Highlighting rugby, the fastest growing sport in America, this book tackles the issue of girls playing full-contact sports. Maddy and her friends are a small town group determined to form a girls' junior rugby team while they navigate learning both the rules of the game and the rules set out by the school board. The adults are concerned about the girls' safety and even Maddy worries that she is too small for the rough game. But the persistence of the diverse group of girls wins the day and the book becomes a celebration of the empowerment and self-esteem young girls get from participating in sports.

Following consistent and rapid general economic growth, Pacific Rim countries have grown as a major force in sports. Australia, China, Japan and Korea populated the top ten medals list at the 2012 London Olympics. Pacific Rim countries are major consumers of international sports and domestic professional sports have expanded continuously over time. Nippon Professional Baseball and the Korean Baseball Organization are the second and third largest baseball leagues measured by attendance and revenue following Major League Baseball in the U.S. This book also includes event studies of team ownership, assessment of human capital markets, analysis of the relationship between attendance and competitive balance, the components of fan demand in common the world over, and business decisions concerning attendance and pricing. There is already demand for comprehensive study of the sports business in the Pacific Rim as witnessed by this growth. This book will be of interest of researchers studying and/or teaching in the fields of sports economics and sports management as well as a general audience interested in business governance around the world.

This is a unique collection of personal stories of people involved in sport. Four main sections are covered: being introduced to sports; becoming an athlete; doing sports, and life beyond the playing field.

Youth Rugby provides a summary of the latest and most up-to-date research evidence in relation to developing the youth rugby player. The book provides an overview of the latest scientific research for key topics related to the youth rugby player across the codes of rugby (union, league and 7’s; mainly league and union in youth players) whilst also summarising the quality of the evidence available and the limitations of this research and highlighting key future research directions. The book covers a range of fundamental scientific topics relating to paediatric exercise science, human physiology, youth athletic development and high-performance sport. Each author is an experienced researcher within their respective discipline related to the youth rugby player. The book includes chapters on: • Long-term athletic development, growth and maturation, talent identification and the physical demands of youth rugby training and match-play. • Physical characteristics and the current evidence behind training methods to promote desired physical qualities. • Fatigue and recovery, the tackle, psychosocial development, nutrition and injury prevalence and prevention. This text is essential reading for all scientists, students and applied researchers wanting to develop world-class, evidence-based programmes for their youth athletes.

Book 9 in the acclaimed Rugby Spirit series. Eoin's back playing rugby, but this time he feels out of his depth. He's been promoted early to the Senior Cup team – where he's the youngest ever player – and he's not sure if he's ready for it. It's hard finding his feet among the older boys. A discovery from the earliest days of Irish rugby brings more ghostly encounters for Eoin – and leads him and his friends to tackle a series of crimes at the national stadium. Robberies, rucks and Senior Cup rugby make it a term to remember!

Melnick, PhD, Contemporary Issues in Sociology of Sport includes: an exploration of topics and themes that have received limited attention in other sociology of sport texts but have been long-standing social concerns; a review of the attitudes toward female athletes and the anti-homosexual phobias present in sport; an in-depth look at the impoverishment of children's games in America; an overview of high school sport participation; a study of the challenges and benefits of the big-time collegiate sport experience; a critique of television's impact on sport and its portrayal of gender and race, and a review of sport and globalization. Unit I provides the reader with a historical background on the development of sociology of sport and addresses several critical issues about the relationship between sociology, physical education, and sociology of sport.

"Read about the players whose catching, passing, running, scrummaging and tackling skills have helped make rugby one of the most popular sports in the world! The book includes: training techniques to help you learn rugby skills; styling skills - how to look good playing the game you love; studying skills - how reading, writing and study skills can make you a better player; [and] what to do when you make mistakes"--Publisher's website.