A story with a big heart about a boy, a coach, the game of baseball, and the game of life. "There are teachers with a rare ability to enter a child's mind; it's as if their ability to get there at all gives them the right to stay forever." There was a turning point in Michael Lewis's life, in a baseball game when he was fourteen years old. The irascible and often terrifying Coach Fitz put the ball in his hand with the game on the line and managed to convey such confident trust in Lewis's ability that the boy had no choice but to live up to it. "I didn't have words for it then, but I do now: I am about to show the world, and myself, what I can do." The coach's message was not simply about winning but about self-respect, sacrifice, courage, and endurance. In some ways, and now thirty years later, Lewis still finds himself trying to measure up to what Coach Fitz expected of him.

Hungry for a different kind of winning? In the game of life, effective "self-coaching" is the first step to success in your personal and professional relationships. Entrepreneur Tom Gegax should know; he thought he had it all until a three-ring wake-up call of divorce, cancer, and a business in crisis changed his game forever. But Gegax recovered and now enjoys a life rich with family, friends, peak health, and a thriving company. Winning in the Game of Life, Gegax's self-designed, revolutionary plan merges the lessons of home and work into lessons of life. This unified approach helps you identify your purpose in life--your guiding mission--and teaches you how to put it into play, including: The Seven Take-Action Steps--decide what you want and how you're going to get it.Winning strategies for effective communication, better organization, and time management.Self-coaching plans for wellness of body, intellect, and spirit.Ten important lessons to ensure a lifetime of learning.Integrating the best of Western business models, mind-body techniques, and spiritual wisdom, Gegax's comprehensive game plan will dismantle barriers to a fuller life, awaken your true potential, and keep you on a winning track.

A powerful parenting strategy based on parallels between coaching and raising children. This book inspires parents to build strong families.

The UCLA Bruins coach pays tribute to the individuals who helped foster the values that shaped his career, and shares interviews with people he mentored throughout the years, including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Walton.

ABOUT THE BOOK The book expands on an article, Coach Fitz's Management Theory, Lewis wrote for The New York Times in 2004. A mere 90 pages, the book lacks definitive chapters. Instead, it is simply organized into sections that alternate between flashbacks from Lewis high school years of 1975-8, and his investigation of a conflict at his alma mater in 2004. Lewis constructs his story around themes of duality: past and present, boy and man, coach and parents, fans and critics, memory and investigation, invention and truth. The end result combines a deeply personal memoir about an influential figure from Lewis' boyhood with an exploration into the modern coach-athlete relationship. MEET THE AUTHOR Anita Y. Tsuchiya has been writing for pay for about 15 years. She is fluent in a variety of styles--journalistic, academic, scientific, technical; and across a variety of media--print, web, social. Anita likes to think outside the box, while still keeping track of how far shes pushed the envelope. In addition to writing and editing, she enjoys designing layouts and graphics. Long ago, she was a sponsored athlete and speed freak. Nowadays, she prefers the pursuit of inner peace through yoga and tai qi. She grew up in the Bay Area of California back when Silicon Valley was prune orchards and garlic fields, graduating from San Leandro High and then U.C. Davis. After a decade of living in the Pacific Northwest, shes now happily settled in Salt Lake City, Utah although she does miss the seafood. She shares her home with Molly and Linus, a pair of dogs devoted to teaching her about enjoying life to the fullest. Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/anita.tsuchiya Twitter: http://twitter.com/BeesGal_slc Blog: http://www.chiburibird.net/sabaku/ EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK Lewis is riveted by the impassioned speech, which includes references from Aesop and Mark Twain. The point, Coach Fitz tells them, is they are spending all their energies on foolish and frivolous activities instead of preparing for those challenges in life that cannot be resolved with anything other than hard work. He reminds them that hard work, not their parents payment of the school tuition, is how ballplayers make the team. With this generational psychology at play, its no wonder Baby Boomer coaches feel frustrated trying to communicate with todays young athletes. And the frustration is mutual. Old-school mannerisms, such as eye contact and a firm handshake, are meant to convey professionalism and confidence. CHAPTER OUTLINE Quicklet on Michael Lewis' Coach: Lessons on the Game of Life + Dedication + About the Book + About the Author + Overall Summary + ...and much more Michael Lewis' Coach: Lessons on the Game of Life

The Winners Manual: For the Game of Life shares Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel's “Big Ten” fundamentals for success: Attitude, Discipline, Faith, Handling Adversity & Success, Excellence, Love, Toughness, Responsibility, Team, and Hope. Peppered with personal stories from Coach Tressel’s storied coaching career, this book shares the fundamental lessons that he has been imparting to his players and coaching staffs for the past 20 years. A perfect blend of football stories, spiritual insights, motivational reading, and practical application, The Winners Manual provides an inside look at the core philosophy that has positively impacted the lives of thousands of student athletes and served as the foundation for two of the most successful college football programs of all time. Includes 8 pages of color photos and a foreword from NYT best-selling author John Maxwell. All of the proceeds from the book are being donated directly to the William Oxley Thompson Memorial Library Renovation Campaign. Other features: Each chapter closes with a practical application section, where readers will be “coached” on how they can apply the lessons imparted throughout the book to their own lives, via the establishment of measurable goals. Provides a rare inside glimpse into the mind of one of the most respected coaches in college football history and into the huddle of one of the most successful football programs of all time. Filled with hundreds of inspirational stories, quotes and anecdotes.

The modern day youth sports environment has taken the enjoyment out of athletics for our children. Currently, 70% of kids drop out of organized sports by the age of 13, which has given rise to a generation of overweight, unhealthy young adults. There is a solution. John O’Sullivan shares the secrets of the coaches and parents who have not only raised elite athletes, but have done so by creating an environment that promotes positive core values and teaches life lessons instead of focusing on wins and losses, scholarships, and professional aspirations. Changing the Game gives adults a new paradigm and a game plan for raising happy, high performing children, and provides a national call to action to return youth sports to our kids.