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Players: 250 Men, Women and Animals Who Created Modern Sport

It may be natural to play games, but the sports we love aren't natural at all. Each and every one of them has been invented, tweaked, pushed and pulled to come up with better rules, cleverer tactics and more effective techniques. There are no prizes for guessing who invented the Cruyff Turn or the Fosbury Flop - but who invented the header or the sliding tackle? The dive pass or the scrum? The lob or the smash? The sand wedge or the tee? The googly or the flipper?This book introduces 250 men, women and animals, each of whom has transformed at least one major sport. Famous or infamous, remembered or forgotten, god-like or god-awful, the game was never the same after them.In making his selection, Tim Harris, author of Sport, has drawn on years of passion, argument and research to produce a list that is at once personal and authoritative, provocative and challenging: the rogues, rulers and revolutionaries who shaped the games we play today.

Copyright: 2009

ISBN: 9781409086918

Features: Contains images

The Players' Coach: From Bradshaw to Manning, Brady, and Beyond

by Tom Moore Rick Stroud

From Chuck Noll's Steelers to the Peyton Manning-era Colts through Tom Brady and the Buccaneers, legendary NFL coach Tom Moore recalls his nearly 50-year role in the evolution of football and the keys to player-centric coaching.Tom Moore is not only the oldest NFL coach ever, but he is also hailed as the greatest NFL assistant coach of all-time--though he humbly cites the talent and hard work of his players as the keys to his success. In six different decades, he has served as a guru to the likes of Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, Barry Sanders, Marshall Faulk, Edgerrin James, Lynn Swann, John Stallworth, Mike Webster, Randall McDaniel, Cris Carter, Marvin Harrison, and more.In The Players' Coach, Moore recounts the most exceptional players-first coaching career in the history of the game, talks football with his proteges and underdog athletes alike, and lays out the principles that helped him define the modern gridiron.In an era of "systems," "analytics," and "Xs and Os," Moore maintains a refreshing focus on the "Jimmys and Joes"--and the results speak for themselves: twenty-five postseason appearances, fifteen division titles, and four Super Bowl victories in an ongoing career that has included the Steelers, Vikings, Lions, Saints, Colts, Jets, Titans, Cardinals, and Buccaneers.With an inspirational life story, timeless coaching tips, and a hard-earned leadership philosophy, The Players' Coach is destined to be a football classic.

Copyright: 2024

ISBN: 9781635769746

Features: Contains images

Players First

by Michael Sokolove John Calipari

"If you are a college basketball fan like I am, you'll understand why I've long admired John Calipari's leadership style. While no coach treasures a win more than John, this terrific book reveals his greater purpose--to lead his young players to better lives, and then challenge them to give back to others." --President William J. Clinton In Players First, John Calipari relates for the first time anywhere his experiences over his first four years coaching the Kentucky Wildcats, college basketball's most fabled program, from the doldrums to a national championship, drawing lessons about leadership, character, and the path to personal and collective victory. At its core, Calipari's coaching philosophy centers on keeping his focus on the players--what they need to get the best out of themselves and one another. He is beloved by his players for being utterly honest with them and making promises that he always keeps, no matter what. He knows that in this age, they come to Kentucky to prepare for the NBA; every year he gets players who in a previous era would have gone directly into the pros from high school but now have to play college basketball for one year. Calipari has fought against this system, but he has to play within it, and so he does, better than anyone. The result is an extraordinary leadership challenge: every year Coach Cal gets a handful of eighteen-year-old kids who have been in a bubble for the previous four years at least, filled with hype about their own greatness, and they come to Kentucky feeling sure that they will play for their coach only for seven months before they go on to greater glory. Every year, he has to reinvent his team. After his 2012 NCAA championship, it was particularly dramatic; he lost his first six players in the first round, meaning that someone who couldn't even start for Kentucky was a first-round draft pick. The overall record at Kentucky, and for his career, puts Calipari in the pantheon of the greatest coaches in the history of the game. Bold, funny, and truthful, like Coach Calipari himself, Players First is truly the first deep reckoning with the meaning of his experiences and the gifts of insight they offer.

Copyright: 2014

ISBN: 9781101635520

Features: Contains images

Players & the Game Around the World

by Z. B. Hill

Basketball is one of the most popular sports in the world. Fans everywhere watch both local games and games played in the NBA. Millions of people around the globe play pick-up games with friends, while professional basketball players have become celebrities who are recognized everywhere. Fans from Japan to Brazil and Canada to Kenya love players like Jeremy Lin, Shaquille O'Neal, Yao Ming, LeBron James, and many more. The NBA may play in the United States, but basketball is the world's sport, with fans, leagues, and players worldwide. Discover how basketball is seen around the world and find out how the sport became so popular. Learn more about the world's best basketball players. Explore the connections between fans in different places--and find out how basketball brings people together no matter where they live.

Copyright: 2015

ISBN: 9781422288009

Features: Contains images

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