The game of football teaches lessons that are as applicable on the playing field as they are in the classroom, workplace, and in our relationships with those around us. In Heart of a Student Athlete, Karl Mecklenburg -- former all-pro captain of the Denver Broncos -- offers young athletes and their families inspirational advice about how to dream, achieve, and overcome obstacles on their way to success. Mecklenburg's candid, anecdotal counsel will motivate student athletes to aim high, work hard, and avoid the numerous challenges that they may face--including pressure to perform in the game, emphasis on sport over study, and the temptation of illegal drugs. In addition to sharing the incredible story of his unlikely rise from amateur athlete to Super Bowl Championship competitor, Mecklenburg outlines his template for success and reveals its six key components: teamwork, courage, honesty and forgiveness, desire, dedication, and goal setting. Accessible and brimming with enthusiasm, this book explains these keys and empowers athletes, parents, and coaches with the tools they need to achieve success and foster it in the young athletes in their lives.

Many books have been written on the evils of commercialism in college sport, and the hypocrisy of payments to athletes from alumni and other sources outside the university. Almost no attention, however, has been given to the way that the National Collegiate Athletic Association has embraced professionalism through its athletic scholarship policy. Because of this gap in the historical record, the NCAA is often cast as an embattled defender of amateurism, rather than as the architect of a nationwide money-laundering scheme. Sack and Staurowsky show that the NCAA formally abandoned amateurism in the 1950s and passed rules in subsequent years that literally transformed scholarship athletes into university employees. In addition, by purposefully fashioning an amateur mythology to mask the reality of this employer-employee relationship, the NCAA has done a disservice to student-athletes and to higher education. A major subtheme is that women, such as those who created the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW), opposed this hypocrisy, but lacked the power to sustain an alternative model. After tracing the evolution of college athletes into professional entertainers, and the harmful effects it has caused, the authors propose an alternative approach that places college sport on a firm educational foundation and defend the rights of both male and female college athletes. This is a provocative analysis for anyone interested in college sports in America and its subversion of traditional educational and amateur principles.

Athletes have a passion for sports that makes them unique, viewing life through a competitive lens. The desire to compete and their drive for success can mean seeing friends, family, church, and school as distractions. Usually the first to be sacrificed is their spiritual life. And yet, God does not intend for athletes to go it alone. Heart of an Athlete is spiritual training for the competitor, 120 devotions written specifically for athletes of every level. It goes straight to the issues that matter most to athletes, such as identity, fear, trust, and recognition. This athletic devotional encourages readers to spend regular, short, and meaningful time in God's Word to help them become true competitors for Christ.

Daily Devotions for Peak Performance As an athlete with a passion for sports, you have a unique view of life through a competitive lens. And yet, your drive for success and commitment to your sport may lead to being set apart from others, distancing yourself from friends, family, church and school. God doesn't intend for you to go it alone. He wants to be included in your athletics and in every other area of your life. Heart of an Athlete makes it easy to receive regular spiritual training that won't take over your workout schedule. Here are 90 inspiring devotions written specifically for athletes of every level. Now you can gain insight into handling daily challenges and using biblical principles to become a true competitor for Christ.

In The Heart of Football-players tell you why they play, coaches tell you why they coach, and everyone involved in the game tells you why they love football so much.

High school sports programs are not simply one-dimensional after-school recreational diversions from the rigors of academic life. In The Other Classroom: The Essential Importance of High School Athletics, Michael J. Coffino showcases how high school athletics have a positive influence on the student athletes beyond just the sports experience itself. He argues that the lessons learned, tools acquired, and values instilled have an enduring impact that prepare young athletes for the many challenges they will face in life. Coffino reveals how a well-considered, value-based athletic program effectively works alongside the standard educational curriculum to teach athletes a wide range of beneficial behaviors—including self-advocacy, goal-setting, leadership, conflict resolution, and more. Drawing on extensive research, illuminating anecdotes, heartfelt commentary from original interviews, and Coffino’s personal coaching experience, The Other Classroom issues a passionate challenge to school administrators, coaches, athletic directors, parents, and local communities to bring greater focus on how their high school programs consider the long-term well-being of student athletes. It urges schools to emphasize the importance of preparing student athletes to flourish as adults in whatever they pursue once their formal education is complete.