"Belichick" by Ian O'Connor

Belichick by Ian O'Connor details the football career of coaching of Bill Belichick.  I really enjoyed this book a lot, especially since I'm a fan of the New England Patriots!  There is lots of interesting behind-the-scenes stuff that I already knew about but gained more insight into.  I am so glad Belichick coaches the Patriots and Tom Brady who Belichick chose in the 6th round draft as QB! 
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

Teaser from page 170:  "I know the last three weeks have probably been trying for all of you," the new coach continued, "but that's all behind me.  I'm tremendously excited to be here and to be a part of the New England Patriots organization."

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"When the Men Were Gone" by Marjorie Herrera Lewis

When the Men Were Gone by Marjorie Herrera Lewis is based on a true story that is inspiring.  In fact, it even inspired the author to give coaching football a try!  Brownwood, a small Texas town during WW II was on the verge of canceling their High School football season because they did not have a coach.  Tylene, a former English teacher and now assistant principal at the High School loved football and what it meant to the town.  She also hated to see the season canceled, knowing the then some of the seniors may drop out to enlist.  She began her search for a coach and found herself stepping into the role!  A lady football coach was unheard of in the 1940s, but Tylene ignored the insults and proved she knew the game and could play!

I enjoyed this book very much.  I really liked the football parts and how Tylene and Moose interacted with the players and how she convinced the men she could be the coach.  I give this 4 stars because I would have liked to have had more football games than just one.  This is a quick read and I was sad to see it end.
(Karen's review, 4 stars)


Gerard's review:
When the Men Were Gone by Marjorie Herrera Lewis is based on a true story.  In the early 1940s, in a small town in Texas, it's time for high school football.  It is the place to be on Friday nights!  But, with the men of fighting the war, somebody needs to step up to coach the team.  With no one coming forward, it looks like the season will be called off until a woman steps up!  How will that go over?

I enjoyed this book very much.  Tylene was a great character and rally carried the book.  The story line rang very true in this quick read.
(5 stars)

Teaser from page 3:  "When are you going to call the shots out there, Tylene?"  Mr. Periwinkle asked.
      "I'll go down there right now if they'll let me," I said.
      My father turned to the men.  "Don't kid yourselves.  She might just take over before the second half."

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"Play Makers" by Mike Lupica (Game Changers series)

Play Makers by Mike Lupica is part of the Game Changers series. This one is about a boys middle school basketball team that struggles all season after one of their best players hurts his ankle. Ben is the team leader of the Ram and known for his skill, but when a new kid (Chase) who is even better joins another team, Ben gets a wake-up call challenging him to get better. Ben also has a girl friend, Lily, who is the one who gave him the heads up about Chase. Chase is out to prove he is the best and even tries to move in and become friends with Lilly, making Ben very mad.

This is a cute story about being a leader and friendship set in a basketball setting. I enjoyed it, but thought it had a fairy tale ending. It goes quickly with lots of basketball game action which I liked. I would recommend it to kids who enjoy playing basketball.
(Karen's review, 4 stars)

Teaser from pg. 29:  As easy as it would have been to just write it off as one bad day, one lousy scrimmage, Ben knew in his heart that he had looked as bad as he had because Chase was that good.


Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"Us Against You" by Fredrick Backman--We Both Liked This!

Us Against You by Fredrick Backman is the sequel to Bear town. It is about the aftermath of the rape of Maya and how Bear town and Hed become not just rivals, but enemies! This book really centers on the community and the way society changes. There are many well-developed characters in this, not just the hockey players. When the hockey coach takes most of his good players and plays for Hed instead, Bear town has to rebuild its team, starting with finding a new coach who is a woman! This second book shows how politicians use their power and comparisons are drawn between them and “the pack.” The characters feel like real people—both good and bad at the same time with real life problems.

This book started out pretty slow for me because I’m not into politics and wanted more hockey. The beginning of the book is spent on political deals and trying to build up a hockey team, but then the violence started and I began to get attached to the characters. I really liked Benji, the pack, Ramona, Vidar, Amat, Jeanette (martial arts teacher) and Elisabeth Zackell (hockey coach). This is mostly a sad story with a few bright spots. It is about loyalty and dynamics of friendships which I found interesting. If you enjoyed Bear town, I think you will also enjoy the sequel.
(Karen's review, 4 stars)

Gerard's review:
Us Against You by Fredrick Backman is the follow-up to Bear Town and is as good!  It picks up where Bear town left off.  I loved both these books!  I really enjoyed all the different people in this one.  The writing is so good I read every word!  What I enjoyed most was that from page to page I never knew what character was going to tell the story next or what the outcome would be.  The twists and turns were very good!  I WANT MORE BEAR TOWN!
(5++ stars) 

Teaser from pg. 9: The worst thing we know about other people is that we’re dependent upon them. That their actions affect our lives.


Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"The Outsider" by Stephen King

In The Outsider by Stephen King, a Little League baseball coach is arrested on the field for the murder of a young child.  The police have a witness that placed him at the crime scene and DNA all over the crime scene indicates he was there.  However, other witnesses claim he was at a book convention far away from the murder scene when the crime was committed.  How can he be in two places at the same time??? 

There is good stuff here.  This kept my interest and kept me turning pages.  The only problem I had was that the ending dragged out.  That being said, I enjoyed this, and if you are a Stephen King fan, you will too!
(Gerard's review, 5 stars)

Teaser from page 21:  "You can preach to the multitudes later, Maitland.  Right now you're going to jail."

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"PICKLEBALL Fundamentals--Master the basics and compete with confidence"

I was thrilled to find PICKLEBALL Fundamentals by USA Pickleball Association with Mary Littlewood because we are adding this sport to our church FOCUS sports camp for the first time this summer and I will be the director for it.  I was looking for a complete book that included tips, instructions and drills.  This book has it all!  It covers all the different shots and gives an explanation of when they should be used in a game.  Everything that is addressed is also shown with pictures or diagrams to help the reader understand.  It even has checklists as to what adjustments to make when you find yourself making the same error repeatedly.  I highly recommend this book to anyone who is serious about learning to play Pickleball well or anyone who is in a position to teach others how to play. 
(Karen's review, 5 stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"HOPE--a School, a Team, a Dream" by Bill Reynolds

HOPE--A School, a Team, a Dream by Bill Reynolds tells the true story of Hope, a high school in Providence, Rhode Island, and one season of basketball. The coach of the team is Dave Nyblom. What I enjoyed in this book was the interaction between the coach and the players. That was the main focus of the story. The part that dealt with the actual games was okay too. With March Madness set to begin in a few weeks, this book is perfect to get you in the mood for it!
(Gerard's review, 4.5 stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"The System" is an Outstanding Book About College Football

The System--The Glory and Scandal of Big-Time College Football by Jeff Benedict and Armen Keteyian is an outstanding eye-opening look at college football.  It tells how it works and in some cased, how it doesn't work.  This goes beyond the scoreboard by dealing with coaches, players, the athletic directors and even people outside the program who make a big impact off the field.  I LOVED it and learned a lot!
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

A Chance To Win--Boyhood, Baseball, and the Struggle for Redemption in the Inner City by Jonathan Schuppe

Gerard gave it 5+ stars, Karen gives it 3 stars

A Chance To Win--Boyhood, Baseball, and the Struggle for Redemption in the Inner City by Jonathan Schuppe is inspirational non-fiction based on the real lives of several people living in the ghetto in Newark, New Jersey.  Rodney, a drug dealer who gets shot, paralyzed from the waist down, winds up in a wheelchair and seeks to make a difference in the lives of others by getting kids to play baseball and get off the streets.  I was surprised that parents didn't mind their kids being coached by an ex-con, but guess since many of the parents were ex-cons too or into drugs.  That was my favorite part of the book, when it was about the coaching and ballgames. 

Unfortunately, that was just a small part of it and most was more about the lives of several of the players and their struggles with their family, particularly their fathers.  It was interesting for the most part, but did not care about the part about the mayor and the city.  I would classify this as an inspirational read because the message is not to ever give up, no matter what the circumstances.  I was somewhat disappointed in the ending and found myself plowing through it near the end.  It felt to me like a news article rather than a novel and didn't end as I hoped so was kind of a let down.

My husband liked it much more than I did.  You can read his review here.
(Karen's review, rating 3 stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

We received a free copy to review but have not received any compensation. This did not affect our review in any way.

"Lead For God'Sake! by Todd G. Congwer--Must Read!

Great Gift for Any Coach--Good addition to any library!

Lead...for God'Sake! by Todd G. Congwer is a quick inspirational read about a coach struggling with his basketball team who gets advice from Joe, the school janitor.  Joe had a personal ministry of counseling and I liked how the author used his conversations to get his point across to the reader.  This book is philosophical about finding true purpose in life and influencing others based on scripture.  It's about being selfless rather than self-centered.  It's a wonderful example of what a true Christian looks like who is a genuine follower of Christ. 

I enjoyed reading it and agreed with the Christian view about living one's life.  I took a lot of notes from this one and would be a great one to add to my library.  It reminded me a little bit of The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch and Leading With The Heart by Mike Kryzewski, which I loved!  I highly recommend it!  I think anyone would benefit from reading this book, parent, employer, employee, teacher, coach etc.
(Karen's review, rating:  5 stars)

Gerard's review, rating 5++ stars:

Lead For God's Sake by Todd G. Congwer is a must read!  Wow, oh Wow!  What an outstanding book!  I got the idea to order this book from reading an article about Urban Meyer, the new Ohio State football coach.  He mentioned that he loved this book and so did I!  It tells the story of a frustrated high school basketball coach having trouble both with his team and his home life.  He gets help from the most unlikely person you would imagine. 

The ending was great, but I hated to see it end.  This is a must read for all coaches and people in leadership roles.  I feel real good knowing Urban Meyer is the OSU football coach now--go bucks!


Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

"Dare Me" by Megan Abbott

Dare Me by Megan Abbott uses a cheerleading squad to explore some common teenage girl issues such as jealousy, betrayal, hurt, manipulation and loyalty. This book was a bit of a disappointment to me because I didn’t like the coach at all. Her behavior throughout the book was inappropriate and it turned into a murder mystery that wasn’t all that big a mystery. The most interesting aspect in Dare Me for me was the tension between the coach and Beth. After reading this book, my impression of cheerleaders is even lower than it was before—it presents cheerleaders in a bad light. It left me feeling sad for Beth and angry at the coach.
(Karen's review)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

"One Shot at Forever" by Chris Ballard

 WOW! One Shot at Forever--A Small Town, An Unlikely Coach, and a Magical Baseball Season by Chris Ballard is a really, really good people book!  It is also a good baseball book.  It is the true story of a small High School and a bunch of farm boys with a very cool coach.  Against all odds, they have a chance to win the state championship.  I loved the team--what a great bunch of boys!  The games are very exciting to say the least.  The best part of the book is years later when the coach talks to all the guys and they look back on the year they had.  I got into this book right away.  It's all good--you will be glad you read this one!
(Gerard's review)

Karen's review:
One Shot at Forever by Chris Ballad is an enjoyable true story about a small rural town high school baseball team that no one wanted to coach until Sweet, the new hippie English teacher reluctantly volunteered.  With his laid back attitude, unconventional methods and philosophy of keeping it fun he proved that his coaching style could produce a winning team.  This is a baseball book that takes you inside the inner workings of a ball team and lets you know how the coach thinks and also the players.  This was a coach that was there for his players and it wasn't about his ego.  

My favorite player was John Heneberry, the pitcher who couldn't throw a fast ball.  I thought the coach was a funny guy and really admired how he motivated his players and brought out the best in them.  The accounts of the tournament games were well done and tugged at my heart.  I couldn't help but feel the Macon Hawks was my team.  It's a heartwarming story about the cohesiveness of a ball team and how the town rallied around them.  I loved after Sweet retired, he made his land into a wildlife preserve!  I recommend this book to anyone who likes baseball. 

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

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"Leading With The Heart" by Mike Krzyzewski

I read Leading With The Heart--Coach K's Successful Strategies for Basketball, Business, and Life by Mike Krzyzewski last year but with him being breaking coach Bobby Knight's record of winning the most College basketball games this week, I thought it would be appropriate to repost this.

This is a helpful book about coaching but many of the principles and tips he shares could also apply to business and teaching.  Every coach should read this one because there are so many practical tips that Mike shares and solid principles to follow.  After each chapter is a summary of the main points.  Mike shares from his experiences to illustrate his points in a very interesting way. 

Some key points on coaching that stood out to me from Leading With The Heart--Coach K's Successful Strategies for Basketball, Business, and Life by Mike Krzyzewski (Duke's head basketball coach):

1.  Recruit players with character who respect their parents, willing to be part of the team and are coachable.

2.   Do not have a bunch of rules that limit you, it's better to just have one rule:  "Don't do anything detrimental to yourself."

3.    Use plural pronoun's such as "our," "we," "us" so it's the player's team and not just the coach's. 

4.    Always look your players in the eye and tell the truth.

5.    Share the goals with the players.

6.    Lead with confidence, show your players what they need to see.

7.    Imagine the loose ball you're chasing has your name on it.  It belongs to you.

8.     Stress honor in all things.

9.      Set goals that revolve around playing together as a team, never the number of wins.  Define your own success.

10.    Five fundamental qualities that make a team great:  communication, trust, collective responsibility, caring and pride.

11.    Win or lose together--don't play the blame game.

12.    Address the little things you may encounter in a real situation.

13.    Be positive about all things that happen to the team.  Look at nothing in the past as failure.  Learn from every game.

14.    Plan but be flexible.

15.    Believe you can win, but don't assume you can.

16.    Always respect your competition.

17.    Set up some team traditions.

18.    Maintain a good sense of humor--having fun reduces pressure.

19.    Show strength, hide weakness.

20.    The only way you lose is if you don't try your best.

21.    When people achieve something that they've really worked hard for, it makes them feel great, superb, wonderful.

22.    You have to work at staying in contact with your friends so that the relationships will continue and live on.

23.    If something isn't working, try something new and different.  Never give up, find a way to win.

24.    Spend time with your players outside of practices and games to get to know them and become friends.

25.    At the end of each season, thank the team for their hard work.

I really got a lot out of this book--it was great!
(Karen's review)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it?

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"You Already Know How To Be Great" by Alan Fine (Giveaway)

You Already Know How To Be Great by Alan Fine is a model for performing at your full capacity and helping others do the same.  The author, Alan Fine, has served as a performance coach to corporate executives, top athletes and musicians.  He shares his very practical method for improving performance by increasing one's faith that they can do something, one's fire (desire) and one's focus by decreasing the interference (obstacle) that is hurting the performance.  Sometimes we know what we want to do and even how to do it but we are lacking in at least one of those areas; thus, not performing to our full capacity.  You Already Know How To Be Great has questions at the end of each chapter to help you apply the principles plus even a cute picture of an on-line community reminder.

I really liked the examples he gave to illustrate how his model can be used in parenting, teaching, sports.   Alan Fine gives the reader dialogue of specific training sessions.  I felt like a little mouse getting to listen in.  In this book you can learn the G.R.O.W. method to use in reaching decisions quickly and making meetings meaningful.

I recommend You Already Know How to Be Great as a reference book to anyone who wants to improve their performance in any area of their life or who is in a leadership position and seeks to help others improve performance. 


Want to find out more?  Here  is a video of Alan Fine talking about You Already Know How To Be Great which includes some illustrations from the book:

Alan-fine.com

Blog: alan-fine.com/blog

Twitter:  twitter.com/Alan_Fine

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/FineAlan 

To enter our giveaway for an autographed copy by Alan Fine of You Already Know How To Be Great, just leave us a comment stating you would like to win along with an email address so we can contact you if you are a winner.  We will choose a total of FIVE winners on November 25, Thanksgiving Day!  Winners will be notified by email and will have until Nov. 28 to give us their mailing address or someone else will be chosen.  (This giveaway will also be promoted on Blog Jog day coming Sunday, November 21 so you could enter then too.)


(We received a free copy of this book for review.)
Have you read this one? What did you think of it?

"Bleachers" by John Grisham

Bleachers by John Grisham is a good book about a high school football coach’s impact on town and players. It was all about the coach but coach was never actually in the story—dying and the players came back to the town for the funeral and all talked about him with each other.  I liked it all right but not as much as his legal thrillers.
(Karen's review 12/03)

Please tell us: What categories of literature do you like? What are you reading now? Who are your top five favorite authors? Have you read this one? What did you think of it?

"Quiet Strength" by Tony Dungy

Quiet Strength is Tony Dungy’s autobiography (Colts head coach). I was very impressed with Tony Dungy's definition of success:

God gives each one of us unique gifts, abilities, and passions. How well we use those qualities to have an impact on the world around us determines how “successful” we really are.

I liked this book because it was about so much more than football, although he did include some coaching techniques and philosophy. 

Two of his teaching/coaching principles that stood out to me were:
1) Treat everyone fairly but not necessarily equal. What motivates one, doesn’t work for everyone.
2) Focus on those behind or who struggle and help them succeed.




Quiet Strength is an inspirational book that I highly recommend.  He shares how he relies on God in his daily life.  If you wonder where the role models are in sports, Tony is definitely one of them.  I enjoyed this book very much but couldn't get Gerard to read it because he just doesn't like the Colts.



(Karen's review 1/08)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it?

"Season of Life--A Football Star, A Boy, A Journey To Manhood" by Jeffrey Marx

Season of Life by Jeffrey Marx is about Joe Ehrmann, an ex-football player who became a minister and a high school football coach.  The author was a ball boy for the football team when he met Joe.  They lost contact but then got back in touch when the author, who grew up to be a journalist, decided to track down the former players and write about what they were doing.  Jeffrey Marx followed Joe's high school team for a year and found out that winning and losing is not the only things that Joe teaches them.  He taught them life lessons on how to be a man by being focused on others and not themselves.  With High School football coming up soon, this is a good book to read.  I enjoyed it a lot!
 (Gerard's review)

Season Of Life by Jeffrey Marx is a inspirational book that I highly recommend to any man, teen boy, parent, coach or teacher. It does not read like a text book at all.  I really enjoyed following the High School Football team through the eyes of the author.  Joe Erhmann is an example of a Godly man putting God’s Word into practice.   Season of Life is all about teaching boys to become men.  The author learns to improve his relationship with his father through watching Joe Erhmann model the basic strategic masculinity principles he learned from God’s Word as he teaches them to the high school football team he coaches. 

Jeffrey Marx looked up to Joe as a football player when Jeffrey was just a kid and connected with him again as a man.  Joe had a father who was always telling him to “be a man” and would punch him and tell him to be tough, that real men don’t cry.  He was into the “false masculinity” mindset of athletic ability, sexual conquest and economic success until his brother died.  While waiting at the hospital during his brother’s illness, he came across a poem that impacted his life by Edwin Markhm:

There is a destiny that makes us brothers;
None goes his way alone:
All that we send into the lives of others
Comes back into our own.

Then he searched for some real meaning to life and through talking to the team’s unofficial Chaplain and studying the Bible God transformed him into a devout Christian.  Joe became a minister and a high school football coach whose program included “building men for others.” 

He came to the realization that masculinity is all about relationships, being focused on others, and a code of conduct that includes accepting responsibility, leading courageously, enacting justice on behalf of others and empathy.  From here on he not only models these principles but also teaches them to the boys on his football team. 

The book that Joe gave to Jeffrey Marx that helped him get to actually know his father better is Questions For My Father—Finding The Man Behind Your Dad.  It’s just a collection of questions to ask to get communication flowing on a deeper level.  This may be helpful to someone so just thought I’d mention it.
(Karen's review)

Please tell us: What categories of literature do you like? What are you reading now? Who are your top five favorite authors? Have you read this one? What did you think of it?

Our Boys: A Perfect Season On The Plains With The Smith Center Redmen by Joe Drape

I really enjoyed Our Boys: A Perfect Season On The Plains With The Smith Center Redmen by Joe Drape.  It is about the Smith Center Redmen led by their coach, Roger Barta.  It is located in a small town of Kansas, but this book is so much more.  You see how the whole town gets behind "Our Boys" and you get to know the players and the assistant coaches as well.  You will get caught up in this book right from the start and feel the excitement all the way to the end!  It's a good read and I recommend it.

(Gerard's review 10/8/09)