Profiles in Sports Courage


Book Description

A dozen of the twentieth-century's greatest and most courageous athletes show how they overcame difficult obstacles to make a lasting impact not only in their sport but also on society. Veteran author and journalist Ken Rappoport showcases some lesser-known athletes such as Junko Tabei, the first woman to climb Everest, as well as famous athletes like Jackie Robinson, the first Black American to play in Major League Baseball, and race car pioneer Janet Guthrie, the first woman to qualify for the Indy 500. Each dramatic, action-packed profile shows how these talented athletes overcame such serious challenges as racism, sexism, and severe illness. Young readers will find in each of these inspiring men and women the bravery, perseverance, and dedication that made them outstanding athletes during their own times and strong role models for today.







Courage Beyond the Game


Book Description

Jim Dent, the award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of The Junction Boys, returns with a powerful Texas story which transcends college football, displaying the courage and determination of one of the game's most valiant players. Freddie Steinmark was a small but scrappy young man when he arrived at the University of Texas in 1967. A tenacious competitor, Freddie became UT's star safety by the start of the 1969 season, but he'd also developed a crippling pain in his thigh. Freddie continued to play, helping the Longhorns to rip through opponents like pulpwood. His final game was for the 1969 national championship, when the Longhorns rallied to beat Arkansas in a legendary game that has become known as "the Game of the Century." Tragically, bone cancer took Freddie off the field when nothing else could. But nothing could extinguish his irrepressible spirit or keep him away from the game. Today, a photo of Freddie hangs in the tunnel at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, where players touch it before games en route to the field. With Courage Beyond the Game, a Brian's Song for college football, Jim Dent once again brings readers to cheers and tears with a truly American tale of bravery in the face of the worst odds.




Football Psychology


Book Description

Presenting an empirically underpinned synthesis of research and theory, while offering guidance for applied practitioners, this is the first book to comprehensively map the psychology of learning, playing, and coaching the world’s favourite sport. The book provides a complete analysis of key topics that capture the broad range of football psychology such as personality, motivation, cognition, and emotion; coaching and team essentials; psychological skills for performance enhancement; and developing players in youth football. Including contributions from a range of international researchers, each chapter provides a review of the relevant literature, key theories, real-world examples, and reflections on how knowledge can be applied in practice. Split into four sections, the book covers a diverse range of topics relevant not only to coaching and performance but also to personality development and health promotion. Essential reading for any student, researcher, or professional in the area, the book is the most cutting-edge overview of how psychology can explain and improve the way football is both played and understood.




Profiles in Football Courage


Book Description




Pro Football in the 1960s


Book Description

The 1960s were a tumultuous period in U.S. history and the sporting world was not immune to the decade's upturn of tradition. As war in Southeast Asia, civil unrest at home and political assassinations rocked the nation, professional football struggled to attract fans. While some players fought for civil rights and others fought overseas, the ideological divides behind the protests and riots in the streets spilled into the locker rooms, and athletes increasingly brought their political beliefs into the sports world. This history describes how a decade of social upheaval affected life on the gridiron, and the personalities and events that shaped the game. The debut of the Super Bowl, soon to become a fixture of American culture, marked a professional sport on the rise. Increasingly lucrative television contracts and innovations in the filming and broadcasting of games expanded pro football's audiences. An authoritarian old guard, best represented by the revered Vince Lombardi, began to give way as star players like Joe Namath commanded new levels of pay and power. And at last, all teams fielded African American players, belatedly beginning the correction of the sport's greatest wrong.




Race and Football in America


Book Description

The “beautifully written” biography of the first African American player to be drafted by the NFL, “a must read for any sports fan” (Warren Rogan, host of the podcast Sports’ Forgotten Heroes). As the first African American to play quarterback, George Taliaferro was a trailblazer whose athletic prowess earned him accolades throughout his football career. Instrumental in leading Indiana University to an undefeated season and undisputed Big Ten championship in 1945, Taliaferro was a star when many major universities had no black players on their rosters and others were stacking black players behind white starters. George Taliaferro would later rack up impressive statistics while playing professionally for the New York Yanks, Dallas Texans, Baltimore Colts, and Philadelphia Eagles. His athletic prowess did little to prevent him from facing segregation and discrimination on a daily basis, but his popularity as an athlete also gave him a platform. Playing professionally gave Taliaferro more opportunity to use football to fight oppression and to interact with other important trailblazers, like Joe Louis, Nat King Cole, Muhammad Ali, and Congressman John Lewis. Race and Football in America tells Taliaferro’s story and profiles the experiences of other athletes of color who were recognized for their athleticism yet oppressed for their skin color, as they fought (and continue to fight) for equal rights and opportunities. Together these stories provide an insightful portrait of race in America. “A portrait of a young man who overcame the obstacles of racism, the military draft, and the death of his father. His vehicle for climbing over obstacles was athletic prowess and inner strength.” —Jim Baumgartner, College Football Hall of Fame







The Fearless Footballer


Book Description

Even in a stadium bursting with 50,000 spectators, you tell yourself, "This is so great - this is my day for showing what I'm worth"The book that will take you by the hand and show you how to play without hesitation! As a young football player, Eitan, searched for ways and methods to overcome the mental blocks he experienced, such as lack of confidence, fear of failure, performance anxiety, and differences between the ability he showed during games compared that he showed during practice. This led him on a personal journey, during which he studied almost every possible method used to fulfill potential. He made many mistakes, discovered what works and what does not. In the end, he packed all his knowledge into a practical, easy-to-read guide that enables every football player to show the same ability during games as they show so easily during practice. This book will teach you step-by-step how to develop the confidence needed by competitive football players who aspire to succeed in football and to fulfill their dreams. What will this book do for you? This book will show you how to easily overcome the fears, concerns and pressure that are preventing you from playing a relaxed game - and how you can show the true abilities that you have and that are waiting to come out. You will learn how to develop the character and personality of a fearless player! (...that player who performs special moves on the field that you too, can do well). You will learn how to become "that football player" who loves to receive the ball during the most critical minutes of the game! "That player" who believes themselves to be the best player at that moment to receive the ball and to have an impact on the game! After reading this book, you will be able to forget that you ever had fears or concerns such as:- The fear of making critical mistakes - The fear of ending your career because you missed something (and discovering that all your effort has been a waste of time) - The fear of being injured - The fear of failing during the last move - The fear of not being good enough - The fear of embarrassing yourself (and of making yourself look bad in front of everyone) - The fear of the coach replacing you if you make mistakes - The fear of losing the ball or of making a mistake when trying to score a goal - The fear of harsh criticism from your coach or your teammates - The fear of disappointing the people who are important to you - The fear of disappointing yourself... - The fear of missing a goal - The fear of your opponent getting behind you in 1 v 1 - The fear of being stuck on the bench for the entire season ...and another 10 common fears [that you may have without even being aware of them]. After reading this book, you will show the same abilities during games as you show during practiceYou will enjoy the game and be relaxed and good with the ballYou will have full concentrationYou will be focusedYou will think faster while you're in motionYou will succeed in those moves that before, seemed complicated or hard to performEvery game will leave you feeling good (even if you didn't play a perfect game) After this book you will not be able to wait for the game to start! Because you are already able to play with confidence You are able to focus and remain sharp during the final move You will become that player who does not need to prepare too much before a game to be good. You will simply come to the game and stick out!




Bart Starr


Book Description

Bart Starr was the quarterback of the Green Bay Packers from 1956 to 1971, the most meaningful and successful era of one of football's most storied franchises. Starr was named MVP of the first two Super Bowls and to the Pro Bowl four times. He threw for more than 24,000 yards in his career and holds the Packer record for most games played. But the awards and impressive statistics are not what fans remember most about Bart Starr. As his legendary coach, Vince Lombardi, once said, "Bart Starr stands for what the game of football stands for: courage, stamina and coordinated efficiency. You instill desire by creating a superlative example. The noblest form of leadership is by example and that is what Bart Starr is about." Bart Starr: When Leadership Mattered shows with clarity and stunning insight just how true Lombardi's compliment was. Drafted in the seventeenth round out of the University of Alabama after a checkered collegiate career, Starr was just hoping to catch the eye of an NFL team. As the 199th selection in the 1956 draft, his expectations and those of the team and fans were limited. But Bart Starr rose above everyone's expectations to will his way to the starting job, aided by the encouragement of Lombardi, who became Packer head coach in 1959. This book reveals all the details of Starr's improbable rise to stardom. It explores his relationship with Lombardi and his guidance of the Packers from a downtrodden franchise to five-time World Champions to two-time Super Bowl winners. His epic battles with rivals such as the Bears and Lions and the famous Ice Bowl are also recalled in unforgettable fashion. But most of all, Bart Starr: When Leadership Mattered is about a modestly talented football player who with uncommon intelligence, grit, and leadership elevated his play and that of his teammates. The Packers would not have been the Packers without Bart Starr.