The First Wheelchair Football Manager

‘‘Football is a team sport, we play together and we win together. Sometimes it can happen that an individual or the defensive line make a mistake and we concede a goal resulting in a lost, it means we lose together, despite the criticism from the commentators or what will come out from the newspapers the day after. There should not be a finger pointing on and off the field, as every mistake should be considered as a team mistake since the game is a collective sport, you play to win and lose together and should always remember to play your hardest until the final whistle..’’ As a kid, you are allowed to dream about anything you want, at least that is what people told you however, in reality, you should probably dream about what is possible. Diego’s dream was to become a professional football player. He was born and grew up in Belvia, a town where playing football was the most realistic situation one could dream of to get out of poverty. With this in mind, he dreams and sets out to become a professional footballer...until a tragedy strikes him and his family, so the alternative options are not too many. Diego, who proved to be mentally strong, respected what life had to offer him, so he tried in every way to take advantage of the opportunity that this game could bring to his family. Football became his passport to a better life; he knew it and worked hard to accomplish this dream. Diego’s character, motivation and love for the game of football can only be described by these few words: “On my fractured legs or bended knees, playing football is and will always be my passion’’. Born in the Caribbean island of Haiti and moved to New Jersey (USA) at an early age, my love and passion for the game was automatically acquired as the Haitian national sport is by miles football. I started to play football ever since I could remember; recreational football and summer neighborhood tournament were the highlight of my childhood. I am grateful of the opportunities I had to play this beautiful game, as well as to participate in its development by coaching and mentoring young players while I was living in Brussels. Nowadays I am happily married, living with my wife and two children and work in Luxembourg City (Luxembourg) in a very different environment than football across the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea where it all started. As life is sometimes full of surprises only time will tell maybe one-day football will call upon my service again and I shall be ready.

"...provides a detailed look at America's pastime through the lens of pop culture, [an] A-to-Z inventory of how certain aspects of the game affect and reflect broader society."--from publisher description.

Now in its fourth edition, this text is still the only sport law textbook to introduce sport legal studies from a management perspective and integrate legal strategies to gain a competitive advantage in business. Acknowledging that students understand legal concepts better when they are tied to real sport management practice, the book is organized around the core management functions. It provides concise explanations of key concepts, as well as current industry examples and legal cases, and gives the student all the legal knowledge they need to become confident and effective professionals in sport management, recreation, or sport education. This new edition includes additional contributions from leading sport law educators and practitioners, and has expanded coverage of important contemporary issues including: · Sports injury and concussion litigation · Impact of Covid-19 on events and leagues · Gender discrimination, disability discrimination, sexual harassment, #metoo, and USWNT pay equity · Intellectual property, licensing agreements, publicity rights, social media influencers, and digital privacy · Student-athletes and marketing rights · Sport gambling and state regulation · Athlete activism, employee free speech, and collective bargaining · Olympic and Paralympic restructuring · NCAA Division 1 Coaches Contracts The book contains useful features and ancillaries to help with teaching and learning, including managerial context tables, case opinions, focus cases, strategies for competitive advantage, discussion questions, and learning activities. It is an essential text for any course on sport law or recreation law, an invaluable supplement to any course on sport business and management, and an important reference for all sport management practitioners. Online resources include a variety of exam questions for each chapter, featuring multiple choice, true or false, short answer exam questions and short essay questions, and a sample syllabus.

Sport Law: A Managerial Approach, third edition, merges law and sport management in a way that is accessible and straightforward. Its organization continues to revolve around management functions rather than legal theory. Concise explanations, coupled with relevant industry examples and cases, give readers just enough legal doctrine to understand the important concepts that apply to each area. This book will help prepare students as they get ready to assume a broad range of responsibilities in sport, education, or recreation. Whether readers work as coaches or teachers; administer professional programs; manage fitness/health clubs; or assume roles in a high school, college, Olympic, or professional sport organization, legal concerns will inevitably be woven into their managerial concerns. This book provides knowledge of the law that helps create a competitive advantage and build a more efficient and successful operation that better serves the needs of its constituents. Special Features of the Book Managerial context tables. Chapter-opening exhibits act as organizational and study tools identifying managerial contexts in relation to major legal issues, relevant law, and illustrative cases for the chapter. Case opinions, focus cases, and hypothetical cases. Legal opinions--both excerpted (case opinions) and summarized (focus cases)--illustrate relevant legal points and help readers understand the interplay between fact and legal theory. The cases include questions for discussion, and the instructor’s manual provides guidance for the discussion. Hypothetical cases further highlight topics of interest and include discussion questions to facilitate understanding of the material; analysis and possible responses appear at the end of the chapter. Competitive advantage strategies. Highlighted, focused strategies based on discussions in the text help readers understand how to use the law to make sound operational decisions and will assist them in working effectively with legal counsel. Discussion questions, learning activities, and case studies. Thoughtful and thought-provoking questions and activities emphasize important concepts;they help instructors teach and readers review the material. Creative case studies stimulate readers, as future sport or recreation managers, to analyze situations involving a legal issue presented in the chapter. Annotated websites. Each chapter includes a collection of web resources to help readers explore topics further. Accompanying the web addresses are brief descriptions pointing out key links and the sites' benefits. Bookmarking these sites will help readers in future research or throughout their careers.

Juan Bornman′s series of stories about children with disabilities accompanied by explanations of the nature and causes of their difficulties helps children to improve understanding and relationships with their peers. Stories about a looked after child and an asylum seeker are also included. Margaret Collins has provided accompanying: - information for adults about the disability or difference - Circle Time activities for young people aged 6 to 8 and 8 to 11 This book can provide a term′s work on inclusion or one story and set of activities can be selected to prepare a class or group for the inclusion of a new member who has a difficulty. The programme also encourages reflection on difference and individuality. Margaret Collins is a former headteacher of infant and first schools. She is now Senior Visiting Fellow in the School of Education at the University of Southampton. She researches children′s perceptions of health education topics, writes teaching materials for children, books and articles on PSHE.

On paper, Coach Rob Mendez sounds like any other football coach on any other field across America: passionate, authoritative, knowledgeable. But he’s unlike any other coach you know--in fact, he’s probably unlike any other person you know. Born with an extraordinarily rare condition called tetra-Amelia syndrome, Rob has no arms or legs. He moves with the assistance of a custom-made, motorized wheelchair that he operates with his back and shoulders. Many people look at Rob and see limitation, yet Rob sees opportunity: Opportunity to pursue his passion for football. Opportunity to change the way people perceive physical disability. Opportunity to serve as a role model for the hundreds of kids he’s coached over the years. Told with both humor and frankness, Who Says I Can’t? takes readers on Rob’s incredible journey, from his birth to loving parents who wanted to afford him every chance for happiness, to the emotional and physical hurdles he faced while seeking independence, to receiving the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance at the ESPY Awards in 2019. Each day, Coach Rob rolls onto the field and shows his players that dreams are achievable when you show up, do the work, and believe in yourself. And after reading this book you, too, will believe that anything is possible.

The impeccably researched, deeply moving, never-before-told tale about a World War II incarceration camp in Wyoming and its extraordinary high school football team—for fans of The Boys in the Boat and The Storm on Our Shores. In the spring of 1942, the United States government forced 120,000 Japanese Americans from their homes in California, Oregon, Washington, and Arizona and sent them to incarceration camps across the West. Nearly 14,000 of them landed on the outskirts of Cody, Wyoming, at the base of Heart Mountain. Behind barbed wire fences, they faced racism, cruelty, and frozen winters. Trying to recreate comforts from home, many established Buddhist temples and sumo wrestling pits. Kabuki performances drew hundreds of spectators—yet there was little hope. That is, until the fall of 1943, when the camp’s high school football team, the Eagles, started its first season and finished it undefeated, crushing the competition from nearby, predominantly white high schools. Amid all this excitement, American politics continued to disrupt their lives as the federal government drafted men from the camps for the front lines—including some of the Eagles. As the team’s second season kicked off, the young men faced a choice to either join the Army or resist the draft. Teammates were divided, and some were jailed for their decisions. The Eagles of Heart Mountain honors the resilience of extraordinary heroes and the power of sports in a sweeping and inspirational portrait of one of the darkest moments in American history.