Jennie Finch fell in love with baseball as a four-year-old when her mother took her to Dodger games. A year later, her parents signed her up for softball lessons and the young girl was instantly smitten. As a youngster, Jennie dominated travel softball and later became a star player at La Mirada High School in Southern California. During her time at University of Arizona, she set an NCAA record with 60 consecutive wins. Blessed with remarkable pitching ability, good looks and role-model sportsmanship, Jennie became a breakout celebrity at the 2004 Athens Olympics, where she captured gold with Team USA. A children’s biography, Jennie Finch: Softball Superstar details the California native’s journey as she transitioned from a shy youngster playing in a t-ball league to become softball’s most famous face, a devoted mother of three and a legend in women’s sports.

The evidence is overwhelming: sports help girls grow into strong women. Both scientific studies and anecdotal evidence confirm that athletic girls not only grow up to be healthier; they learn teamwork, gain inner confidence, and grow into society's leaders. Sports help preteen and teenage girls make the right choices in a society that is sending them incredibly mixed messages about who they are supposed to be. Yet no one is speaking directly to these girls. Jennie fills the role of girlfriend, big sister, team captain, and mentor. A smart, credible, and accomplished voice from an athlete who is strong and feminine, fiercely competitive, and fashionably cool, Jennie is someone young women will listen to and take to heart. Jennie's message: Believe in yourself. Go for it, girls.

Sidestepping the inflated egos and scandal that have infiltrated many men's sports, college female softball players exhibit power and grace on the field as well as camaraderie, high achievement and vulnerability off the field. This balance not only makes the game compelling to watch, but it also elevates women's softball as an aspirational model for other sports. Focusing on the 2018 season, this book explores gender performance and sexuality in softball, how the influx of money from the sport's growth has reshaped expectations of success, and traditional media coverage of women's sports.

From its humble beginnings in 1887, when it was invented in a Chicago boat club and played with a broomstick, to the rise in the 1940s and 1950s of professional-caliber company-sponsored teams that toured the country in style, softball's history is as diverse as it is fascinating. Though it's thought of today as a woman's sport, fastpitch softball's early years featured several male stars, such as the vaudeville-esque Eddie Feigner, whose signature move was striking out batters while blindfolded. But because softball was one of the only team sports that women were allowed to play competitively, it took on added importance for female athletes. This book chronicles its history.

Love sports? Make your passion your profession with this guide that can help you score a career in the sports industry. The sports industry is wide and vast, and there are countless ways to get involved and make sports your job. From the popular careers of professional athlete, coach, sports broadcaster, and photographer, to the lesser-known professions of sports agent, statistician, sports therapist, and scout, So, You Want to Work in Sports? delves into a wide variety of possible futures that are exciting and rewarding. In addition to tips and interviews from many different professionals, So, You Want to Work in Sports? includes inspiring stories from young adults who are out there exploring different sectors, as well as games, activities, a glossary, and resources to help you on your way to a successful career in athletics.

Plain and simple, championship teams score runs. Their offenses are consistent, aggressive, opportunistic, and disciplined. They may manufacture runs or rely on the long ball, but they score early and often. And they win. High-Scoring Softball is the definitive guide for offensive play. The game’s most successful coaching duo, Ralph and Karen Weekly, share the approach that has shaped some of the game’s top scoring offenses and generated more than 1,700 career victories. Inside you’ll find detailed instruction, advice, and coaching tips on mastering offensive fundamentals, such as baserunning, bunting, slap hitting, and hitting for power and average. You’ll learn how to evaluate your team’s talents, tendencies, and strengths and create a potent, offensive attack. And a detailed analysis of common game situations provides you with strategies and advice for capitalizing on every opportunity. Defense may win games, but only if you score. With High-Scoring Softball you will score and you will win. It will change the way you play the game.

The son of a former professional ball player, Mike Trout was running around a baseball diamond at the age of two. From Little League to high school, the amazing athlete constantly turned heads during his playing days in New Jersey. He then took baseball by storm in 2012 when he posted incredible stats during his first full season in the big leagues with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. A children's biography filled with over 25 thrilling photos, Mike Trout: Baseball Sensation chronicles the New Jersey native's rise from a toddler running the base paths to winning the 2012 American League Rookie of the Year Award. Young readers will read about Trout's childhood days when he played baseball in his family's backyard, his high school basketball career and highlights from his Major League Baseball years.