to cover. This was the night before a relatively important half Ironman race. I should have been sleeping, but I was transfixed.

I had always wondered why so many have said that Bob Babbitt has given back more to the sport than anyone else. The answer to my confusion lies entirely in the perspective that this humble and humourous man so graciously shares with anyone and everyone. Yes, you can get all of the factual history from Tinley's voluminous musings. And you get get the buzz of Kona from reading Mike Plant's Iron Will. You can be an armchair pro by reading about Brad Kearns' adventures. You can obsess about every detail of each workout in your schedule with Joel Friel's guidance. But none of these experiences give you the cumulative clarity and insight you get from Babbitt.

Babbitt's true gift to all of us is his understanding of how we view the giants and dwarfs of our sport, how we obsess about the great battles all the way from the front to the back. Babbitt can see exactly how we respect the grueling journey, the brutal conditions and obscene distances that make Kona so much more than just another race. Sure, Phil Liggett can bark through the leaderboard with his charming accent and amusing wit. Mike Riley can keep a crowd dancing for hours. Both of them are legends of our sport and without them it just wouldn't feel authentic. But neither of them can bring the experience home to your coffee table after the fact the way Babbitt has. While it may be impossible to dislike Babbitt and his clearly selfless ambitions, it is even more difficult to put on his glasses and not see Kona more clearly than you ever did before. You simply cannot read his words and not feel the excitement and drama he wants to share with you.

There are only two pages of the book that really don't belong, 48 and 49. They exist as a sad testament to the reality that nothing about triathlon seems to make any financial sense. Those two pages, however, are overwhelmingly offset by 126 and 127. Relive those 80's haircuts, see Jurgen in his Zorro shot, and revel in the cheesy humor that Babbitt has gotten all too good at through the years. If you want one reason to convince you of Babbitt's greatness, flip to this pair of pages and stay a while. In a sense, it's a mild spatterring of his life's work. It's also an extremely abbreviated list of the major players in Kona. But look beyond the faces, hair, gear, and race attire and you'll see Bob Babbitt waving at you from the pages of his book. He is inviting you to share his vision for a moment, making you feel like the most honored guest he has ever known as he serves up heaping portions of grit, determination, courage, and desire.

I put together the best multisport race of my life the day after reading this book. Thanks Bob!

I have been waiting to received this item since the 15th of September. I am very dissatisfied with the response time of getting this book. I still don't have the already paid for item. I am waiting for a response from you to figure out what to do about this problem.

Product was just as he said it would be. Good condition and arrived very fast.

The order came very expediently and the book was just as described. Will definitely order again from this vendor.

This huge book, now in its 12th edition was begun in 1963. It is intended for the education of atheletic trainers. Its primary concern is in preventing and when necessary treating sports injuries.

This new 12th edition is a major upgrade to the book. It has been extensively reorganized into major sections that have related subject matter concentrated together. In addition, each chapter has been rewritten to reflect the latest techniques, equipment, procedures, and drugs that affect sports medicine.

The biggest changes are in chapters devoted to the musculoskeletal injuries. These chapters have beeg significantly expanded and are now as comprehensive as possible within the scope of practice in atheletic training.

Finally, each book comes with a license to use the extensive on line support for the book. This is broken into two areas. First is additional information related to each chapter including flash cards, self-quizzes, and other resources. Second is the eSims area which helps students prepare for the atheletic training certification exam.

This is the standard in the industry.

I am a student Athletic trainer. As such I needed a book that clearly explained the material that I was covering in class and in labs. This book has a lot of very useful information, is easy to read, it is organized well, and I would strongly recommend it to anyone in the field of sports medicine/ athletic training.

I've only been running for about a year, and I was afraid this book would be too technical, or too focused on competitive/marathon runners. But I've gone through this book with a highlighter time and time again finding helpful tips to make running safer, healthier, and more fun. It's a keeper!

I am a triathlete, and as such I am always searching for ways to increase both my endurance and my enjoyment of excersize. Joe Henderson, not only makes reading about running fun but offers some unique and worthwhile suggestions for even the serious athlete.

Hey if it isn't still fun to run then read this book and follow his advice. Before long you will wonder why did not think to make these changes earlier and save yourself some unproductive pain.

Also, many of these lessons transfer nicely into other sports so do not be afraid to try them out.

Like the other reviewers, I loved this book. It will keep you interested in running for a long time to come. Henderson makes sense.

But I want to make sure that serious runners know what the book is really about. It's not a book about developing a competitive edge--at least not in the normal sense. It's not about living on the edge--in terms of high mileage training. It's about not falling off the edge--that is, staying healthy and interested in running over the long haul.

As much as I loved the book, I couldn't give it 5 stars because right now I'm in the competitive mode, determined to qualify and run the Boston Marathon. I need more tough training right now than Henderson promotes.

Once I run Boston, I'll come back to this book and love it more than ever.

I had been running on and off for years. Injuries here and there and lack of motivation prevented me from attaining any consistency. Late 1996 I decided to run the Chicage Marathon in the fall of 1997, consequently shortly before my 40th birthday. Trying to prove to everyone and myself that I am not really aging. That even though I'm 40, I feel 25. Who am I kidding! I decided that I would become knowldegable on the topic and searched for running books on the amazon.com site. Joe's book came up in the list. I had heard about him in Runners World magazine so I decided to try the book. It totally changed my view of running. Run for FUN!! Run for your health not against your health. So many great tips on how to run but also a wealth of thoughts that changed my mindset that has allowed me to get past the boredom. I love each and every run and look forward to them with a new enthusiasm that I never had before. This book was a great investment in my future health. I will be a runner for life

This isn't it what it says. It's mostly reprints of Henderson's columns from Runner's World and other periodicals. As such, it's a good picture of his outlook, warts and all. Unfortunately, it's not as cohesive a perspective as it would be if it were a complete work. Henderson contradicts himself several times, and gives some genuinely bad advice, like training for marathons by running no more than half the distance (even he admits to barely finishing with this approach -- imagine what it would do to a novice!), and drinking soda or sugar water during endurance runs (this can be downright dangerous).

What good information there is to be had here is mostly quoted from Sheehan, Galloway, and others. This gives a good overview of some of the primary sources, but it's marred by Henderson's inconsistency and his obvious ego.

Great book about the greatest sneakers ever made...Converse Chuck Taylor All Stars. I am a fan of the black hi top Chucks. They are the best.

actually i'm expecting catalogue for All Star product ,
can't find too many items here

I was very excited in the last fall when I heard that a book about "Chucks" was being published. I raced to get my copy quickly, and had it within the first month. It was a very fast read and had some great information and cool pictures. However, I would have liked to see more "vintage" photos from the "Chucks as basketball shoes" era. Also, I thought there was perhaps too much focus on the classic black chucks (although admittingly they are by far the most popular style. There was also a huge error in the book. The author claims that "Optical white" was the second Chuck Taylor model to be released. Actually, unbleached is clearly the older of the two. Optical weren't invented until at least the 1960s and were still pretty rare into the 1990s, although they are much more common than the unbleached now (which are still a "core color"). It was clearly the unbleached and NOT the Optical that Mr. Taylor liked the best. I suppose Peterson was confused because advertisements before the 1960s were never taken from photographs and what was drawn looked like optical white.
Peterson's comments about "nothing saying 1950s like Chuck Taylors" are also off-base. Although they existed at the time, it is quite difficult to find any TV or movie clips prior to the 1970s that feature them (oddly one of the most famous examples-Opie Taylor on the extremely popular Andy Griffith Show, was not mentioned in the book). A better way to phrase it would have been "nothing says "pretending to be the 1950s like Chuck Taylors." Chances are if a movie or TV show made in the last 35 years is set in the 1950s or 1960s, you will probably see some guy wearing Chucks. If he isn't a basketball player, it's probably not realistic. It would be interesting to explore exactly why so many people in charge of wardrobe for these retro movies/TV shows seem to think all the guys wore Chucks in those days. Overall, a pretty good book and I've ordered many pairs of shoelaces from the website.

Converse made and continues to make the best and coolest sneakers ever. This book tells the story of Chucks in words and lots of color pictures. A must have for every Converse fan.

Chucks are an American staple, and Chucks is a great guide to the world of Chucks. Why are people so loyal to their Chucks? What are some special Chuck designs? This is a book for anyone who has every owned a pair.

TJ and LJ were my specialties in high school and college, and I have been an avid technical student of the TJ and LJ events for over 20 years, as both an athlete and a coach. The Complete Book of Jumps is a book that I wish I would have found long ago. It's far and away the best text I've found on the subject of jumps.

the book did not explain it clarel

Not only was this book easy to understand, but I went from "no 20 foot long jumpers" to having three that went over 21 feet. Great stuff on periodization. Easy to understand and easy to implement.

This excellent book breaks down all phases of the jumps, ie: long jump, high jump, triple jump, and pole vault. The book discusses the science and technique of many successful jumpers throughout the world and breaks down each phase of the jump. There is also great training and conditioning information as well.

I was happily suprised by this book. I'm used to seeing general track and field books or "specialized" books that are nothing of the sort. This book, however, is wonderful. It covers all aspects of the long, triple, high and pole vault jumping events, form the first training day to the approach to the landing to the last day of season. In fact, it gives a comprehensive training plan for the whole year. Plus, "The Complete Book of Jumps" gives really good, clear explanation, complete with illustrations, of each of the jumps. It's definitely worth the money and the read, even for half the information it has!

I'm only 1/2 way through, and I like the book. I graduated from Bama in 1990 and appreciate the historical facts I was not aware of before. I don't find the writing great, but I am accustomed to reading different types of books. I find Eli repeats himself with facts during several chapters which kind of bothers me, but it may not bother some. It still gives some awesome stats and figures I was never aware of before. My favorite Alabama book will always be Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer by Warren St. John; this book I could not put down, but it's an entirely different kind of novel. St. John's is more entertaiment; Eli's is more historical. I think either would be enjoyed by anyone that loves to yell "ROLL TIDE ROLL" when the team kicks off. Let's hope for a better season next year........

As a life-long Alabama fan, I was excited to read Eli Gold's new book on the Crimson Tide. Written in typical Eli Gold style, the book was an easy read that makes you feel you're sitting around a table with other Bama fans talking about and reliving the great moments in Alabma football history. The chapters on former UA President George H. Denny, Wallace Wade, Harry Gilmer, Don Hutson and Frank Thomas were really good and informative, but the stories in the chapters on Joe Namath, Pat Trammell, Kenny Stabler, etc. really offered no new insights and would be well-known by old-timers like myself. Overall, it is still a good book and would make a great read for any Alabama fan

When Eli Gold took over as the play-by-play announcer for the Crimson Tide radio broadcasts, I was initially put off by his high-pitched voice. After decades of classical callers like John Forney, Paul Kennedy, and Doug Layton, Gold sounded downright shrill. But he has grown on me over time - and his voice sure cuts through the din of a crowd!

Eli has had sports connections within the state for years and it certainly shows in this volume. There are anecdotes to spare. Honestly, many of the stories are well-worn to old-timers like me. But if you're a relative newcomer, if you're making your first Tide-related book purchase, or if you grew up in the 1960s and '70s and simply love to relive the days of perfection (sigh), you can't go wrong with this one.

Eli Gold, the voice of NASCAR and University of Alabama football, came to radio via his humble roots in Brooklyn, NY. How he did, and how he became such an integral part of the Alabama family, are an interesting sidebar to a larger story that Gold weaves--a rich tapestry of football, culture, and camraderie.

Gold has done his homework, but this book doesn't get bogged down in the arcane. It's simply a warm, broad overview of Alabama football history, including some of the key coaches, players, games, characters, broadcasters, locations and moments that make Alabama football such a national treasure.

One of the strengths of the book is that Gold writes like he talks--you can really "hear" him as you read, which is a good thing, given that Gold is one of our nation's finest sportscasters. He is also gracious, and goes out of his way to honor his colleagues and predecessors in the broadcast booth. His descriptions are colorful and accurate...and always interesting.

This is an excellent book; a must for any Alabama fan, but also enjoyable for fans of sports everywhere.

If you are a big alabama fan like I am then you will like this book. It is simple and well written and gives a brief and short history of some of the teams. It majors on the late great "Bear" but over-all is a very enjoyable book. Michael Beck- Florence, Alabama

The Last Goode is an enjoyable mystery novel that will keep you interested all the way through. And I would recomend it to all mystery novel lovers.

This book is a pretty good book. It was based on a true unsolved case. As you find out when you read the book, Stacy Davis, a girl everyone thought was perfect, was Marty's baby-sitter. When she screamed her final words Marty thought he should have done something, instead he hid under his bed. He always thought he should have done something.
As the story progresses, Marty finds out that Stacy was into drugs. He also finds out that O.C., Stacy's boyfriend, got Stacy pregnant. For more about the book, read it yourself. If you're into sports or mystery or both, I highly recommend you read this.

...Marty was four when Stacy was kidnapped and thought to be killed and ever since then he had nightmares and felt guilty that if he would have done something it wouldn't have happen. Now that he is older and a track star at Southwestern High he wants to find out what Stacy meant when she screamed, "No!! No, Jesus!!! No!..Tsee!...Hurt!" He wants to find out who took Stacy away from him and why.

The characters in this story were all realistic, stupid, and funny. Marty was a normal teenager who was a great track runner. Stacy, later in the story you find out that she had gotten into drugs and sex. People thought of Stacy as little miss perfect but no one really knew her. Harper was one of Marty's friends and he was also a great track runner and showed some jealousies toward Marty because he always took first.
The author used daily language that made it sound like teenager were the ones talking. He used some bad words and big words which made the story flow and easy to read. The length of the story is about right not to short and not to long.
The story gives a lot key points to make you finish the story and find out what had happen what was going on with Stacy. The conflict seemed real.

This book was pretty good book. Its one of those books that you have to finish because you have to know what happen to Stacy. It was realistic and talked about real life situation and what can happen to in those situations. I recommend this book for teenagers that enjoy reading and like sports and mystery.

The last goodie is about a track star,Stacy who was kidnaped and never seen again. While she was babysitting Marty, her nieghbor. Now marty is the current track star when some new information about Stacy's disaperance is found.A note was found from a friend saying she had a hidden diary in her old house. This diary contains the information to find the kidnaper. Plus Marty's friend is beating him on the track. while tring to be the last goodie and finding out what happend to stacy, this book will keeep you guessing until the last page.
Marty is a track star goodie on his coach's last season following in his babysiters foot prints. Looking for information that will help explain to him what happened to Stacy
This is a great book and i think everyone needs to read it. It'll keeep you guessing until the last page.

Marty Oliver, a runner on his high school track, has been frequented by thoughts of a tragedy that happened when he was five years old. His babysitter, Stacy Davis, was kidnapped! When he heard Stacy scream, he hid under his bed and fell asleep. When his parents came home and found him, they asked him to tell the police everything he remembered. Over the years, Marty had nightmares about what happened. His father would record everything he said on a tape recorder. When Marty listened to the tapes, memories were pulled up from the deepest place in his heart. Marty's mother had never liked the tapes, or the fact that Marty never let go of that night. Marty's coach had also been Stacy's coach, and she was the best on the team until something strange happened. So naturally, anything having to do with her disappearance was a concern of her coach. The police soon started helping Marty in finding Stacy's kidnapper. Once they gathered all their clues, they put a plan into action.

This book kept me interested and I never wanted to put it down. Sometimes I would be reading until late at night. I love mystery stories. The main reason why I liked this specific book was because the characters work together. They devised a plan and did something about a kidnapping that happened over ten years before. It took a teen-aged boy to dig up and solve a mystery that had been forgotten for years. You get to hear Marty's thoughts and that helps you determine who did what and why they did it. You can take Marty's point of view and change it around to fit the image of your mind. The Last Goodie is an excellent mystery story.