[.ca] Beautiful Game: Sixteen Girls and the Soccer Season That ... (ISBN 0613309863)

at what price glory?:
The better book would be to write about these girls 5 or 10 years from now and ask them to reflect on the season. As the parent of children playing club soccer, I admire the tenacity and spirit these girls displayed. But as another reviewer wrote, it's more likely they bonded in their unity against the coach and her tactics. I kept waiting for the author to delve into the oft-times maniacal world of club soccer, fueled by parents seeking to either re-live or re-invent their own youth. Why else would parents allow their girls to practice in bad conditions that would encourage injury or illness, or let them try to play injured? But the author went along for the ride, writing about these girls as if they were 25 and not 14 (a tough age, soccer or no soccer). Look no further than the back cover with the team photo as evidence that all was not well, even in their finest hour. All the girls and coaches are smiling, except for Kim, the star player. She looks like she's at a funeral. But her dad is smiling ear to ear. I also had a big problem with the author's writing style. Didn't like to use subjects in his sentences. Liked to start his sentences with a verb. Got to be annoying after reading the first chapter. Wished he didn't do that.

Inspiring, Amazing:
This was one of th most fantasic books I have read in a while. It show how deticated you have to be to go all out in a sport and how good you can get if you have a good coach. I read the book, and a year later I got a really tough coach. I was temted to quit the team because of the endless running but I remembered how much the coach in this book put the tea through and how far they got, and I kept with it. I have gotten really far and I am still on the team. This is the most wonderful and well written book about teen soccer out there.

I was there.:
I am the mom of one of the players and have just recently re-read this book about my daughter's team. Looking back on our Thunder experience, I know that it was a unique, almost surreal experience. At the time, we knew it was special but of course, you can't fully appreciate it until it is over. After winning State Cup, Thunder continued to grow and develop as a team, winning several major tournaments and getting back to the State Cup finals in 2000 only to lose to the Placer Sharks. I still see many of the girls and most agree that Thunder was an experience that shaped their life. It wasn't just the soccer or the incredible success the team had, it was more than that. It was the relationships, the experience, and the unique bond that is formed when a group comes together with a unifying goal. It is that undefinable, special something that takes just a talented team and makes it into a great team. So, for those readers that wonder, did it work out okay? I think, for the families that I am close, that yes, yes it did. We are better for the experience.

Disappointing Beauty:
I am a girls high school and club coach and I had high hopes for this book, maybe for inspiration, maybe for insight or ideas on how to train my players. I came out with neither. This is a typical story of undisciplined kids that get someone to discipline them and then they become successful. It is very, very close to the same story line and tactics in the movie Hoosiers, only with a young girls soccer team. It does throw in some interesting perspectives about club team rivalries and California soccer, but they are not relevant to other states soccer experience. The types of teams and seasons overlapping do not happen in any state around me. I agree with a previous post that if it was told 5 years after the season and through the eyes of the players it might be a little better. But we never relly know how it affected the kids. How did it help them? How did it help them mature as adults? Where are they now? Most important to me is the impression this might leave for other coaches. This is not necessarily the best way to deal with a girls team. Sometimes it works, others it doesnt. I hope this does not encourage all coaches to do this with girls teams... The positive about his book is in the things parents could learn from this book. I did think the dealing with parents and the attitudes of some parents was humorously accurate. I would suggest all soccer parents read this book and I would suggest players might learn some from this book. But it really could have been alot better...

Best Soccer Book Out There:
As a 13 yr. old soccer player on a travel, middle school team and aspiring to play high school and college soccer as soon as I picked up this book I could not put it down. Not only could I relate with the majority of topics in this book but whenever I've had a bad practice or game I read this book and it encourages me over and over again. I've read so many soccer books and this is the best one I've ever read. I could relate to Shauna and Kim because I had a knee injury this yr. and even though I couldn't play or run or even touch a ball I worked on my hand-eye coordination and watched all the soccer I could soak up. Like other reviews said, I would like to know where these players went to - whether they quit or played college soccer, etc.