Athletics Books

As an outdoor fitness instructor, I have been able to use several of the exercises. Great suggestion from my Chiropractor!

This book is not written that well. It could be organized better. It reminds me of a term paper thrown together from bits and pieces of other reports.

I find the exercise drawings hard to follow. Photo sequences would have been better.

Make sure you examine this one at the bookstore before you order it.

This book explains, with easy to understand illustrations, various exercises for power, speed and agility (to enhance athletic performance). All exercises have little pictures of all sports which especially benefit from these exercises, like baseball, basketball or power lifting...even more `exotic' sports such as fencing, skiing or horseback riding.
The exercises suggested in this book can be used for specific athletic training or to add some fun and variety to your own workouts :-)

this book is a top recommended reading from all leading authors in strength and conditioning. However, you should also buy the companion dvd in order to help facilitate the exercises in the book.

This book does an excellent job introducing the topic of plyometrics to the reader. It discusses the different types and categories of jumps as well as the varying intensities. It even gives sport specific plyos as well as sample programs. However, this is not the definitive book on plyometrics. I think of it as more as a good reference tool. I would really recommend "High-Powered Plyometrics" for even more in depth info on this wonderful method of training.

The training diary is solid because the format has not drastically changed over the years. The log has ample space to chronicle your feelings/outlooks/goals and you fill in the dates, so a person does not have to "start" on January 1 to use the entire book in a year.

Also, those who don't run, but need a book for swimming, cycling, etc., will find it a practical investment compared with other available sport-specific diaries. This is a great investment to chronicle the road traveled...and the miles ahead.

I've used this journal for 10+ years now. I like it's layout and functionality.

I have just started to use this training diary, my 4th week, and it is wonderful.

The feature I enjoy the most of all in the weekly entries is the amount of space available to write on each day's workout and performance! Plus, the daily weight recording area is big enough to include your body fat percentage too. The summary space is perfect for any comments that you have for that week's runs.

This is my first bought training journal, and I look forward to filling it up!

I guess I'm being picky. Okay I know Sunday is really the first day of the week but for those of us tracking miles by week (especially important for building your bases so you don't over do it) you usually can't break the weekend apart. Sometimes due to your time schedule you can train long on Saturday and sometimes you have to do it on Sunday. Let's say your building for a marathon. You do 5 - five milers during the week and a 15 mile run on Sunday. Next week you do the same but have to do the 15 on Saturday. According to the book you did 25 miles one week and 55 miles the next. How's that for tracking weekly miles? The better training log's leave the days of the week blank so you can fill it in. And yes I know you could always cross out the days of the week in this log and rewrite it but why should you have to?

One of the main reasons I like this diary so much is that it is spiral bound. You can't tell from the Amazon photo. So I keep it open to the week I'm running in to make entries quick.
I have been keeping track of my runs for 5 years with these diaries - they have enough room in them for one year of dates and comments. The comments area for each day gives you enough room for a few sentences.
For me, a casual runner/10K'er who does about 500 miles a year, I feel that keeping a diary has kept me going. It is alarming to see that I already can't go as fast as I used to, but I've run a total of more miles each year. The used/resold versions are only a few bucks.

If Lydiard is "outdated" as you sugest, then how do you explain this:

Mark Wetmore(Colorado @ Boulder - Buffaloes) uses a slightly modified version of Ludiard's training (so that his athletes are able to peak three times a year). They obviously have had much success.

To those who say his theories are outdated, show me the results where Americans pounding the intervals or following a Daniels type plan are beating those like the Kenyans and the Japanese marathoners and Paula Radcliffe who train much more like Lydiard suggests. It's not a coincidence that Deena Kastor and Meb Keflezighi became the first two Americans to win Olympic marathon medals in 20 years. They are also two of the few Americans who follow a Lydiard-based training philosophy. The Kenyans do not train at LT pace all the time. Anyone who knows how they train knows that they train much like Lydiard suggests.

Yes, his writings are hard to read. He has a great mind when it comes to running technique but not quite so great when it comes to writing style. However, the wealth of wisdom in his writings is worth working yourself through the less than spectacular writing style if you are interested in racing performance.

My first thoughts were - "This is a book?" This is the most unprofessional job I have ever seen. The forward is one the most laughable English translations I have ever seen printed. As for the body of the text, it is clearly a compilation of various things Lydiard wrote over the years. The editors took all this different stuff, threw it together, and called it a book. The end has some charts sitting around with absolutely no explanation. The book repeats itself a lot, and there is a long section written exclusively about rugby. Apparently Lydiard once adapted his training ideas to rugby, and the resulting article was thrown into the book as a "bonus" or something.

That aside, it is fun to read some old Lydiard stuff. This book takes me way back to the glory days of the running boom, to Frank Shorter and Bill Rodgers running in their heydays, which is funny since I was born in 1984. Always nice to hear that the reason "the negroid" is beating me is that he can lift his knees while leaning forward. Thousands of people have been trying for years to find out why the East Africans are so dominant, and here Lydiard had it all figured out years ago!

Joking aside, this is a decent book about training. Lydiard is not a proponent of Long Slow Distance. He supports Long Steady Distance. His focus on high mileage and basic speed is key. Many well-informed people believe that if Americans would spend more time developing their aerobic bases and less time on the track doing hard intervals, they would run much faster. I have found this to be true in my own running.

One thing I would have liked is a better description of the hill-bounding exercises. Lydiard mentions that you should do bounding exercises up a hill, but he doesn't go into the detail of exactly what this bounding should look like. That's my only true complaint.

Criticism of Lydiard based on the idea that he recommended "long slow running" indicates that the reviewer didn't actually try paying attention to what Lydiard wrote. If a three-hour marathoner running his Monday ten-miler at 6:30 pace and his Friday 10-miler at 6:15 pace - not even in base phase, this is in conditioning BEFORE you get to base phase - it that is your idea of "slow" distance, then your idea varies greatly from mine. Go back and read what he says comprises "half-effort" - for a 5:00 miler, Lydiard's version of half-effort is 5:16. If you're going to criticize an author, please read the source document.

He's trained 18 olympians, has taken years of physiology, and has been perfecting his programs since the 60's. This is definitely the book to get. I was one of the people who didn't know what the training did, so I got fired up and hammered it every day. Thankfully, I was able to learn about Lydiard and find a real way to train. He explains all of the physiology behind running so you have a revamped knowledge and know what to do instead of training blindly. Definitely a must have.

The author, a junior college professoress, is a good writer, but her knowledge of basketball, and the absence of a proof reader, makes this otherwise neat book sometimes excruciating. The faux pas range from some gratuitious editorializing to innocent, perhaps, but nevertheless excruciating misobservations, e.g., e., she thinks that a basketball backboard, sometimes bankboard, or the area of the net, basket, or goal, is properly described as "goalposts." Her efforts to be adjectivially writerish are sometimes downright absurd, i.e., Doodle Floyd's shooting "lighting" up the scoreboard with "windmill" hookshots from all parts of the floor. Nonsense, he may have shot them from all around what used to be shaped as a key, but not all over the floor, for crying out loud ! Sheeeeeeeeeeeeesh -- betcha none of them were from behind the ten second line! In numerous little ways the authoress gnashes a minimally knowledable person of era basketball. e.g., at the time the ball could be taken out rather than a freeshot taken when a foul was committed, at least in, I think it was the last two minutes of a game or half. In a game in which Cuba was behind, the author seems surprised that the opponents took the ball out of bounds rather than shoot free throws when fouled. Of course they did ! The reason they were fouled was to obtain a turnover. If the team fouled missed a free throw there was a chance for a turnover. A team ahead likely would be interested in freezing the ball. Of course, for crying out loud, they would take the ball out of bounds rather than shoot a free shot. Several times the authoress comments on players shooting a "jump shot". No, not likely. They may not have shoved it up two handed from the waist or chest, and they may have shot running one hand shots, or one hand set shots, maybe be from the waist, and maybe with a pumping motion, but if she thinks they were shooting "jump" shots in the form of modern jump shots, that notion is almost as erroneous as that of players posting themselves under the "goalposts". Describing the Cuba gym, she mentions a "box" office adjoining the coach's office. A what ? Was this an office for boxes ? It would hardly have been a press box one wouldn't think. And then there was a player who drove for lay up and missed although he "tossed" it up. And, a shot is a shot, not a throw, unless someone throws it instead of shooting it. I wonder if there are some films somewhere which show these boys of the mid-century as they were. playing as they did ? Or if the authoress has any idea of how the game looked then ? Aside from not knowing what game must have appeared like, the authoress has produced a neat book in which one can grasp the tenor of life as experienced by its participants. Yet, I hungered for more of the very genre of insights she provided, such as pictures, verbally and actual pictures, of the participants away from the court. I would like to have seen more of this, the front of Harper's, a picture of the ball court there, the community as it was. And I searched the pictures that were vainly trying to grasp the Cuba gym. And I wonder if they dressed in a dressing room with showers, or in a class room ? Did they have JV preliminary games ? Or junior high games ? They gym was suggested by the authoress to be under regulation dimensions. Personally, the smallest gym I ever seen (not saw) was a junior high gym at Flint in Morgan County Alabama, the ceiling was in play and was just a few feet higher than the top of the wooden backboard, the end boundaries were painted half on the court and half on the wall at one end and on the stage at the other, and at the stage end the out of bounds line actually went up the steps on one side. Basketball courts vary in width and length, but the foul line is always ten feet from the goal (not the "goalpost"). Courts vary in length and width. I don't think there was any such animal as an unoffical court. Nevertheless, the authoress has provided a good story and an absorbing read about a happy collection, a synchronicity of capable youths and a coach who both taught and allowed the ablity of these boys of the mid-century to flow out of them. A remarkable story.

This is an excellent, easy to read, true heart warming story that is a real inspiration. It is a classic, a book that every parent, teacher, coach and team player will enjoy and learn from.

Basketball was a passion in Kentucky & every highschool, no matter its size, organized a team to play game after game, traveling miles in all sorts of vehicles & weather. In Cuba, Kentucky, an isolated rural town around which three rivers poured & flooded, a group of rambunctious 8th grade boys became inspired by Coach Jack Story's dream of winning the 1952 state basketball championship & the American Dream.

To a lesser degree yet with as much passion, the girls in the school fought & conspired to form a cheer leading troupe. In their long skirts & neck high Peter Pan blouses, they added their energy to the fever pitch.

Marianne Walker has told their stories with enthusiasm including insights from a time before over-the-counter medicines; when most everyone raised their own food; many were share-croppers & there were no funded school programs; school bussing & television. In a time when radio was king, not everyone had telephones & sports writers were the revered messengers of the marathon games for which just about every person would turn out. Fascinating read! Do check out my full review.

As a radio newsman for the past 35 years I have had many interesting interview guests... including the legendary Adolph Rupp. No interview has been more interesting than the one I conducted in the summer of '99 with Marianne Walker and Howie Crittenden about the Cuba Cubs of 1951-52. Cuba defeated my hometown school (Corbin) in the '52 tournament, so I have no reason to feel warmly about that Graves county school. But I do. And it's because of the wonderful way Marianne made their story come alive. It's much more than a David and Goliath story. It's a story about shared dreams, hard work, and rural pride in dreams realized. If you're sick of high-salaried, big business basketball, return to the days of sport for sports sake....WHEN CUBA CONQURED KENTUCKY.

A well told story about the resilience of the human spirit. The author passionately narrates a Kentucky styled version of David and Goliath. It is an inspiring and entertaining read about the magnificient efforts of a high school team from the tiny town of Cuba, Kentucky. The book would appeal to any basketball fan who is a native of the Bluegrass state. However, the book is much more than a story about a small town basketball team. It is a story that reminded me of everything my parents described about growing up in Western Kentucky during the 40's and 50's. Perhaps the best part of the book is the author's observations on the influence the community had on the players and their coach. The writer provides a compelling narrative about the challenges faced by the families who struggled to earn a living as sharecroppers. The reader gets to share in the glory of the team's commitment to an enormous task and the accomplishment of that goal. It is an enjoyable story about a visionary coach and a group of boys who dared to dream and strive for the unfathomable. I thoroughly enjoyed the contents of the book, and I would rate that portion of the book a five star. I appreciated the research on the Jackson Purchase region of the state, and how the demographics of that area impacted the characters of the story. The author does a nice job of piecing together research with oral history, and she writes with a compassion for the central figures of the book. However I thought the narrative style of the book was a bit awkward at times, and that is why I give the book a four star rating.

JUST QUICKLY SKIMMED THROUGH YOUR BOOK.
THIS IS GOOD FOR THE BEGINER, BUT I CAN NAME AT LEAST A DOZEN HIGH ENERGY TOP OF THE LINE PLACES TO WORK-OUT WHILE TRAVELING.
I CAN DO THAT IN ABOUT THREE MORE CITIES.
I THINK THIS IS GOOD FOR TRAVELERS IN THEIR OWN HOTEL.
PERIOD.
MY WIFE COMPETES IN TRI'S ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND I AM THE VACATION PLANNER.
WE BOTH LIKE TO HAVE UPDATED EQUIPMENT WHEN WE TRAVEL, SO I MAKE IT A POINT TO INVESTIGATE THE AREAS.
NICE ATTEMPT, BUT THEY MISSED MANY GREAT PLACES.

AL

Jim Kaese and Paul Huddle have given us a reference work, not a discussion of what it means to be an athletic-minded traveler nor how to become athletic minded if you are a traveler doubling as a couch potato.

Mind the subtitle: 'Where to work out and stay when fitness is a priority.'

If a reference book for your or your travel agent is what you need, this is your book.

If you want to figure out how to maintain some level of fitness in an ever-changing travel environment that seems to mock the very thought of it, this is not your book. Those books do exist (see my other reviews) and you'd be wise to buy one of them.

The book under review here is organized by major U.S. metropolitan areas. Since airport fitness facilities are still not widely available, the writers have to presume you're willing to part company with two taxi fares for many of the venues. Things get a little better on the hotel side, where noticable improvement in most major hotel chains now makes it possible to get a workout without falling down the steps, where you are fortunate to be found within the week.

Bottom line: the book delivers what the subtitle promises.

I received the Athletic Minded Traveler for Christmas. I was skeptical at first since I thought it was just another travel guide. Once I started looking at the book, however, I realized that it was extrememly helpful and the pithy writing made it a pleasure to read. Morover, the easy to use summary for the hotels allowed me to quickly and easily choose a hotel on my first business trip of 2006. (The guide was right on the money about the hotel.) This is an invaluable tool for anyone who travels, whether for business or pleasure--it even covers smaller cities like Cleveland and Madison, WI). Today, whilst surfing the web I found the author's website, which expands on the book. The site has even more information such as running routes and thorough restaurants recommendations for healthy eating on the road. From now on, I'm going to consult the book and the web site before I travel.

I gave several of these as xmas gifts to friends who travel for business
and all of them can't stop raving about how useful it is--the authors
obviously did their homework. I even got an email from one of my friends
while he was on a business trip to tell me that he just got back from a
health club recommended in the book where he ended up running next to a
woman who asked him out for a date! Bet the authors never thought they
would be making love matches!

I've actually used this book in a number of the cities and it saved me time and energy trying to find someplace to workout.

Real information the hotels won't give you. How many times have we called hotels and been told they have something only to get there and its not the case?

This book will make working out on the road extremely simple whether you are a casual athlete or an Ironman Triathlete!!!!

THIS BOOK IS A REAL "SLEEPER". BRETON TAKES THE EVENTFUL LIFE OF ONE LATIN BALLPLAYER AND INTERTWINES THIS WITH THE HISTORY OF THE STRUGGLE OF ALL LATIN BALLPLAYERS. THE STORY OF SOME OF THE LATIN PIONEERS IS AN UNEXPLORED TERRITORY IN BASEBALL HISTORY. BRETON BRINGS THESE STORIES OF PREJUDICE, TRIUMPH AND TRAGEDY TO THE SURFACE. I LEARNED ALOT FROM THIS BOOK, AND WAS WELL ENTERTAINED IN THE PROCESS.

This book is awesome, one of my favorites. I have read it more than once it is so good. What makes it so great is it tells the story of the latin baseball player that happens so often these days. From step to step, the book shows the reader how Miguel Tejada got from the barrios to America, to MLB star. What makes this bok so special is what a great story Miguel Tejada is. In his town, he was not regarded as a great player. But as soon as he was in a league there, he was great and never stopped. Now he has an MVP. A great job by Marcos Breton for the book and Jose Luis Villegas for the great pictures.

I was a fan of shortstop Miguel Tejada before I read this book and was overjoyed when he won the AL MVP honors this past year. The book opened my eyes to the incredible struggle and long odds that Dominican players - or any Latin players - face to make it in the major leagues. It makes Tejada's accomplishment seem that much more amazing and important to me. His story is interwoven with a lot of baseball history that I would not have otherwise known, and it is one that kids my age and up (8th grade) would enjoy because it makes you think.

Being a baseball fan since Orlando Cepeda led the Cardinals over Yaz's 1967 Red Sox, I thought I was well versed about the history of minorities in major league baseball. (The Jackie Robinson story became gospel in my house.) After reading "Away Games," I had to eat some humble pie. The sports pages, which I read cover-to-cover as a youth, never made mention on how the Clementes, Tiants, and Marchials made it to the majors. Authors Marcos Breton and Jose Luis Villegas provide that missing story. "Away Games" is about how major baseball exploits young Latino men in the same way that the film "Hoop Dreams" documented basketball's exploitation of inner city black youth. Breton and Villegas elaborate on how the baseball establishment entices Dominicans into their camps and then uses them like throw away parts. I only wish the authors would have kept their focus on Miguel Tejada- "the star" of the book- rather than flip-flopping between his "life and times" with the history of Latino baseball players. (Actually, there are two books in one here- Tejada's baseball journey and the history of major league baseball in the Caribbean.) Far from being an enjoyable book, "Away Games" is often painful to read especially for gung-ho baseball fans; however, it should be included right next to the censored sports page as we're implored to "root, root for the home team."

Breton and Villegas make the case that Latin ballplayers are exploited and then, in the overwhelming majority of cases, tossed away by major league teams. Miguel Tejada was one of those who, it turned out, wasn't just cheap filler for an organization's minor league chain, but instead broke through to the majors. This surprised the A's organization which originally ranked him below other Dominicans who have since faded and returned to island obscurity or the life of an undocumented alien in New York City. Unfortunately, the author's case is buried by some truly stilted prose in a narrative that wanders all over the map without giving Tejada himself much more life in the book than as a paradigm for the author's argument. I happen to know already a fair amount about Latin ballplayers so this book brought me neither increased insight into them as a group or to Tejada as an individual.

I purchased this book on Al McGuire as a gift for my father's 71st birthday. As a former basketball coach, he had been a strong admirerer of one of the most unique individuals in sports. Both me and my father highly recommend this for lovers of college basketball, especially for those who tend to march to the beat of a different drummer. I'm sure that even though Al McGuire is no longer with us he will be remembered whenever some young person is making the sign of the cross on his/her forehead before shooting a critical freethrow with his immortal statement that the "Nuns are Working the Beads."
Sergio S. Guerrero Jr.
El Paso, Texas

Al McGuire has been truly captured through this book. The photos and quotes truly capture the man, the charachter, and the coach that was AL. Anyone who grew up around the legend, understood what he meant to the game, but I don't believe anyone has a true grasp until they have turned the pages of this book.

Tom Kertscher has done an excellent job in introducing me to Al McGuire. I've never followed college basketball so I wasn't familiar with coach McGuire. However after reading the book I can see why so many people thought so highly of him. I very much enjoyed getting to know the coach from his many quotes and photos over the course of his career. He's one of those colorful figures in life that adds that missing ingredient making the ordinary, something rich and flavorful.

I don't know basketball, and I'm sure that my elevator doesn't go to the top, but I know a wonderful remembrance when I see one. Kertscher illustrates the humanity of McGuire - humorous and touching. The phrases from the glossary have become a shared language between myself and my son.

This is a strange coffee table-type book. Author Kertscher apparently did not know Al McGuire personally, and this book is the product of a posthumous project of collecting McGuire-related photographs and quotes. Yet despite the lack of direct personal connection, the book does a good job of communicating the odd combination of street-level wisdom, humanity, and whimsy that made McGuire such an intriguing and compelling character to a generation of basketball fans and non-basketball fans alike.

Do you dare to dream? The Uconn Huskies basketball team goes on a big dream ride during the 1999 season. Jim Calhoun is the coach of the Huskies. He has worked them hard for their chance into the Final FOur. Most people didn't think Uconn was a big factor in the tournament. So Uconn was out to prove to the world that they could play with the big dogs. They might have never been to the Final Four before, but this year feels like they've been there before.
I like this book because I love sports and it gives you an idea of good teamwork. I think this book is good because if you work hard it might pay off. I watched the team come together right before my eyes. I felt like I was helping them along to win or I was in the story.
I would recommend this book to people who like sports or who enjoy a good book. I also think that anyone who likes to get lost in a book would love this! The book is exciting and suspenseful. I think people who don't mind getting trapped in the best sports book in the world should read this book!!!!

The other readers must have read this right after the Huskies won the championship--the fact that it was such an intoxicating moment for UCONN lovers must have hurt their judgement. I for one *LOVE* UCONN, yet this book reads like a rough draft. Calhoun also reveals little about the season that a devote UCONN fan wouldn't already know. I reccomend "Huskie-Mania" by Jim Shea for Huskie fans out there.

...for the Connecticut Huskies you must read this book. I am a 1995 Graduate of UConn. I was at the school for a chunk of this miraculous decade. And I have never felt more proud of that school or that amazing basketball team than I do after reading this book. Jim Calhoun is funny, strong, tender and candid in this book. A man whom we don't often get an insight to (other than reading a few four letter words on his lips from the sidelines) opens his heart and soul to us in this book. He shares the moments that tore him down, and the moments that made him realize he has the best job in the world. He is an inspiration. A leader. A great coach. And, a champion.

As a UCONN grad (class of 88) this book was a wonderful retrospective of Jim Calhoun's work ethic, love, tragedies, perseverence and humor that led to a storybook finish at the NCAA Final Four. I couldn't put this book down as it took me down memory lane. I really enjoyed Jim's wit and honesty and understand why he has built such a great program. It shows how success is created; with a lttle luck but alot of hard work, perseverence, discipline and making the best of what you have. I think this is a great read for any sports fan but is a must read if you have been caught up in the magic of Connecticut basketball.

Calhoun and Montville have crafted a masterpiece!

Calhoun writes like he talks, quick and witty (yes, it's funny!). It is an effective, fast-break style that has readers feeling like they are participating in one of Calhoun's practices. It is never boring, always moving. If you love UConn hoops, you will love this book -- guaranteed.

Calhoun is never chest-thumping. His tone is honest, warm, and humble. He is even a little self-effacing (hey, not even The Coach is above reproach).

Calhoun takes us from his days at Northeastern and prior, through the Dream Season, and into the X's and O's of the Championship Season. You will want read this slowly because you won't want it to end! There are a plethora of tid-bits and stories about the Calhoun era that even the most avid fans will respond with frequent shouts of "Wow!" and pumps of the fist.

Thanks Coach, and thanks, Leigh -- two guys who bleed Husky blue just like the rest of us in Husky Nation!

Chapter after chapter we hear about how "winning at all cost," over-competitiveness and how kids specialize in a sport way too soon (before high school varsity level), the author goes against every piece of advice she's given. She admits that when her young sons were faced with a soccer league that was competitive and *gasp* co-ed, instead of allowing them to play, she started her own league! What? It took away the credibility of the entire book. I just can't listen to "do as I say, not as I do."

(Note: this review was based on an uncorrected publishers' proof.)

I heard author De Lench talking on NPR national radio last week about this book and all of the work she has done (is doing) with preventing catastrophic injuries and death of kids in youth sports. I had no idea what I was in store for when I read the book. In fact her advice may just save my kids lives. And, the chapter on Preventing Child Abuse in youth sports is another must read. Again, I now know that the hollering that one coach does to my 6 year old and his team mates is downright abuse. Better yet, I know (from her lessons) how to advocate for my kids to keep them emotionally safe and physically sound. I found her chapter on how to start a new team to be FABULOUS! Bravo-De Lench-You go girl! Kids were being excluded so she rallied her parent pals and started their own all-inclusive group with rules that we all would die for--no bad mouthing eachother, open dialog with the coaches, all kids play the same amount of time (coaches kids included), etc.

The chapter on Politics is a must read! And, the one on parenting/coaching girls and theother on how to parent boy athletes is very interesting.

The only folks who won't love this book are the bad coaches who are nervous that we all will become so well educated that they may lose their coaching jobs.

This book is a "must read" for any parent whose child is involved in youth sports at any level. It is really like a survival guide and was full of some great advice and ideas that made alot of sense. It makes life easier too when you know that you are not alone in a particular situation, as there obviously needs to be some serious reform in high school sports in my opinion. Ms. de Lench deserves alot of praise for tackling this difficult issue head on and gives many of us parents out there a much needed voice!!

I am raising five sports active kids and was intrigued enough to suggest and select Home Team Advantage as my book clubs (five fellow female attorneys) November read. Between us we have 21 children ages 6-19, who have been or for the most part are, in sports programs. We are each litigators practicing outside of Philly.

I speak for the group: If you are a mother or a father and you have children in sports you really ought to read this book. It may help save a kid's physical and emotional life if you do. We each agreed that the author is incredibly forward thinking in the way she synthesized her first hand in-the-trenches information, data and research to provide us with the big picture, especially with the chapters on politics, abuse, injury prevention and how to improve the culture of youth sports. Her depth of information and breadth of knowledge quite frankly is pretty brilliant and damn gutsy. We could not put the book down. Well written and ample interesting first hand stories. As a collective group we could relate to just about everything she wrote about. We talked for hours on each of her chapter topics. de Lench has the answers for all of our questions and concerns.

One negative; we each agreed that the phrase "hardwiring" (the new Politically Correct term for hormones) was used in place of hormones too often and gets a bit old. It did, however, inform us to the empirical data out there on the fact that boys in sports are very different than girls. Something we knew but could not confirm until reading this book.

Very enlightening read for anyone raising athletic children.

We all hear about the sports moms who spend most of their time chasing after and picking up their kids. But what IS the role of all those mothers of kids in youth sports?

In HOME TEAM ADVANTAGE: THE CRITICAL ROLE OF MOTHERS IN YOUTH SPORTS, Brooke de Lench looks beyond the minivan-chauffeuring, frazzled women behind children's athletics. In this culmination of experience and research, de Lench examines everything from when to register kids for sports to how to handle bad coaching situations.

This wonderful resource is divided into three major sections: "Part I: The Role of Sports Mothers in the Family"; "Part II: Sports Mothers, Coaches, and Other Parents"; and "Part III: What Mothers Can Do to Reform Youth Sports."

Part I steps mothers through the process of getting children started in sports. Knowing what sport(s) to register your child in is just as important as determining a good age to begin. Also discussed are differences between boys and girls, the need for balancing family schedules, preventing abuse, and dealing with injuries and injury prevention.

Part II addresses the ever-growing concerns over abusive coaches and parents, as well as ways to handle such situations.

Part III gives great tips for mothers (and fathers) to advocate for their kids. Mothers can and should take active roles in their kids' sports. Besides driving and providing snacks, there are many more ways to contribute, even if a mom is a busy professional.

The material in this book is concise and well written. Some themes are repeated throughout the book, but these are important ideas that cannot be expressed enough (such as whether the kids are having fun, safety, and so on).

While this book is directed at mothers, this is a valuable resource that all parents of youth athletes should have, and it should be required reading for coaches and staff. Do not miss out on Brooke de Lench's wonderful contribution to the world of youth sports.

Reviewed by Christina Wantz Fixemer
9/26/2006

I heard about the book, "My Father's Heart: A Son's Journey" during an interview with the author, Steve McKee. The reason for the interest was loosing my husband suddenly last July 30, 2007 to a massive heart attack.
We have 4 children, 2 boys then 2 girls. They range in age 41 - 47 years old.

The children have become very conscious of making sure that they are getting thorough doctor examinations every year, something that, especially the men, have not been faithful in doing. They all do exercise. So this part is good. However, they are all having a very difficult time in the grieving process because of the closeness to their father. He was a very animated and loving man, so the void is great.

When I listened to the interview on the Today Show, I thought that this book might just be something that the children should read to help them in their loss. I purchased 4 copies and gave a copy to each one on Valentine's Day.

I have started to read the book and have found many similarities that I know they will be able to relate to.

I was very happy to have found the book on Amizon.Com. The cost was a lot more reasonable then if I had bought these copies at a book store. I received the books 3 days after I ordered them.

This book depicts the love of family and the loss of a very dear member of that family, even though the father, knowing his condition, did not take care of himself as he should have.

The number one killer in the United States has a personality. In Steve McKee's family odyssey--as with most people's--heart disease is very personal. It can snatch the life of your father, turn your world upside down, make you obsessively interested in your family tree, drive you to swear oaths of healthy eating and exercise, wring your worried hands over living long enough to see your own children make it to adulthood, curse the universe because you got what your father got, and finally understand that the life you want is up to you. "My Father's Heart" is as much about healthy hearts and loving hearts as it is about hearts under siege.

A touching book that brought me back to my own childhood...I am thankful to the author for impressing on me a very important lesson, that is, even though our fathers may pass on physically, their memories continue to live in our hearts forever influencing us in very important ways. Even though I was fortunate to have my father until he was 84 years old, it will always feel that he too was taken from our family too soon. My father's death, like the author's, from a heart condition, taught his children how very important it was to take better care of ourselves physically before it was too late. I especially appreciated the author's depiction of his childhood years, growing up in a neighborhood similar to my own in suburban Detroit. The author brought it all alive for me. This book is a GREAT read and I highly recommend it...

As a teenager author Steven McKee watched his father die of a heart attack in their living room, part of a family chain of heart disease and death caused by lifestyle and family heritage. Disappointed by his father's ignoring of his disease, the author vowed to keep his heart in top condition - yet a lifetime of dieting and exercise didn't change his own diagnosis of serious cardiovascular disease. McKee's probe into a family heritage of illness makes for a moving story blending health and genetic insights with his own discoveries of motivations for change and health, making for a moving, engrossing survey hard to put down. Both health libraries and general-interest collections will find it involving.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Steve McKee has written a touching, nostalgic and informative book that will appeal to everyone.
My Father's Heart is about Mr. McKee's family's experience of his father's fatal heart attack that came in the prime of his life. The book explores the personal and biological legacy of Mr. McKee's father's death. Cutting back and forth in time and geography Mr. McKee creates an engaging story that weaves themes of family and community relationships, coming of age and how he has come to terms with his father's heart attack and death.
The book is also very informative about the current state of medical arts concerning healthy heart care and healthy living; the interplay of biological predispositions and the impact and control we can have on our own medical destinies. Mr. McKee leaves us with the reaffirming message that we are capable of influencing the course of our physical wellbeing and our life outlook.