Soccer Lover’s Best Ever Soccer Book Guide
This series reviews and rates books that teach, describe and document the beautiful game. Look for a wide variety of books and helpful insight from players who have been there and done it on the pitch. Here is a book that includes soccer with a broad range of topics.
IT’S NOT ABOUT THE BRA
FIVE STAR RATING
By: Brandi Chastain
Play Hard, Play Fair, and Put the Fun Back Into Competitive Sports
Published August 30, 2005
It is hard for me to think this picture of Brandi made headlines more for her taking off her shirt and revealing what most people can see any day in every Starbucks (women in exercise clothes) than for capturing the exuberance of triumphant success.
Whether Chastain writes about building the “Perfect Coach” who can revolutionize the game or that there is no “i” in t-e-a-m, the soccer star’s concise and frank words speak like a personal conversation between two people talking soccer.
A great book for all Soccer Lovers who want to focus on improving and improvising, Chastain’s book reveals the thrill of victory, the importance of a countdown to liftoff and the struggles of sportsmanship. If you love the game of soccer, you should read this book on the game of life.
One of the books I’ve enjoyed the most, It’s Not About The Bra is a timeless period piece on women’s soccer from the powerful perspective of an American star player, Brandi Chastain.
The book gives the reader great insight into the journey of being a pro women’s player and opens with this first sentence … “In the beginning of writing this book, I was in the airport on my way to a game with the U.S. National Team.”
Amazon’s review: Youth sports aren’t just about fun and games anymore. What should be a pleasurable experience is often marred by poor sportsmanship, trash talking, win-at-all-cost attitudes, and, in the worst cases, violence. But World Cup soccer champion and Olympic gold medalist Brandi Chastain has a solution. In It’s Not About the Bra, Chastain draws on lessons learned in her phenomenal career and in her experience as a parent to illuminate “the beautiful game” and provide creative answers to the challenges that face young athletes and their parents.
Chastain emphasizes the importance of developing leadership skills, finding (and becoming) role models, and giving back to one’s team and community. She offers a blueprint for kids and parents alike on how to play fair, win (and lose) with grace, and, above all, have a good time doing it.
Chastain is a professional American soccer defender and midfielder who plays for the team California Storm of WPSL and is a former member of the United States Women’s National Soccer Team. Outspoken and charming, the two-time Olympic gold medalist Chastain is a champion of soccer as well as women’s rights.
This book was given to me by Jerry Zanelli, Commissioner of the WPSL and a true champion on Women’s Soccer. Thank you Jerry!
IT”S NOT ABOUT THE BRA is available from Amazon
