Athletics Books

A good investment for any parent who is tired of kid's sports coaches who are too rough, or so focused on winning that they forget the real reasons your kids are there - to learn the sport, to develop sportsmanship, to have fun. I'd buy it as a gift (even if you have to give it anonymously!) Another book I'd recommend is Perfect Parenting The Dictionary of 1000 Parent Tips by Elizabeth Pantley - it has sections on what to do about kids who want to quit sports, or those that don't want to practice, or those who are poor sports.

A good book. It has a lot of information which you won't find anywhere eelse, that I've seen, in one book, such as the First team All-American picks for each school, and the Hall of Fame inductees (players and coaches). However, I was a little misled by the summary of this book before I bought it. I thought there would be much more detail on the 10 most controversial decisions on the National Champions.

"Why We Win" provides coaches with interviews on winning with some of the biggest names in coaching. The book goes way beyond the X's and O's and focuses on the leadership skills used by coaches to get the most out of their athletes and teams.

Overall the book is great because Billy Packer taps into the minds of many of the most successful coaches. The only minor drawback is that the interview questions Packer used were too rigid and didn't allow the coaches to go more in depth in their answers.

This book is a must for any coach who wants to develop winners both on and off the court/field.

I am going to college right now, trying to learn about what I am going to be doing for the rest of my life. I don't have time to learn a whole new subject, and that's what I like about this book. It tells me what I need to eat and I eat it. Simple.

James

Lately, there haven't been many instructional guides published about gymnastics, so when I saw this at the bookstore, I got really excited and bought myself a copy right away. And I've got to say that it's money well spent! This is a great book for gymnastics, especially beginning ones, and will definitely help spark a love and dedication to gymnastics.

The book starts off with a brief introduction and a history of gymnastics. Then, there's a chapter on starting gymnastics with helpful hints on what to look for in a gymnastics club, choosing the right club, what to wear, the type of equipment in a typical club, and much more. An advantage is that this book also offers a chapter on safety, with tips on spotting, landing, and falling, along with helping to prevent yourself from injury.

The instructional portion of this book covers a very nice chapter on conditioning, along with basic skills on tumbling, floor excercise, balance beam, vault, and uneven bars. Black and white instructional photographs are included for most skills, but I wish that they were a bit more detailed and that there was more of them.

Plus, the book also has sections on competing in gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, cheerleading, parent and tot programs, a glossary, gymnastics resources, and further reading. It would be a very helpful book for beginners who want to get far and have fun in gymnastics, along with intermediate and advanced gymnastics too.

This is a must for all coaches. This book describes the four basic different types of personalities with which a coach of any sport must deal, and how to handle each personality differently. The only problem with the book is that it is used in conjunction with a presentation, and some of the material that is used in the presentation is not in the book; but overall, the book is outstanding in helping a coach realize that there are different ways to deal with different personality types. Many good examples of excellent coaches and how they dealt with different personalities are used.

This book would probably be better titled "Qigong". It contains all 4 sets of Baduanjin, 3 sets of Yijinjing, the 5 animal frolics, Yang Taiji Short form (24 movements), Taiji Sword, Taiji Pushhands, and assorted other exercises.

It's a pity that this book is out of print.

My wife and myself have found this book very helpful. We are both teachers and we like the lesson plan approach to practice. We have read about 12 books on coaching soccer and this one was the best for the following reasons: Teaching a soccer concept and the drills to renforce the concept. Showing you how to teach the drills. Pictures, and the matter of way the book explains the how to perfoam a kick, save, etc. What I would the book to do different is talk about how to manage teaching the attack during a game.

I bought this book to help my oldest son with weight training when he was about 13 years old. I found it to be an excellent source of information on warmup, stretching and of course the resistance exercises for young people. I like the concise format. The focus of the book is for all young athletes to increase strength and condition themselves; it's not just a weightlifting book. Increasing strength and conditioning should help the youth be a better athlete, and hopefully help reduce injuries. Even so, it may be used as a weight training text for the one whose preferred sport is weight lifting. There are detailed descriptions and photographs of the stretches and exercises. Explanations are given for free weights and cable exercises where both apply. The photographs include both boys and girls performing exercises. Both sexes can benefit. Sample routines are provided, as well as explanations of how to plan a training program. Be sure to read the questions and answers section. It is very informative, also. The book cover indicates it is for parents and players, but it could even be useful for a coach.

Jose Canseco's "Juiced" really introduced me to a bit of the steroid culture in baseball and the appeal that steroids definitely have. While reading "Juiced", I found myself yearning for the chance to try steroids and see what they would really offer to me (against all of my better judgment of course). He offers such a bright picture of them at times done in a disciplined way that who WOULDN'T want to give them a try when a career depends on them.

The book is entertaining and as Jose says: he is an entertainer. Don't expect anything cerebral here ... just a interesting view of some of the baseball culture that you may or may not know about.

I enjoyed the book for what it was and found it an entertaining, quick read that I enjoyed while floating around my swimming pool. This was perfect for that.

This was really fun to read. It's been passed along about 4 times...great beach reading

A very bitter man indeed. I guess these books are what you do when you have been disgraced to no end. Your career written off, you're a joke to everyone, your ex is in a men's mag telling how you're basically a eunuch due to your juicing... What's left to do? Throw unsubstantiated accusations at everyone and try to take as many with you as possible. This guy was on ESPN the other day promoting the new book and accusing A-Rod while exonerating Clemens in the same breath. Need I say more? Buy it if you need something to level off that uneven table in the dining room...

If youre looking for book about someone complaining about being accused of taking steroids in a book where he admits to taking steroids and implements others with no proof, this is the book for you. Not once does he submit proof of any of his claims.. Multiple times he complains that he was accuse of steroids even though he says the results were obvious. Also he is so cocky. He repeatedly calls himself the best player ever. NOT EVEN CLOSE. DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK OR HIS NEW ONE!!

I read this book when it first came out and I am glad I did not review it then. Like many others I was skeptical about what Canseco was saying. I just couldn't believe that all the famous athletes that he named took steriods or HGH. The idea that he personal injected many of them seemed ludicrous. The media put it down as a bunch of lies to sell books. Canseco also had his ups and downs and did not have a great reputation in baseball. After the hearings things looked even worse. But what came out in the long run was that everything he said became highly plausible or confirmed by drug testing or further investigation. This book is now a landmark book in the history of major league baseball. The only thing I disagree with Canseco on in this book is the idea that taking steroids was good for the game of baseball even though it led to more home runs and excitement for the fans. At least in his new book based on the accumulated medical evidence he has changed his tune. No one can deny that this was one of the major books to blow the lid on the use of steriods in baseball.

I believe that Canseco wrote this book for the noteriety and the money and that his selective choice of names to name was deliberate to sensationalize the book and sell copies. He now freely admits to naming people to make the book marketable in his new book vindicated. Also I think the book was intended to provide a rationalization for his own use of steroid and for turning so many others onto it. But hte Mitchell report and other investigations has confirmed that those named were really users!