Sports Athletes

The visiting clubhouse in San Diego was soggy, sweaty and sticky after the 1998 Yankees swept the Padres in four games and celebrated winning their 24th World Series title. The players raised bottles of Champagne, sprayed the bubbly on each other and reveled in a baseball season that might have been more memorable than any in history. Jack Curry was part of that unforgettable scene as a reporter, navigating around the clubhouse to ask the same, pertinent question.

By age twenty, at the height of the Jazz Age, Trudy Ederle was the most accomplished swimmer in the world. She’d won Olympic gold and set a host of world records. But the greatest challenge remained: the English Channel. Only a few swimmers, none of them women, had ever made the treacherous twenty-one mile crossing. Trudy’s failed first attempt seemed to confirm what many naysayers believed: No woman could possibly accomplish such a thing. In 1926, Ederle proved them wrong.

Oksana Masters was born in Ukraine—in the shadow of Chernobyl—seemingly with the odds stacked against her. She came into the world with one kidney, a partial stomach, six toes on each foot, webbed fingers, no right bicep, and no thumbs. Her left leg was six inches shorter than her right, and she was missing both tibias.

Champions, as the familiar adage preaches, are not born—they're made. Reaching the top of any sport, or any aspect of life, takes years upon years of dedication and proper preparation. But if there's a huge pool of individuals who have undertaken the same commitment and steps towards becoming the best, what truly separates the winners from everyone else? Joanna Zeiger believes proper mental preparation is the answer. The Champion Mindset is a much-needed and long overdue look into how to program a competitor's mind to achieve optimal success.

LeBron James is a standout forward in the NBA. Learn about his childhood and his rise to becoming a basketball superstar.

No matter how many times you’ve failed before, you can awaken into the person you want to become. It’s easier than you think. In this audiobook, I’ll lay out the exact steps to transform you into the assertive, successful champion you’re destined to be.

Despite debuting on Canada’s senior national soccer team 20 years ago, scarce is known of Atiba Hutchinson. We’ve watched him win Canadian Men’s Player of the Year six times; celebrated his club team championships; and mourned his injuries. We’ve lamented the state of Canadian soccer and cursed the lost potential—and years. Yet, we know little about Atiba’s personal life, or how he rose from suburban Brampton to becoming Canada’s most-capped national men’s team player, often described as the country’s greatest athlete you haven’t heard about.

Never have the best sportspeople seemed so far removed from the rest of us. So how are these extraordinary athletes made, and what do their achievements tell us about success? The Best reveals how the most incredible sportspeople in the world got that way. It is a unique look at the path to sporting greatness. This is a story of origins, training, luck, and serendipity, as well as of sports science and cutting-edge technology.

Why couldn't Michael Jordan, master athlete that he was, hit a baseball? Why can't modern robotics come close to replicating the dexterity of a five-year-old? Why do good quarterbacks always seem to know where their receivers are?In this deeply researched book, sports and business reporter Zach Schonbrun explores what actually drives human movement and its spectacular potential. The groundbreaking work of two neuroscientists in Major League Baseball is only the beginning.

Dreams of becoming the next Nadia Comaneci led Jennifer Sey to become a gymnast at the age of six. Her early success and love of the sport propelled her and her family to great sacrifice so that she could become a National Team member and one of America’s elite gymnasts by age 11. But as she set her sights higher, Jennifer began to change, setting her mental and physical health aside in the name of winning.

Master mental toughness without feeling overwhelmed, even if you've struggled with consistency before! Are you a young athlete struggling to perform consistently under pressure? Do you find it hard to stay focused during games, despite rigorous training?Or maybe, as a parent or coach, you're searching for ways to help young athletes build confidence and overcome anxiety? You’re not alone.

Joe Friel is the most trusted coach in the world and his proven triathlon training program has helped hundreds of thousands find success in the sport of triathlon. Joe has greatly updated this new Fifth Edition of The Triathlete's Training Bible to incorporate new training methods, especially on workout intensity, to help athletes train smarter and produce better results than ever. The Triathlete’s Training Bible equips triathletes of all abilities with every detail they must consider when planning a season, lining up a week of workouts, or preparing for race day.

Moneyball showed how statistics were revolutionizing baseball. The Sports Gene revealed the role genetics play in sports. Now, Head in the Game examines the next evolution: how mental engineering - the manipulation of the cognitive processes of the brain - can make gifted athletes even better.

Imagine yourself in the heat of competition, adrenaline pumping through your veins, and the roar of the crowd urging you on. Will you rise to the occasion, unyielding and determined, or succumb to doubt and pressure? Now envision a different scenario. You're in that same intense moment, but this time you embrace the challenge with confidence. You seize the opportunity, push past limits, and achieve greatness.

There comes a time in every competitive athlete's life when the cheering stops, and it's time to move on to other pursuits. Written by a former Division 1 football player and Academic All-American, The Way of the Athlete argues that sports prepares athletes for this transition by instilling qualities that contribute to academic, business, and personal success.

World-renowned energy healer Cyndi Dale presents the ultimate book on applying energy concepts and practices to athletes and coaches of any age and level. Featuring more than fifty-five hands-on exercises, this comprehensive guide covers everything you need to know about subtle energy and sports performance.

Imagine if you had as much energy for your family at 8 p.m. as you have at the office at 8 a.m.? Whether or not you can hit a home run or run a marathon, this program will train you to perform at the highest possible levels in both your professional and family life.

In Brave Enough, Jessie Diggins reveals the true story of her journey from the American Midwest into sports history. With candid charm and characteristic grit, she connects the dots from her free-spirited upbringing in the woods of Minnesota to racing in the bright spotlights of the Olympics. Going far beyond stories of races and ribbons, she describes the challenges and frustrations of becoming a serious athlete.

Iris Marshall never wanted to be anything more than what she is—an official for the European League of (American) Football. So, why had she said yes to being a courier for the CIA? She’s not sure, especially when it lands her in an international thriller that has her on the run from a killer. And worse, the person she’s on the run with? Arrogant, bossy, playboy Hudson Bly, a football player and the last person on Earth she wants to go into hiding with.

The Athlete’s Ascent shows how you can harness the wisdom of martial and Zen arts to develop the profound connection between mind, body and breathing that leads to the coveted flow state. Drawing on a lifetime of deep practice, Jayne Storey has streamlined centuries-old disciplines – including Tai Chi and Zazen meditation – into a simple, proven and trusted Performance Practice that helps both amateur and professional athletes ascend to higher levels of enjoyment and performance.