Outdoor Play

Coaches search for it. Parents dream of it. Fans love it. Athletes want it. The Playmaker on any sports team possesses it: an elusive, intangible quality combining anticipation, perception, and decision-making skills. This quality raises their game above the competition and allows them to pass when no one else can, anticipate the movement of opponents, and avoid costly mental mistakes, thus holding the team together. Using today's technology and tools, it is now possible to understand, assess, and train this sixth sense rather than just hope it magically appears.

Will "Mad Dog" Madigan is making his second trip to the Winter Games, and he couldn't be happier. Hockey is his life and playing for the US team is a privilege. Then he meets US figure skater Amber Sloane. She's beautiful, ambitious, and driven-everything Will desires in a woman. He would love to show Amber how hot life off the ice can be. Amber has skated her entire life, sacrificing everything in the hopes of one day winning gold. Now she's competing for the third and final time. She intends to win, and nothing's going to get in her way - until she meets Will.

Stefan Fatsis infiltrates a strikingly different subculture: pro football. After more than a year spent working out with a strength coach and polishing his craft with a gurulike kicking coach, Fatsis molded his fortyish body into one that could stand up - barely - to the rigors of NFL training. And over three months in 2006, he became a Denver Bronco.

In 2014, the conflict in the Donbas region of Ukraine began - and top football club Shakhtar Donetsk has since been in exile. This book tells their story; inevitably a story of the conflict and the recent Russian invasion but also a testament to the power of the game and the will of the players. It is ultimately a footballing story, exploring the experience and meaning of being a Shakhtar player through the lens of a country in the shadow of a huge aggressive neighbour.

No football fan will want to be without the book that delivers pure, unfiltered Rex Ryan - head coach of the New York Jets and one of the most popular, outspoken, well-liked, and widely respected personalities in the National Football League.

In this concise book, Dr. Carroll has addressed the primary challenges that athletes face—on and off the field. The tools necessary to be your best and improve your performance are here. Go ahead and dive in, practice your new skills, use the tools and be your best!

40 Years with a Whistle - 40 years of coaching tips woven into a touching memoir of a coach's life Dan John has been performing as an athlete for six decades. His coaches - the mentors he describes in this audiobook - steered him on the narrow path toward success in both sports and life. These coaches emphasized performance, yes...but they all also insisted on the balance of health, fitness, and longevity.

Play your best Golf ever is written by a professional athlete and coach. She has a proven winning record and will teach you how to win. It provides clear instruction on winning strategies and how to become a better player to ultimately win more events. The author is a former professional tennis player and certified sports nutritionist that competed successfully all over the world. She shares years of experience both as a player and a coach bringing a perspective beyond priceless.

Pete Rose was a legend on the field. As baseball’s hit king, he shattered records that were thought to be unbreakable. And during the 1970s, he was the leader of the Big Red Machine, the Cincinnati Reds team that dominated the game. But he’s also the greatest player who may never enter the Hall of Fame because of his lifetime ban from the sport. Perhaps no other ballplayer’s story is so representative of the triumphs and tragedies of our national pastime.

What does it mean to be a sporty woman in the 21st century? From the launch of Net-A-Sporter, serving up sports clothing for fashionistas, to the introduction of #plankie as the new Instagram selfie for yoga bunnies, exercise for women has finally gone mainstream. But if sweating has never been so hot for female celebrities, then why are there still so many obstacles for girls and women when it comes to sport?

On and off the field, Jackie Robinson never backed down from a challenge. The baseball legend broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier in 1947, changing the sport forever. It was eight years later that a photo of him stealing home during the 1955 World Series became one of the most famous images from his historic career. The iconic photo of his daring base running seemed to sum up the way Robinson lived his life. He acted on his own, doing what he thought was right. He took risks. He used his talents the best way he knew how. And he made baseball - and the world - a better place.

This book is for every player who feels stuck and frustrated by lack of improvement. It is the perfect guide to understanding and developing every aspect of the game.

Brian Moylett, rugby’s leading mindset and performance coach for young players, reveals practical strategies that will make you feel unstoppable and help take you to the next level. Mindset is what holds back so many players and this book is essentially a guide on how you develop the mindset needed to succeed in the game.

Celebrated sports commentator Dan Patrick and comedy writer Joel H. Cohen team up with some of America’s greatest comedy writers to tell you everything and nothing about America’s sport.

You’ll learn all about the different parts of a golf hole, from the tee box to the green. This audiobook describes handicap options for players of various skill levels and the concept of par. You’ll learn golf scoring lingo like birdie and double bogey - and how to strategize each hole for the best scores possible. Don’t miss out on this exciting and social game - get your copy of How to Play Golf for Beginners right away, and step up to the tee with confidence!

In Masters of Modern Soccer, Sports Illustrated writer Grant Wahl asks: How do some of the game's smartest figures master the craft of soccer? By profiling players in every key position (American phenomenon Christian Pulisic, Mexican superstar Javier "Chicharito" Hernández, Belgium's Vincent Kompany, Spain's Xabi Alonso, Germany's Manuel Neuer) and management (Belgium coach Roberto Martínez and Borussia Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc), Wahl reveals how elite players and coaches strategize on and off the field and execute in high pressure game situations.

Being a man or a woman in your early 60s is different than it was a generation or two ago, at least for the more fortunate of us. We aren't old...yet. But we sense it coming: Careers are winding down, kids are gone, parents are dying (friends, too), and our bodies are no longer youthful or even middle-aged. Learning to play tennis in your 50s is no small feat, but becoming a serious, competitive tennis player at the age of 60 is a whole other matter.

When Jen Welter became a linebackers coach for the Arizona Cardinals in 2015, she was the first woman to ever break the glass sideline of the NFL. In Play Big, Welter reveals the grit that it took to be a trailblazer in the ultimate boys' club.

Learn about the skills, equipment, and safety concerns of basketball.

Introduce your youngest listeners to sports with these fun books! Let’s Play Sports! shows and tells beginning listeners how to join in the action. Listeners will learn how sports or activities are played or performed, what equipment is needed, and what uniforms or gear look like for each.