Sports For Her

Susan Wilson, a longtime coach and former college gymnastics champion, has written the practical guide for parents who want to encourage their daughters to start -- and stay with -- sports as a pathway to a lifetime of health and self-esteem. Sports Her Way coaches parents in each phase of getting their daughters involved with sports. With lively examples and clear advice, Susan Wilson shows parents how to: Understand sports readiness and determine what activities are appropriate for their daughters' physical, emotional, and mental maturity Choose whether a recreational or competitive program is right for their daughters Exercise their daughters' minds by turning disappointments into positive life lessons about persistence, mental fortitude, and self-discipline Seek out diverse role models Create an enthusiasm for fitness that will last a lifetime Authoritative, yet friendly, Sports Her Way is an indispensable handbook for parents, coaches, would-be coaches, mentors, or anyone who recognizes the vital role sports play in girls' physical and emotional development. With Susan Wilson's help, you will find the smart and healthy way to inspire your young athlete today -- while preparing her to be the self-reliant woman of tomorrow.

“The embrace of women’s sports sometimes feels almost like a political act...Molly Schiot’s Game Changers: The Unsung Heroines of Sports History is so valuable.” —The Wall Street Journal “A thoughtful, exhaustively researched, and long-overdue tribute to the women who have paved the way for the likes of Serena Williams, Abby Wambach, Simone Biles, and more.” —espnW Based on the Instagram account @TheUnsungHeroines, a celebration of the pioneering, forgotten female athletes of the twentieth century that features rarely seen photos and new interviews with past and present game changers including Abby Wambach and Cari Champion. Two years ago, filmmaker Molly Schiot began the Instagram account @TheUnsungHeroines, posting a photo each day of a female athlete who had changed the face of sports around the globe in the pre-Title IX age. These women paved the way for Serena Williams, Carli Lloyd, and Lindsey Vonn, yet few today know who they are. Slowly but surely, the account gained a following, and the result is Game Changers, a beautifully illustrated collection of these trailblazers’ rarely-before-seen photos and stories. Featuring icons Althea Gibson and Wyomia Tyus, complete unknowns Trudy Beck and Conchita Cintron, policymaker Margaret Dunkle, sportswriter Lisa Olson, and many more, Game Changers gives these “founding mothers” the attention and recognition they deserve, and features critical conversations between past and present gamechangers—including former US Women’s National Soccer Team captain Abby Wambach and SportsCenter anchor Cari Champion—about what it means to be a woman on and off the field. Inspiring, empowering, and unforgettable, Game Changers is the perfect gift for anyone who has a love of the game.

Today, one in every three high school girls plays sports, and the number of sports offered to these young women has increased dramatically in the past decade. This unique resource explores these sports from a girl's perspective, while examining sports issues as they pertain to young women. Individual chapters cover the most popular sports offered at the high school level, such as basketball, field hockey, and track, and provides practical advice on training and practicing techniques, trying out for the team, and organizing school teams. Other sports possibly less familiar, such as badminton and crew, are also explored, each in a chapter of its own, as are sports like football and baseball which are typically offered only to boys. Students can find detailed information for each of the eight most popular sports at the high school level: basketball, field hockey, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, track and field, and volleyball. This information includes the history of the sport, rules, common injuries to the sport, similar sports to try, and advice from coaches about making the team. Young female students are encouraged to try other sports that may not be offered by their high school and to get high schools to sponsor teams where there are none, as well as to participate on boys' teams if a particular sport is not offered to girls. Advice is also provided on possible sports-related problems for girls, including overtraining, drug use, eating disorders, and abuse from coaches, as well as information about sports-related careers to provide a well-rounded, comprehensive guide for young female athletes.

The only anthology available documenting 100 years of women in American sports

Adolescent girls are dropping out of sports at an alarming rate, despite having more opportunities than ever before. More than that, mainstream media coverage of women’s sports has declined over the last twenty years, and currently accounts for less than 5 percent of the total. Is it possible that there’s a connection between these dispiriting statistics? Is it possible that young girls would have a better chance of staying in sports if they could actually see the older equivalent of themselves more often? With Strong and Free, Lyndsay Doyle believes we have the power to change their lifestyle trajectories through photographs. Here is inspiration for Canadian female athletes, coaches, and officials in one collection, assembled in the hopes of expanding media coverage of female sports and encouraging young girls to enroll and stay involved. These photographs capture sporting women in all walks of life—all ages, all body types, from beginners to Olympians. These women share common traits that often transcend sports: determination, perseverance, dedication, patience, and responsibility for showing young girls how sport can benefit them. Strong and Free gives these incredible role models for young girls a powerful voice. Our girls are watching us. Our nieces, cousins, sisters, neighbours, daughters. If we don’t show them what they’re capable of, who will?