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Whose Game Is It, Anyway?: A Guide to Helping Your Child Get the Most from Sports, Organized by Age and Stage – Sports Psychology for Parents in a Win-At-All-Costs Culture

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In an era when parents and kids are overwhelmed by a sports-crazed, win-at-all-costs culture, here is a comprehensive guide that helps parents ensure a positive sports experience for their children. In Whose Game Is It, Anyway? two of the country’s leading youth sports psychologists team up with a former Olympic athlete and expert on performance enhancement to share what they have gleaned in more than forty years of combined experience.

The result is a book unique in its message, format, and scope.
Through moving case studies and thoughtful analyses, Ginsburg, Durant, and Baltzell advocate a preventive approach through a simple three-step know yourself, know your child, know the environment.
They look at children in age groups, identifying the physical, psychological, and emotional issues unique to each group and clarifying what parents can expect from and desire for their kids at every stage.
They also explore myriad relevant topics, including parental pressure, losing teams, steroid use, the overscheduled child, and much more.
Illuminating, impassioned, and inspiring, Whose Game Is It, Anyway?
is required reading for anyone raising—or educating—a child who participates in sports.

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
965 reviews13 followers
November 7, 2017
Decent if you are just getting started in youth sports, but nothing earth shattering.
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Author 21 books23 followers
December 2, 2012
"Whose game is it anyway, A guide to helping your child get the sports organized by age and stage" is true to it's name and an excellent, well written, practical book that deals with youth athletes of all abilities, from the reluctant, side-line athlete, to the high-performing college athlete. The book is infused with realistic scenarios - a compilation of experience from all three authors who are each a sports psychologist, parent and competitive athlete from high school and college, making the guide an exceptional resource for parents, coaches and athletic program directors.

The book is organized by descriptively titled chapters, allowing the reader to hone in on what's relevant, though the book is a worthwhile read in its entirety. Useful and applicable, the real-life vignettes give insight into how parents can deal with complex athlete/child situations and challenges. I found a scenario that fit each of my three children , giving me insight into the best way to help my kids, though I'd wish I'd read this book earlier rather than later. Sensitive topics are brought forward in some chapters, which may make it an uncomfortable read at times for parents, such as how some young athletes are afraid to tell their parents they want to try a different sport or quit altogether, or that a child may be suffering from burnout, which is difficult to comes to terms with both for parents and coach. All in all, an outstanding book that I would highly recommend for any parent with children involved in sports.
98 reviews3 followers
March 20, 2015
As somebody with one season of coaching under his belt and no children of his own (in other words, I may have no idea what I'm talking about...but I doubt it), this book is a fantastic source of information about how to help a child develop emotionally through playing sports.

It starts off by presenting different chapters based on the age of the child, everything from 2-6 years old to college athletes and beyond (though without very much emphasis on professional athletes, understandably). These chapters stress the importance of sports to the children at each age (learning about what their bodies can do, learning how to socialize, learning how to work hard, and so on). They also discuss the ways in which parents (and coaches) can help their kids/athletes enjoy themselves and thereby perform at a higher level.

The book then goes on to talk about different issues presented in sports, such as steroid use/eating disorders, dealing with difficult coaches, burnout, emotional control, and so on.

If any parent approached me about a problem with one of their children I was coaching, I'd recommend this book to them as a starting point.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews

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