What were Messi, Alex Morgan, Neymar, or Carli Lloyd like when they were your age?   Learn how the top soccer stars of all time grew up and conquered the sport. This guide follows fourteen of the best men's and women's players from their first childhood encounter with association football-whether at the school gym or a pickup game in a vacant lot-to their first appearance in a top-division match or their first international cap. For every one of them, it was a journey with its share of both tragedy and triumph.   Did you know that . . .   . . . as a boy, Pelé practiced with a newspaper-stuffed sock or a grapefruit, because he couldn't afford a proper football?   . . . Mia Hamm discovered the sport of soccer as a toddler in Florence, Italy, where her father, a U.S. Air Force pilot, was stationed?   . . . at age ten, Messi was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency that threatened to end his soccer career-until Barça offered to pay for his treatment?   Illustrated with rare photos of stars-to-be on and off the field,Before They Were Starsis sure to entertain and inspire any budding soccer legend. Fans can learn more about their favorite players with other World Soccer Legends series books, such asStars of Women's Soccer: 2nd Edition,Stars of World Soccer,Neymar, Messi, andAlex Morgan.

George Robert Fosty is a Canadian historian and documentary filmmaker currently living in New York City. He was born in Prince Rupert, British Columbia, and studied at the University of Hawaii at Hilo and the London City Polytechnic in England Darril W. Fosty is a Canadian historian and documentary filmmaker currently living in York Beach, Maine. He was born in British Columbia and studied history and journalism at Western Washington University in Washington.

A comprehensive guide for athletes and an effective teaching aid for coaches. More than three and a half million young athletes, female and male, participate in all-star cheerleading in North America. The Cheerleading Book is the go-to resource for anyone interested in participating in or coaching the sport of cheerleading. World champion coaches Ali Moffat and Alana Potter break down cheerleading into its core elements and offer athletes the techniques to build themselves into strong performers and even stronger teammates. Illustrated with step-by-step photographs, this definitive guide takes young athletes from individual jumps and tumbling to group choreography and flying. This exceptional teaching aid also details physical training, mental exercises and teambuilding strategies that lead to success. To inspire and inform young athletes, Moffat and Potter detail how the sport has moved from the sidelines onto the center stage, as well as how they predict the sport will continue to grow and evolve in the coming decade. The Cheerleading Book is for anyone, be they a newbie looking to cheer for the first time, or a dedicated young athlete who wants to improve his or her craft.

A comprehensive guide for athletes and an effective teaching aid for coaches. More than three and a half million young athletes, female and male, participate in all-star cheerleading in North America. The Cheerleading Book is the go-to resource for anyone interested in participating in or coaching the sport of cheerleading. World champion coaches Ali Moffat and Alana Potter break down cheerleading into its core elements and offer athletes the techniques to build themselves into strong performers and even stronger teammates. Illustrated with step-by-step photographs, this definitive guide takes young athletes from individual jumps and tumbling to group choreography and flying. This exceptional teaching aid also details physical training, mental exercises and teambuilding strategies that lead to success. To inspire and inform young athletes, Moffat and Potter detail how the sport has moved from the sidelines onto the center stage, as well as how they predict the sport will continue to grow and evolve in the coming decade. The Cheerleading Book is for anyone, be they a newbie looking to cheer for the first time, or a dedicated young athlete who wants to improve his or her craft.

Perfect for all ages and skill levels, Essential Soccer Skills progresses from beginner basics to advanced techniques, featuring illustrated sequences on how to learn and master key skills, and tips on how to improve your overall form. The Essential Skills series is at-a-glance reference packed with instant-access, easy-to-understand tips to help you improve your game, your technique, and your creativity.

Pound for pound, the most revealing book on the sport today. Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is one of the fastest-growing sports in the world. Its origins hail from ancient Greece and the combat sport Pankration. Today MMA is a multi-million-dollar industry, led by the Ultimate Fighting Championship promotion, and programs in Canada, Japan, South America, Russia and Europe. In MMA NOW!, Brian Sobie and Adam Elliott Segal share the history of mixed martial arts and present the top fighters plying the trade today. From "ground and pound" specialists to ferocious strikers to the complete-package fighters, this book is packed with 40 profiles of the most dangerous and awe-inspiring combatants to ever step into the octagon. Fans can look forward to reading about fighters such as: Royce Gracie, probably the most influential figure in MMA history Randy Couture, champion and controversial promoter of MMA BJ Penn, at one time ranked No. 1 in lightweight and the welterweight divisions Forrest Griffin, former Georgia police officer, winner of the first season of The Ultimate Fighter Renan Barao, holder of one of the longest unbeaten streaks in MMA history Ben Askren, the star pinner with an unorthodox wrestling style. Other dynamic MMA fighters included are George St. Pierre, Ken Shamrock, Matt Hughes, Anderson Silva, Frank Shamrock, Tito Ortiz, Chael Sonnen, Josh Koscheck, Nate Diaz, Michael McDonald, Rory McDonald, Phil Davis, and Gunnar Nelson. Complete with more than 125 action photos, as well as essays on MMA history, the media and the movers and shakers of the sport, MMA NOW! is the most incisive book on MMA.

The NFL's best players, all in one action-packed volume. Over a century after the formation of the American Professional Football Conference, the precursor to the National Football League, pro football continues to excite and captivate millions of fans across the globe. At the core of the NFL is its legendary players -- the incredible athletes who have thrown, caught, run, tackled and kicked their way into the annals of sports history. NFL Heroes presents the best of the best in pro football. From the pioneers, to the current stars, to the all-time legends that occupy the Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, they're all here, including: Tom Brady Jim Brown Jerry Rice Dick Butkus Johnny Unitas Deacon Jones Reggie White Joe Montana Antonio Brown Walter Payton Bronko Nagurski Aaron Donald Dan Marino Terry Bradshaw Emmitt Smith Brett Favre Roger Staubach Rob Gronkowski LaDainian Tomlinson Deion Sanders. Featuring 100 riveting stories and over 120 photos of the game's best, this updated, second edition of NFL Heroes is a must-read for any fan of America's favorite sport.

Neal Bascomb brings his peerless research and fast-paced narrative style to a young adult adaptation of one of his most successful adult books of all time, The Perfect Mile, an inspiring and moving story of three men racing to achieve the impossible -- the perfect four-minute mile. There was a time when running the mile in four minutes was believed to be beyond the limits of human foot speed. In 1952, after suffering defeat at the Helsinki Olympics, three world-class runners each set out to break this barrier: Roger Bannister was a young English medical student who epitomized the ideal of the amateur; John Landy the privileged son of a genteel Australian family; and Wes Santee the swaggering American, a Kansas farm boy and natural athlete. Spanning three continents and defying the odds, these athletes' collective quest captivated the world. Neal Bascomb's bestselling adult account adapted for young readers delivers a breathtaking story of unlikely heroes and leaves us with a lasting portrait of the twilight years of the golden age of sport.

The heart-pounding story of an unlikely band of ragtags who took on Hitler's Grand Prix driver. In the years before World War II, Adolf Hitler wanted to prove the greatness of the Third Reich in everything from track and field to motorsports. The Nazis poured money into the development of new race cars, and Mercedes-Benz came out with a stable of supercharged automobiles called Silver Arrows. Their drivers dominated the sensational world of European Grand Prix racing and saluted Hitler on their many returns home with victory. As the Third Reich stripped Jews of their rights and began their march toward war, one driver, René Dreyfus, a 32-year-old Frenchman of Jewish heritage who had enjoyed some early successes on the racing circuit, was barred from driving on any German or Italian race teams, which fielded the best in class, due to the rise of Hitler and Benito Mussolini. So it was that in 1937, Lucy Schell, an American heiress and top Monte Carlo Rally driver, needed a racer for a new team she was creating to take on Germany's Silver Arrows. Sensing untapped potential in Dreyfus, she funded the development of a nimble tiger of a new car built by a little-known French manufacturer called Delahaye. As the nations of Europe marched ever closer to war, Schell and Dreyfus faced down Hitler's top drivers, and the world held its breath in anticipation, waiting to see who would triumph.

New edition of bestselling stat-packed profile of Sidney Crosby features updates and a new chapter and photos showcasing Crosby's achievements from 2010 to present.

The latest golf book from Dear (Every Golf Question You Ever Wanted Answered) meets the formidable challenge of trying to tell the 600-year history of golf.... a Masters-level celebration of the game. -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) The people and events that shaped golf's 600-year history. The Story of Golf in Fifty Holes explores the 600-year history of the game of honor. It reveals the excitement and despair, the challenges overcome and the sweet victories, the sportsmanship and the stars bursting onto the scene. It also describes the developments in course design, like the first manmade water hazard, and the first central fairways bunkers. In 50 chapters, the book describes the holes, their contribution to golf course architecture, their importance to the careers of specific players, and their place in the overall story of golf. The book also features: Design and Layout illustrations of the 50 holes The year, course, location and map, distance and par for each hole Color and archival photographs of the players and tournament events Sidebars with additional stories of interest. The 50 stories cover the globe and generations of players, including: 5th North Berwick, the original Redan hole 18th Glen Abbey, where Tiger Woods had what many call the greatest shot ever hit 12th Atlantic Country Club, where the term birdie was first used 18th Royal Birkdale, home to the concession. For golfers and fans alike, The Story of Golf in Fifty Holes is an exciting treat they will return to again and again.