Football S Game Changers

“This game means a lot to me, and by the grace of God, I’ll never lose sight of the privilege it is to play it.” —Kirk Cousins Kirk’s book is a reflection of who he is—not just a football player, but someone who is committed to making those around him better in every walk of life. —Mike Shanahan, head coach, Washington Redskins In 2011, the NFF selected 16 college football players as "National Scholar Athletes", one of the highest honors a college football player can receive … Kirk was one of these distinguished 16, which says everything you need to know about him. —Archie Manning, chairman, National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame Kirk Cousins is a lot more than an outstanding quarterback. He walks the talk. Few people I've met can inspire like he does. —Jon Gruden, ESPN announcer and former head coach, Tampa Bay Buccaneers In a world with far too many bad examples, Kirk is a bright light of hope, inspiration, and leadership for a new generation. —Bill Huizenga, United States Congressman, Michigan What’s it really like for a person of strong character to live in the spotlight of pressure and fame? Sit down with Kirk Cousins, record-setting Michigan State quarterback and 2012 draft pick of the NFL’s Washington Redskins. In Game Changer, Cousins gives readers an inside look at his life—as experienced under the bright lights ofcollege and professional football—and how he put his faith and values into action, both on and off the field. Featuring: Personal stories and struggles of a competitive Christian athlete Truthful discussion of media hype and modern sports culture Reflections on honesty, humility, hard work, privilege, and responsibility Life principles for winning choices on and off the field

Team sports like football, basketball, soccer, and rugby are hugely popular the world over, on both college and professional levels, and such popularity means that they are big business. Very big. Broadcasting rights alone bring in billions: ESPN paid $5.6 billion to broadcast college football playoffs for twelve years; Turner Sports/CBS shelled out $10.4 billion to show the national college basketball tournament through 2024; and the most recent NBA TV deal came in at a cool $26.4 billion. As the rewards for winning have increased, it’s no surprise that sports team budgets have followed suit. Sure, the athletic program at the University of Texas brought in $161 million last year, but the Longhorns also spent $154 million over the same period. Fifteen other college athletics program also racked up over $100 million in annual expenses. But that’s child’s play compared to the outgoings at the world’s most valuable soccer team, Manchester United, which spent more than $500 million in 2015. The trouble is that all this spending often fails to yield better results. Teams in all sports have tried just about every gimmick to “hack” their way to better performance. But as they’ve gotten stuck in stats, mired in backroom politics, and diverted by the facilities arms race, many have lost sight of what should’ve been their primary focus all along: the game itself. In Game Changer, Fergus Connolly shows how to improve performance with evidence-based analysis and athlete-focused training. Through his unprecedented experiences with teams in professional football, basketball, rugby, soccer, Aussie Rules, and Gaelic football, as well as with elite military units, Connolly has discovered how to break down the common elements in all sports to their basic components so that each moment of any game can be better analyzed, whether you’re a player or a coach. The lessons of game day then can be used to create valuable learning experiences in training, evaluate the quality of your team’s performance, and home in on what’s working and what isn’t. Game Changer also shows you how to expand training focus from players' physical qualities to advance athletes technically, tactically, and psychologically. Connolly's TTPP Model not only helps players continually progress but also stops treating them like a disposable commodity and instead prioritizes athlete health. Bringing together the latest evidence-based practices and lessons from business, psychology, biology, and many other fields, Game Changer is the first book of its kind that helps coaches, athletes, and casual fans: • Create a cohesive game plan that improves performance through defined objectives, strategies, and tactics • Put statistical analysis and technology into context so teams can bypass the hype and get meaningful results • Identify dominant qualities to maximize during training and limiting factors to improve • Create realistic, immersive learning experiences for individual players and the entire team that deliver defined outcomes • Structure player development with a new, holistic model that puts athlete health first and helps reduce the chance of injury and burnout • Balance training load so that all players are fresh and ready to play at their best in competition • Rethink coaching and organizational leadership and enhance communication, group dynamics, and player interaction • Create a winning team culture

The second book in the Game Changers sports series answers the questions: What were the 50 most revolutionary personalities, rules, pieces of equipment, controversies, organizational changes, radio and television advancements, and more in the history of football? And how, exactly, did they forever change the game? Football’s Game Changers offers fascinating, detailed explanations along with a ranking system from 1 to 50 that is sure to inspire debate among professional and college gridiron aficionados. Ranging from each sport’s beginnings to today and tackling on-the-field and off-the-field developments, the Game Changers series is entertaining, quick-hitting history of sport through its turning-points and innovations. Full-color, and including photos, pull-outs, and sidebars throughout, books within the Game Changers series are must-have additions to every sports fan’s library.

Bloomsbury High Low books encourage and support reading practice by providing gripping, age-appropriate stories for struggling and reluctant readers, those with dyslexia, or those with English as an additional language. Printed on tinted paper and with a dyslexia friendly font and illustrations, The Football Trials is aimed at readers aged 12+ and has a manageable length (80 pages) and reading age (9+). Produced in association with reading experts at Catch Up, a charity which aims to address underachievement caused by literacy and numeracy difficulties. This exciting coming of age story follows a boy from a tower block as he joins a premier league football academy. Jackson is surprised when he gets a call-up to play with United's under-eighteen team, and when everyone starts raving about his playing. But he's in for an even bigger shock when his dad turns up on his doorstep for the first time in years. Can they repair their relationship? Or is his dad out for what he can get? Book band: Brown

This is a devotional series for Christians who are football fans. There is one devotional for each week of the NFL season, designed to help the reader grow closer to the Lord during the football season.

The accepted narrative in football-crazy Texas is that racial integral came to the state’s “national sport” in the mid-1960s, generally associated with Jerry LeVias’ celebrated arrival at SMU in Dallas. But the landmark achievement actually took place quietly almost a decade earlier only about an hour north of Dallas. In the town of Denton, two black football players from Dallas’ segregated public school system boldly walked on to play for what was then called North Texas State College—known today as the University of North Texas. Abner Haynes and Leon King didn’t know what to expect, and neither their dozen or so teammates on North Texas’ freshman team. The players’ arrival came only a few months after North Texas first welcomed a black undergraduate student in February 1956. The school worked its way through both that episode and the integration of its most public face—the football team—with no fanfare and without the hostility on campus that accompanied similar events at many other colleges and universities across the South. There were, though, tense situations when a racial integrated football team played road games in small, segregated Texas towns. Jeff Miller, a veteran Texas sports journalist, has visited with those who lived through it—from the mixed welcome that Haynes and King initially received from their white freshman brethren to those same teammates standing with them after the two blacks were denied service at eateries on the road to a squad that grew into a Bowl team. In The Game Changers, Miller ties the tale of what happened at North Texas beginning in 1956 to contrasting events that took place not far away that reverberated into national relevance. He also chronicles the continued racial integration of major college football in Texas throughout the 1960s. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Sports Publishing imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in sports—books about baseball, pro football, college football, pro and college basketball, hockey, or soccer, we have a book about your sport or your team. Whether you are a New York Yankees fan or hail from Red Sox nation; whether you are a die-hard Green Bay Packers or Dallas Cowboys fan; whether you root for the Kentucky Wildcats, Louisville Cardinals, UCLA Bruins, or Kansas Jayhawks; whether you route for the Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, or Los Angeles Kings; we have a book for you. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to publishing books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked by other publishers and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

For serious football fans wanting to relive the most unforgettable, extraordinary, and gut-wrenching moments in New England Patriots history, this account explores the team's greatest plays, providing context, back story, relevant circumstances, and comments from those directly involved in each play. Photos help reanimate memories, including Jim Nance's 1966 Sports Illustrated cover; the team taking advantage of turnovers in the 1986 playoffs to make it to Super Bowl XX; the incredible run through the 2002 playoffs against the Raiders, the Steelers, and the Rams; Willie McGinest's sacking of Peyton Manning in 2004; and Rodney Harrison's six interceptions in the 2005 playoffs.

A brand new, fast-paced, fully illustrated history of basketball through its flashpoints, innovations, and innovators The third book in the Lyons Press Game Changers sports series answers the questions: What were the 50 most revolutionary personalities, rules, strategies, rivalries, controversies, organizational changes, radio and television advancements, and more in the history of basketball—college and the pros? And how, exactly, did they forever change the game? Basketball’s Game Changers offers fascinating, detailed explanations along with a ranking system from 1 to 50 that is sure to inspire debate among professional and college basketball aficionados. Ranging from the game’s beginnings to today and tackling on-the-court and off-the-court developments, Basketball’s Game Changers offers a history of hoops through its turning-points and innovations. Sportswriter Brendan Prunty breaks down the Bird-Magic rivalry, the 3-point shot, the creation of the NCAA tournament, Air Jordans, Allen Iverson, the WNBA, and even the video game NBA Jam and more! Full-color, and including photos, pull-outs, and sidebars throughout, books within the Game Changers series are important and entertaining additions to every sports fan’s library.