Athletics Books

This is a great book. I started running again at 49 years of age and thought that I should just be able to go out and run, when it wasn't working well I was discouraged. After reading this book I have a whole new routine and feel great. Even have the right size and type of shoes. I have recommended it to several other people.

As a former late 40's, near-obese person I have been having a great deal of success with this program, since starting in mid-November. Each week I see better results and have been able to do more running. My suggestion for anybody purchasing this book is to follow the program as written and not to try to do too much too soon. As a "want it now" society, we tend to neglect the importance of time with things such as weight loss. Be patient--it will happen! Happy running!

As the title of this book says, this is the perfect book for you if you have been bitten by the running bug and you want to start properly.

I had been trying to become a runner on my own but was unsuccessful. After reading this book, I discovered I was doing a lot of things wrong. Jeff Galloway's direct approach and positive writing inspired me to become consistent with my running program.

I thought that running was the most boring sport on the planet. I was more of a sprinter short term running sport person. For some reason I picked up this book and became enthralled by it. It made me understand the mechnaics of running and why Mr. Galloway loves it. To the point now where I run every other day, I look in the book to determine what I need to do before race day, what to eat etc. In essence love the book and I was not a runner until I read this book.

I got this for my husband for Father's Day, and while I expected a large book, this is more than I imagined. The pictures are so dramatic in content and so large in scope, each page requires an extended time to absorb it. My husband is thrilled with it, and goes back to it regularly as it can't be read all at once. A must for every sports fan!

I purchased this book for my husband, after seeing Mr. Ross on the Today Show. My husband who is a sport freak, is totally in love with this book. The pictures are stunning! This is a MUST have for any sports lover. And the price is amazing!!

OK look-- and I mean it- LOOK! This oversized, coffee table book is filled with incredible images and sports moments. Micheal Jordan frozen high above the court, Arnold Palmer & Jack Nicklaus looking like kids sharing a table, Muhammad Ali & Joe Frazier looking like old warriors/friends. And the occasional anecdotes about the shoots are wonderful.

Why only 4-stars? The presentation doesn't allow for any identifying captions on each page. There's an index-type "key" in the back of the book. Given the book's size, it is rather awkward to flip the pages forward and back to identify the athletes, not to mention that the entries are somewhat difficult to read due to the very small font.

BUT-- this is a minor complaint. If you've never seen Iooss' work (impossible?), you're in for a huge treat. And even if you have, you owe it to yourself to see them presented here. Gorgeous.

Walter Iooss has been front and center among sports photographers since he was a skinny teenager in the 1960s.

Five decades of sport blend seamlessly together in this exception volume. There isn't a single weak image in this book, which is hardly surprising since I seriously doubt that Walter has ever shot a bad photo...

I never tire of Walter's stories and his back story about his photos of Tiger Woods and of Yogi Berra with Whitey Ford are priceless...

Anyone who loves sports photography will love this beautifully designed book.

As a former professional photographer (and currently successful writer), I consider Walter Iooss to be the best working photographer around (and the best sports photographer ever); his new book, a retrospective of his 40 years behind the lens, confirms this in spades. Whether you're a sports fan or just a fan of beautiful imagery, this book is a must. Hear me? A MUST. (And at the Amazon price you goddabe nuts not to own it.)

Excellent deal! This textbook is one of the most complete I've known. It explores some important issues in anatomy and about the precise technique application with a very well explained step-by-step. If you want to start dealing with athletic taping, it's a must have!

It has been a long time since I had classes on athletic taping. This is a good book to remind you of the different wraps.

Great pictures and illustrations not only of techniques but of anatomy as well. Overall a really good book.

I am an Athletic Training Student and this book is amazing. It was not required for the class that I bought it for, but It helped me so much. The pictures are very good and the step by step instructions make taping a breeze!

With so many books on How TO it's really great to find one that shows you just how without making you feel like you'll never understand the basics. If you are seriously thinking about doing a lot of sports related taping and handling of those injuries this is the book you want to add to your library.After doing sports med for 2 years now with college teams and marines i feel a lot safer knowing this book is out there for others to go by.

I bought this book after I learned that I have all the signs of the triad and was struggling to understand both how I developed my health problems and how I can recover. This book answered all of my questions. It also helped me realize that I am definitely not alone.

The book is written in an engaging and easy-to-read style, which makes the medical information easy to comprehend. The book also includes profiles of various female athletes and athletic women. It seems likely that every reader will identify with at least one of the profiles. In addition, Dr. Otis uses great phrases that one can recall when she needs to remind herself of the goals. My favorites are "too fit to quit" and "too thin to win."

Whether you're an athletic woman or someone who cares for an athletic woman, I highly recommend this book. It will be a steep climb to health, but this book leaves me confident that I can be fit and healthy again.

I am a male coach of female soccer players. I would go so far as to say that the depth of knowledge contained in this book is beyond that which many coaches of team sports would search for. However, coaches who are interested in getting the best from their athletes, rather than having athletes fit their own personal coaching agendas, will find in these pages essential truths that will illuminate their coaching. There has been a strong social tendency for women's understanding of ability and success to be measured by male standards (the sense of athletic body image in connection with performance, which is dealt with in detail, is only one of them driven by this perspective), and this book is thankfully one which reminds us that women are not only entitled to be judged as women, but need and deserve to be so. As coaches, and certainly as male coaches, we cannot help our female athletes realise their potential until we understand them better and give them credit for being who they are, and encourage them to be who they are. This book helps us do just that.

Books which honestly deal with the pressures and concerns of female athletes are rare, and this one should be required reading for every active woman from twelve to sixty. There is lots of information out there on how to be thin but far less on how to be fit. Otis and Goldingay are among the very few to acknowledge that they are not one and the same. This is not a book about eating disorders - though they are intelligently discussed. Nor is it a book about how to get in shape. It's much more. The authors honestly address medical issues such as amenorrhea and osteoporosis, provide information on nutrition, injuries and maintaining optimal energy for performance. Most important of all, they are medical professionals finally urging athletic women to be as strong as they can be. For anyone who's ever struggled between the twin camps of thin and fit, this book MUST go to the top of the pile.

The Athletic Woman's Survival Guide covers a gamut of issues concerning women athletes including eating disorders, amenorrhea, osteoporosis, body image. One of the most important chapters is on getting and giving help, forming a support team, getting referrals, the journey to recovery while continuing training, and communicating effectively with family, friends, teammates, and coaches. The Athletic Woman's Survival Guide concludes with an excellent chapter on "Peak Performance: Preventing the Triad" and sites specifically what the woman athlete can do, what her friends can do, what her family can do, what schools and organizations can do, what their men can do, and what coaches and athletic departments can do to assist the woman athlete to thrive, prosper, and perform in the competitive world of athletic competition. Highly recommended for personal, professional, and athletic department reference libraries, The Athletic Woman's Survival Guide is enhanced with references, resource lists, and a comprehensive index.

This book is a must for all active women. This book has everything! I especially enjoyed the comprehensive case studies of accomplished women athletes and how they took control of their health issues. This book covers, in depth, eating disorders and how to overcome them. It also covers all women's health issues from menstruation to injuries to everyday aches and pains. Extremely valuable information and sound and compassionate medical expertise are key elements of this book. I highly recommend this book for ALL women, young or old. It is a valuable resource.

I have read many of the books written by Jeff Janssen and Greg Dale, however this was the first. As a new Atheletic Director this book was very helpful when it came time to define what I wanted from my coaches. I have used it to base a lot of my philosphy for our athletic department. I used the idea of process goals and outcome goals as we set our department goals this year. In short I feel this book helped make me better at my job.

For most businesses or coaches, simple actionable tools and ideas are what you need. Most people who read a book will never have the chance to make a massive, organization changing process.

Championship Team-Building is easy to read and filled with basic ideas and concepts that are useful when teaching. The ideas in this book are beneficial to anyone from middle school teachers and coaches on up to business departments and groups.

This is one of the most beneficial books I have ever read. it is easy to follow, it is fun to read and I was eagerly awaiting the next page. If you are serious about coaching, this is a must have book.

I can assure you that team chemistry is an important part of a team success and this book really addresses the issues around this.

I am both an experienced girls basketball coach as well as a psychiatrist. I HIGHLY recommend this book to coaches of any team. The strategies are effective and important. It can be easy to overlook importance of the mental aspect of athletic performance. Mr. Janssen does an excellent job of clarifying the role coaches have in this aspect of the game and gives practical advice on how to acheive better team performance.

This book is awesome. It gives you a virtual roadmap that is easy to follow. I am now in the process of using it with my son's team. The evaluation forms are informative and the exercises are easy to do. I would recommend this book to all coaches and players who want to take their teams to the next level. It is also very good for parents to help them understand the role and the need for the role that their child plays on the team. It will be interesting to see how this affects the play of our team that traditionally plays well against really good teams, but then reduces the level of its play to not so great teams.

I really enjoyed this book. Other people may go for the swagger of Pre or the domination of a Salazar or Rodgers. But, of all the the runners I've read about, Edelen is the one I identify with most. I suppose it's because he's more of an unsung hero of American running.

The book is fairly well written, and unlike many biographies, it does not drag on with boring uneeded details. It documents the man that Edelen was and shows excerpts from his training to give insight, to those of us who run ourselves, the kind of grueling training he did.

One of my top five running books.

Reading this book was a delight. What got was that Buddy was nobody special at first - just another guy in the American collegiate system. Nonetheless, he took a risk, went to England to train with and compete against the best, and it paid off with a marathon world record.
The glimpses into Buddy's mind are great, especially the narrative portion about the Olympic trials at Yonkers. You can't read this book and not love Buddy Edelen.

As a runner in Alamosa, where Buddy lived for many years, I was shocked to learn one day that a friend of mine was the son of this former world record holder. Having of course never read the book, much less heard of the man himself, I found myself buying this biography of Buddy Edelen. What I discovered was awe-inspiring: a man who worked himself past the brink only to run into oblivion. Even had I not known some of the particulars of Buddy's life, "A Cold, Clear Day" impressed me with a great sense of respect for Buddy as an athlete. Beyond tough, he deserves to be remembered in the annals of running lore.

When I picked up this book I did not know who Buddy Edelen was. This is right up there with the best running biographies I have read. If you love a good sports biography, whether you are a runner or not, pick this up. GREAT READ!

What I found so amazing in Frank Murphy's work is his lyrical skill that makes this non-fiction book read like a wonderful tale.

Historical accuracy and insightful exploration of personal determination give a clear psychological landscape of the kind of athlete that put long distance running on the map of today's sports.

A must read not only for long distance runners, but for poets as well.

Buy this book if you love the Sooners or have a Sooner fan in the family. They will love you for it. Very detailed. A bit bulky, but still a book that you can lounge with. Also, look at UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA FOOTBALL: An Interactive Guide to the World of Sports (Sports By the Numbers) if you want a great OU book with trivia, facts, and stats.

My mother attended OU when Bud Wilkinson was coach. My brother attended OU when Barry Switzer was coach. I attended when Gary Gibbs was coach (not a highlight of OU football history

The book contains great "Did You Know" boxes within the text with a short factoid. It also contains things ancillary to actual on-the-field play, but nonetheless important: e.g. the perennial game-day hangout, O'Connell's, and super-fan Cecil Samara. I also got a big kick out of the chapter on "The Rivals: The Accursed Teams of Texas and Nebraska." I would have liked to have seen more quotes from former players about their feelings for TX and NE - to stir the pot more.

There is a lot of information to digest. So I appreciate the author/publisher including some easy-to-read call-outs in the book, like actual diagram of the Wishbone and the Right 53 Veer Pass, and a full win-loss record from 1895-2007. Don't forget to take the 50-question quiz at the end of the book to test your knowledge of Sooner football.

This will make a great gift for the Sooner football fans in your life. A great read that will make you appreciate the storied history even more.

When I started reading this detailed account of the story of OU football I couldn't put it down! It's like being there for all those exciting moments that represent sooner football. Jim's effort with the research and interviews really shines through as you absorb each page. Absolutely the best book I've read in years.

Wow!! This is a book for not only EVERY Sooner football fan, but EVERY college football fan! Fletcher takes us back to the beginning of the program and makes it exciting from the outset. The interviews with the legends are phenomenal and the little tidbits of history throughout were a wonderful addition. If you are intrigued as to how a football dynasty is created and stories from behind the scenes, you will LOVE this book.

I could not put this down! This book is full of great stories and interviews. This is the kind of thing that stirs up the memories and makes me proud to be born an OU Sooner. I will be adding this to my favorite shelf in my library!

Exceptional. Damon does a wonderful job explaining ideas and concepts in great deal with fun, true-to-life stories that are real and applicable to anyone's life journey. He shares his intellectual thoughts in a clear, concise manner that is easy to follow and will make you want to keep reading.

No bells and whistles or complicated, superficial language. This book is straight forward and if followed is sure to bring success to its readers! I have not read a book in some time (and very few) from the perspective of a person who is realistic and focused on the true tools to achieve. I will be purchasing one of these books for every athlete I know as well as struggling professionals. If at such an age this man has this much wisdom, it would be a sin not to share. If I were you, I wouldn't let another day go by without this information...this is if you truly want to succeed, or just want to sit around and talk about how you "wish" you could. Buy it today!

Excellent! I really needed this type of book in high school and college. His personal stories about his personal struggles were amazingly insightful. Everyone can relate to this book! This book is great! plain and simple!

It's about time someone writes a book that truly reveals the importance of perserverance. Not only for young black males but everyone. I kind of relate this book to a recent convention I watched on CSPAN. Bill Cosby was speaking At the Rainbow Coalition convention on CSPAN, during this speach he talked about people being overcomers, especially the African-American community. But he explained somehow over the years African-Americans have started to point the finger and make excuses. Rev Jesse Jackson who I am not a big fan made an interesting point that young athletes succeed in athletics because of the training, discipline and preparation but when it comes to education young people specifically young athletes do not have the same approach, therefore they do not experience the same level of success. Point being people succeed because of their level of will power, preparation and discipline which this book explains perfectly. This book "Don't stop the Swagger" is wonderful it actually gives the needed mindset to succeed in not only education, but in athletics, business and beyond. This book is required reading for all people not just athletes. Damon J Smith's website is excellent! Just type "iswagger" in the search engine. This is the type of material we need in our educational system.

"Don't Stop the swagger is a great read! it gives an interesting relationship between corporate moguls and professional athletes. This is a must read for all athletes young and old. But the Author's personal stories can relate to anyone from all walks of life. It's refreshing to see an athlete who can really write and articulate a message that anyone can learn from. The last chapter titled "Inner Man" is honest, thought provoking and different than anything I have read. This is a must read for all people! In the Second portion of this book he talks about essential career skills. He actually breaks career into an acronym meaning: C for communication, A for Attitude(positive), R for Relationships, E for Education, second E for entreprenuerial mindset and the last R for relationships. Just a well thought out book! I found these chapters relevant for the business person, student or whomever.

The End of Baseball is a wonderful baseball novel, one that combines a rich history of the game with an intriguing look at one of the more controversial periods in our nation's favorite past-time. The author does a great job of bringing to life these characters and their very intriguing circumstances.

I am not a baseball fan or what you would call a sports fan by any stretch of the imagination, but Peter Schilling's "The End of Baseball" is one of the most enjoyable pieces of fiction I have read in many years.

Mr. Schilling knows how to engage his reader with detailed characterizations that enable his characters to escape their paper home and emerge from the pages as human beings that make you both laugh and cry -- and that's just what I found myself doing.

Mr. Schilling does not talk down to his audience and his plot advances with subtlety and suspense. The story unfolds with many surprises, heartbreaks, and hurrahs.

There are no gimmicks or mechanical gods to save the day in "The End of Baseball". Only genuine people trying to live through extraordinary circumstances.

I give it my highest recommendation.

Peter Schilling brings back the game of baseball complete with the personalities, the idiosyncrasies, the after hours stories and all of the fun that this sport once had. This is an amazing novel that just sucks you in and doesn't let go. I couldn't wait to find time every day to continue my reading. It is somewhat unique in its use of historic information and mixing of baseball story fiction. In it, Schilling has captured an era in the sport just as African Americans are beginning to be "allowed" into the game. But in this story, not just one Black ballplayer is in the Majors, an entire team is being moved up.

Schilling has written an enjoyable and moving story that shows many of the great Negro League players coming together and playing in the Major Leagues on the same team: Josh Gibson and Satchel Paige among them. The antics of Bill Veech Jr. contribute to the main storyline and how the difficulties from the all White league and their overbearing Commissioner continually throw up barriers to the entry of this special team on the hallowed Fields.

In addition to the game of baseball, the societal ills of the general population and the mind games of J Edgar Hoover, himself, are all part of the plot. This is a slice of Americana; America going through the pain of WWII with their boys of summer as their only distraction. Only this summer has the potential of bringing out real change for the sport. Bill Veech, Jr., is the man trying against all odds, fictitious and historic, to keep the team together against the powers of baseball and others desperately trying to keep the status quo. This is a baseball story for the ages. A terrifically different novel for anyone tired of the same old stuff.

I was amazed at how perfectly interwoven truth and fiction were done by Schilling. The character studies are on target and made a part of the story blurring the lines of fact and fiction like nothing I'd ever read in the world of baseball writing. The ending is beautiful and fulfilling. I am giving it my hearty recommendation of 5 stars. There just isn't much not to like.

This book has it all: the high drama of a "what if?" season of baseball, historical cameos, and real social commentary. If you're looking for an always-entertaining page turner, look no further. The End of Baseball simulates what it's like to be swept up in a particularly thrilling baseball season in 1943, and reading it is like having a spot in the bleachers to watch the team that almost was. It has subtle character studies, and closely observed details that summon up that time and place: America as a country in the midst of WWII, the African American baseball community prior to Civil Rights. It will keep you up nights reading!

Peter Schilling, Jr.'s inventive novel "The End of Baseball" describes a mesmerizing 1944 baseball season that might have been - if Bill Veeck had been able to purchase a major league team and recruit an entire team of Negro Leaguer stars.

Veeck loses a leg at Guadalcanal. Before enlisting in the Marines, he had been a successful minor league baseball team owner whose innovative promotions lured fans to the ballpark and whose competitive teams kept them coming back for more.

In "The End of Baseball," Veeck returns to civilian life and purchases the Philadelphia Athletics. He turns the ball club into an instant contender by secretly signing Josh Gibson, Satchel Paige, Oscar Charleston, Buck Leonard, Cool Papa Bell, Willie Wells, Roy Campanella, and other Negro League stars.

The book contains many poignant moments on and off the field. To his credit - and to our good fortune! -- Schilling provides the historical and social perspective the story demands. He captures the essence of the men and the game they play for life and, perhaps, death.

In real life, Veeck owned the Cleveland Indians and signed the American League's first black player, Larry Doby, and also Satchel Paige. He had less talent to work with on his St. Louis Browns ball club, so he grabbed the spotlight by sending a midget to the plate. When he owned the Chicago White Sox, Veeck put player names on the backs of uniforms and introduced the exploding scoreboard. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989.

Whether a child, parent, or first time coach with no prior knowledge, this book is the perfect introduction to children's soccer. Add your league specifics and develop technically as you go. A first, must read.

This book provides a brief introduction to soccer, at the right level of detail for those new to the game. My 11-year-old son found the summary of the rules and strategies quite helpful. As a new coach, I was glad to have a compact volume that included most of what I needed to know. There are other books that provide more detail on the game and more exercises and drills for soccer players -- but this is the ideal "first book" for someone just learning about the game. I recommend it highly.

I am the first time coach of a second grade boys soccer team. This book was very easy to understand for the kids as well as myself. For kids that are relatively new to the game it explains positions, the different kinds of kicks and the all around basics of soccer without getting too technical. It has been a great aid for our team.

As a long time recreation coach and soccer parent, Brooks Clark offer the side of the game perfect for all coaches just starting out, or for any parents who know little about the game their children are playing. Concise and fun, a great read for the basic rules and strategies of soccer.

I read this book and now I feel all the more confident while training my son and his friends. I can explain them about the basics and the game and how to plan their game. Tecnicalities of the game are exaplined well in this book. Go ahead and buy this book to learn the basics of this game.