Product Description
Fullback Alan Minter is having trouble with his kick. His friend, goalkeeper Bucky Pinter, works with him to improve. But Alan begins to think that one of his teammates has it in for him. Illustrations. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

WONDERFUL series.DAUGHTER loves it!
This is yet another WONDERFUL installment in the SOCCER CATS series.

Our 6-year old daughter is an avid and excellent reader.She loves the series.

We have given the book (and others in the series) as GIFTS to BOYS AND GIRLS aged 7-8 years and received only positive feedback from the children and their parents.

HIGHLY recommended FUN, funny and age-appropriate reading!

ENJOY! ... Read more

Product Description
With Skills and Strategies for Coaching Soccer, you have access to 120 drills for teaching skills to players at all levels--from beginning to intermediate to advanced. And for each skill, you'll find drills for players at different levels of development.

Some of the basic skills presented include collecting and controlling, passing, dribbling, kicking, heading, goalkeeping, and the throw in. You'll also find

• offensive moves and countering defensive moves;

• 120 drills for beginning, intermediate, and advanced players;

• coaching points for each drill;

• a fitness program for soccer;

• sample game situations and how to coach in those situations;

• 246 high-quality illustrations of field diagrams and skill execution; and

• methods of coaching that are appropriate for individuals or groups. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

Who is it aimed at
Have to say going against most opinions here because I found little use in the book and quite glad I got it as a present and did not pay for it myself.I can see where some people might get some valuable information out of it but my biggest issue was that it couldn't decide if it was directed at the coach new to the game or an intermediate coach moving into coaching 11v11 games (hence little use for anyone coaching over 13's)

As the back of the book states the author has coached from 5 year olds to pros and it is obvious that he couldn't decide who to target the book at. Soccer books that try to cover all ages or aspects of the game are not good books

SUPERB!
This book on soccer coaching is first rate! Easy to understand but NOT simplistic or dumbed down. Filled with great ideas and insights into the game for coaches AND players. I doubt there is a level of player or coach who will get this book and not find themselves flipping thru the pages picking out items and saying"I didn't know that". Well worth the price.

The best book on soccer coaching
If you are coaching soccer for kids, and are eager to learn more about improving your own skills, this is the book to read! As you become an even better coach, your players will also benefit. The book is packed with information. The basics are well explained, and many specific suggestions are made for exercises that are fun, and at the same time provide good learning for the players. Contained in the book is also a first hand introduction to soccer that will teach you what to look for next time you watch a soccer game, and most important, a tool for improving the skills of your players in a human and friendly way. This book will improve your perception. Highly recommended!

Excellent Resource for ANY Soccer Coach
This book includes excellent drills for skills ranging from fundamental to experienced. It also gets into a lot of game strategy, and it addresses the special situations such as throw-ins and corner kicks from offense and defense. I really like how he pulls in excellent advice and his philophy for coaching. If I had to select just one book for my coaching library, it would be this one!

Great Intermediate Book
First, I have to define intermediate.I have coached U6 and U8 for 5 seasons, and have just moved up to coach U11.I bought this book and Progressive Soccer, and this book was MUCH better.It's pretty beat up now because I refer to it constantly.It has drills and games for all the skills, and most of them start out at a low level (U8 or so) and get more advanced.Almost all of them have worked out well for our team.
I would say this is not a beginner's book, too much info and probably too in depth for a brand-new coach.Not a lot of "kiddie games" like you would use for U6 or U8.I would say U10 and up can get a lot out of this book.
My only complaint is I would like a little more in the team strategy parts and "system of play" parts, the book is a little weak on those areas, other than going through some different formations (which won't apply if you don't play 11 on 11).
Again, highly recommended for the coach moving up for the first time into the U10 age group for the first time. ... Read more

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Product Description

Soccer is much more than a game, or even a way of life. It's a perfect window into the crosscurrents of today's world, with all its joys and sorrows. In this remarkably insightful, wide-ranging work of reportage, Franklin Foer takes us on a surprising tour through the world of soccer, shining a spotlight on the clash of civilizations, the international economy, and just about everything in between. How Soccer Explains the World is an utterly original book that makes sense of our troubled times.

Customer Reviews (105)

Well-Written and Entertaining, but Empty of Content
I can understand why a middle-aged editor (Franklin Foer is the editor of the New Republic, a very well-established and prestigious magazine that no one reads) would want to take 8 months off from his high-pressure job to travel around the world, watch soccer games, and then write a book about it.I can also understand why publishers would want to publish it (because as Foer tells us there's a lot of American yuppies who grew up playing soccer).But I cannot understand why Franklin Foer insists on trying to instill metaphysical meaning into a glorified reporting vacation, and discuss how soccer "explains" the world (actually, I can understand why -- it's because he's the editor of a prestigious magazine that no one reads).

In "How Soccer Explains the World" Franklin Foer travels to soccer hot spots (for whatever reason, he starts off in Scotland, a place more known for rain and golf than for soccer), and instructs on the peculiarities of each region, and when convenient or possible comments on how globalization has affected the soccer economy (remember, this is a book about how soccer "explains the world).So we learn that corruption is particularly bad in Brazil, that referees are corrupt in Italy, and Nigerian players are mistreated by corrupt agents and they'll go to any place to play soccer.And there are a lot of soccer hooligans around.In other words, the world is a corrupt and violent place where the poor try to escape into rich countries.And that's why soccer can also be a corrupt and violent sport where poor players try to play for rich clubs.So there you go -- soccer does explain the world.

To be fair, this book is very pleasant to read, and it is well-written.And we do learn why soccer hooligans exist, and I think it's a very good explanation.It's not because they're poor or because they're angry or because they're misguided.It's because they like being violent, and nationalism gives them good cover for their senseless brutality.This also explains why we have bank robbers (it's not because they like being retards, it's because they like that violent rush of risking your life for not a lot of money), Special Forces soldiers (who are basically bank robbers who don't rob banks), and NFL players (who are bank robbers who don't rob banks and who didn't join the Special Forces).

HORRIBLE DELIVERY
the book is in horrible shape even though i bought i brand new, and on top of that it took forever to get delivered so i didnt have a book for class.

How Soccer Explains The World
This book was very well written. Franklin Foer's use of soccer as a way to explain the temper of the world today was very clever. From globalization,religion and politics,Franklin brings it all together in a well conceived book.If Americans can't understand the world's attraction to soccer this is the book to start!

Good quick summary for a beginner
My knowledge of soccer is limited to my son's games and watching some World Cup games, so this book is full of information that was new and fresh for me. I didn't buy into the idea that soccer explains or reflects globalization -- a silly idea that was probably necessary for the author to get a book contract -- but if that was the excuse for him to do a survey of the top teams in the world, that's fine with me.

It's a fun run around the globe, popping in to visit some of the most famous teams in the world and finding out how they got where they are.But I also suspected, as other reviewers have noted, that the facts aren't quite as portrayed in the book. The concluding chapter on soccer in the US is silly and superficial, and I suspect that a deep fan of soccer in any of the other countries described would also feel that the author has taken a few facts and a few cliches and woven them together to fit his thesis, rather than developing a thesis that fit the facts.

I'm left with one big question. I can't tell if hooliganism is really dangerous around the world, or not. It seems like it's a terror, given the lunatics that the author spends time with. Unquestionably, they are thugs with deep records of violence. On the other hand, real people go to games every week, and they don't wind up in the hospital. So, how is this happening? The author doesn't really explain how a regular person can go to a game in some of those arenas and not be beaten to a pulp either on the way in or on the way home.

Still, I enjoyed the book and marveled at some of the anecdotes that were shared. The way that star players and team owners have leveraged their fame is astounding -- and it makes the success of a baseball owner or football player turned US Senator pale in comparison.For a good understanding of how fervid the interest in soccer is around the world and what it means to the culture, this book is a great place to start.

Disappointing
I grew up in the US before youth soccer programs grew to their current popularity. Thus, when I began playing in a weekly office soccer game and found that it was truly a beautiful game, I immediately tried to immerse myself in soccer history, strategy, and lore. I added this book to my reading list because of the title. I am, by trade, a political economist - combining globalization and soccer seemed like a charming idea. I was grossly disappointed.

The book is written in a journalistic style that is easy to read and the anecdotes are rather entertaining. That is, however, the extent to which I found this book at all enjoyable. First, the author's narrative often fails to connect the anecdotes with the broader point that he is attempting to make. Even worse, the author often makes claims and offers no support for those claims. When reading pop-nonfiction, one must, to some extent, trust the author's claims. However, the author is attempting to connect soccer to well studied social phenomena - and on many ocassions gets it wrong. Moreover, the author's obvious biases make it incredibly difficult not to scoff at his assertions, especially when he offers no support other than his own word.

Additionally, the title suggests that soccer will be somehow tied to globalization, and yet the author only mentions globalization in terms of continued racism. I am inclined to believe that despite his experience with political journalism, the author has only the most basic understanding of the popular notion of globalization and is incapable of providing a meaningful application and analysis. This book is not an analysis or a fresh look at soccer. Instead it is the result of a journalist taking a year off from work, traveling around to watch soccer games and collect stories, and then trying to find a way to write them up in a book with a more intriguing title than "Tales from the pitch".

On more than one ocassion, I read segments of the book aloud to various people for cheap laughs - colleagues, my political economist/soccer fanatic boyfriend, my boyfriends soccer fanatic friends. It is at best, a collection of interesting stories about soccer with some very poor narrative in between. If that's all you're looking for, read this book. If you are looking for something more substantive, look elsewhere.
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Customer Reviews (2)

Good book for drills
This is a good book written by a former professional coach.There is fair discussion of strategies and tactics.This book is heavy on drills, though, and it is best suited for teams with lots of time to practice.It is somewhat disjointed and has an odd flow.This book has been popular because there have been very few other books written on indoor soccer.To get everything in this book and more, try also Indoor Soccer: Strategies and Tactics.

Good resource for indoor soccer players and coaches
Good resource for indoor soccer players and coaches.Covers lots of drills, usefull for teams that have access to an indoor arena for soccer practices. ... Read more

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Product Description
Scope and coverage - Virtually every athlete and every sport readers might reasonably expect to find can be found here. Although there is an emphasis on sports that are popular in North America, there is considerable coverage on sports and athletes from other parts of the world. Most North Americans have at least some familiarity with such sports as baseball, basketball, football, golf, ice hockey, and tennis. They are likely to have had less exposure to badminton, cycling, and soccer and even less exposure to sports such as cricket, fencing, and Tae Kwon Do. No matter what the sport, however, readers of "Great Athletes" will learn that outstanding athletes from all parts of the world and all cultures. Organization and format: Averaging three to four pages in length, articles are written in clear language and presented in a uniform, easily readable format. Each article is divided into four sections that cover the athlete's life and achievements chronologically. 'Early Life' covers the athlete's family background, early education, introduction to sports, and other formative experiences.'The Road to Excellence' discusses the athlete's first serious involvement in sports and the experiences and influences that propelled the athlete toward greatness. 'The Emerging Champion' section follows the athlete from the threshold of stardom to higher levels, and 'Continuing the Story' tracks the athlete's subsequent athletic career and later life. Finally, each article concludes with a 'Summary' recapitulating the athlete's achievements and legacy. A photograph of the athlete accompanies each essay, and every article is accompanied by at least one table, shadowed for easy reference. With their content varying greatly among different sports, these tables summarize the career statistics, honors and awards, records, and other milestones that set each great athlete apart. At a Glance: This title contains 13 Volumes; 5,000 Pages; 1,470 Essays, 380 new; 1,470 Photos (one per essay); 2,600+ Sidebars/Statistic Tables; 60 Appendixes; and Name, Sport Team, Position & Country Indexes. Boxing figures include Laila and Muhammad Ali, Rocky Marciano and Mike Tyson. Soccer features David Beckham, Mia Hamm, and Pele. ... Read more

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Why does someone want Izzy's team out of contention? (RL3.8) ... Read more

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Soccer training guide for players to develop their fitness and skills through personal practice. Design custom year long training programs using the drills and activities to supplement or replace team training. Activities are suitable for youth to professional level players. Coaches can assign activities to their players, or parents and players can design their own programs. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Excellent personal training guide.
I highly recommend this book for both coaching staff and individual players looking for personal training programs unique to soccer.The book focuses on the drills and activties themselves and how to create a managable program.I've personally used the book with several teams (U-11 to U-18) and it has made a HUGE difference in their technical skill and fitness levels.A must by for serious coaches and players looking to take their games to the next level. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (2)

Good biography about Edson Arantes do Nascimento
A good book, written with cooperation, about the life of Brazilian soccer legend Pelé, a guy who went for international success in a age when salaries of top professional players where no even a small fraction of today's stars.

Still a relevant figure everywhere in the word, Pelé talks wih his own words (helped by a professional writer)about his humble origins and his rise to international fame, playing for Brazilian soccer team Santos, the Brazilian national squad and, lastly, in the New York Cosmos.

A good read.

A Football Epic
...by one of soccer's greatests or for some even THE greatest, which is to say that if this would be warfare, we would be talking about Alexander of Macedon, or a Napoleon or something. I however, think that in the game, Pele is more like A.V. Suvorov, a great (or even the greatest) Russian fieldmarshall. Known for his "always attack" strategies A.V. caused devastation to the Turkish army to the Swiss, and Polish, and would ve done that to Napoleon has he not passed on.

Pele on the other hand, we could say "beat Napoleon" by winning the World Cup for Brazil three times, which led to a retirement of the Jules Rimet cup. A great accomplishment. Plus he plays a great soccer). ... Read more

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Rob Lasher is just an ordinary soccer player, good at the game, but not great. Then one afternoon, he saves his coach's life in front of all his teammates. Suddenly, he's the team's hero. As some members of his team and the rest of the town continue to laud Rob's heroic act, Rob realizes he doesn't want the attention and any unearned accolades that come with it. Kids will learn that doing what is right should be the norm, not the exception. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

soccer hero
grandkids loved it, good reading material,glad we found this and other books on this web site.

Couldn't put the book down!
Reviewed by Lake Furney (age 10) for Reader Views (12/07)

Rob Lasher is a player on the Pirates soccer team.After saving his coach's life everyone treats him like a hero.He doesn't like the attention and wants people to just forget about it. After the new coach makes Rob team captain, things get worse.They struggle to get along and work together as a team.

This book, "Soccer Hero," was awesome!Most of the time I didn't want to put it down.It's great for 8-11 year olds.
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Customer Reviews (2)

Terrific
This is a great read. Very interesting insight to Rio's childhood and his time at the so called "smaller clubs" before his big money move to United. I would recommend this.

A Hilarous and easy to read autobiography
If you haven't ever read a soccer autobiography, this is a great place to start.A fast entertaining read filled with great english slang, and to the point style.You can tell that Rio was having fun telling these stories and isn't afraid to use a few swear words to get his point across.This isn't just a glossy childrens style soccer biography, its definately fun to read for adults also.I thoroghly reccomend this book.C'MON UNITED. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

Paul Scholes: The Biography by Simon Moss
Well written book. Easy read always interesting to get an insight as to how people arrive where they arrive. ... Read more

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The first book endorsed by AYSO -- the organization that soccer moms and dads trust most -- that presents all the basics of youth soccer

If you are a soccer parent, coach, or referee, or just a youth soccer enthusiast, The Official American Youth Soccer Organization Handbook is for you. Dr. Vincent Fortanasce, Lawrence Robinson, and John Ouellette, the National AYSO coach, have written the book that will help everyone to better understand the rules, regulations, and skills that are essential to the game and a rewarding soccer experience for the children who play. In a straightforward, easy-to-follow style, The Official AYSO Handbook covers:

• the five philosophies of AYSO: everyone plays, balanced teams, open registration, positive coaching, and good sportsmanship
• the responsibilities of each position
• the complete rules of youth soccer, including offside, throw-ins, and penalty kicks
• skills such as ball control, goalkeeping, heading, and shooting
• short-sided soccer rules for children between the ages of six and twelve
• information for the prevention and treatment of the most common soccer injuries

AYSO is the best and most trusted youth soccer authority. And now, Fortanasce, Robinson, and Ouellette have collected AYSO's expertise in this indispensable book -- a must-have for anyone who embraces the important role that youth soccer can play in a child's life. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The Official American Youth Soccer Organization Handbook
This book gives one all that is needed to know about AYSO and the game of soccer.The emphasis is on the youth playing the game.The officials, parents and coaches are there to make the game "fun, fair and safe" for the kids, not to live vicariously through the kids.Good coverage of the game, the laws of the game and all thatAYSO is about. ... Read more

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This series provides information on the equipment, positions, and superstars of kids' favorite sports. The basics of each sport are presented in colorful and striking images. Each title provides diagrams of the playing field and essential techniques, emphasizing proper nutrition and health. The engaging design includes sidebars, history, and safety issues. ... Read more

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Introduces the skills of dribbling, juggling, passing, and receiving the ball, discusses field positions and strategies, and offers advice on warmups, conditioning, and practice drills. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Great Book!
This is a great book for the begining soccer mom/dad or even coach! It has drills and coaching ideas for kids of all ages.

Great for U8 to U10
This is the best book I've found for coaching the U8-U10 age groups. McCarthy writes well, and explains the basics in simple, easy-to-understand language. For coaching my U9 team, I found his explanations of skills, positions, rules, and strategy especially helpful. This book should be supplemented with a good book of soccer drills. What it covers, it covers well. ... Read more