The Beautiful Game : Sixteen Girls and the Soccer Season That Changed Everything [Bargain Price] [Paperback]

Jonathan Littman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2000

Once nobody noticed Santa Rosa's Thunder. They were a ragtag team of girls who wanted to play soccer, and no one took them seriously. Their male coach expected little from his "ladies, " and their mediocre performance convinced them he was right.

Then a kind of miracle happened. Emiria Salzmann, Thunder's new coach, a top player herself, knew what it took to win--discipline, relentless drills, thigh-burning sprints, and an inspired passing game. The girls hated it, but their coach never let up. Tough and determined, she showed them what it felt like to be winners--and they loved it. As the momentum grew with a string of victories, the girls thrived on the competition, believing they had the right stuff to become champions.

They were right! With spirits soaring, Thunder won its league on the last day of the season and headed for the state cup, emerging not just as powerful athletes but as strong, confident, emotionally healthy human beings--champions in the game of soccer, and in the game of life.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Littman, an investigative journalist who has written two books on computer hackers, takes his title here from Brazilian soccer great Pele, who described soccer as "That beautiful game I love so well." In this excellent book, Littman describes what happens when a former college soccer star becomes the coach of a rather nondescript girls' soccer team in Santa Rosa, CA, and tries to lead the team to a championship, a goal they have never achieved. In this well-written, readable story, Littman follows the Santa Rosa Thunder closely throughout the season, detailing the highs and lows and showing that the difference in intensity between men's and women's sports is becoming blurredAthe coaching techniques of the Thunder coach appear to be as strict as those of many men's coaches. This fine book deserves wide readership among both young female athletes and their parents. Recommended for public and school libraries.AWilliam O. Scheeren, Hempfield Area Sr. H.S. Lib., Greensburg, PA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"A well-balanced journey that celebrates sports, girlhood, and determination." -- San Francisco Examiner

"An exciting book, filled with team spirit, similar to IN THESE GIRLS HOPE IS A MUSCLE." -- Booklist

"REQUIRED READING! You'll cheer for the girls...and may even shed a tear..." -- Sports Illustrated for Women

"This is a season inside, an honest look at a girls elite soccer team... Worth reading..." -- Los Angeles Times

"This is a story that should be passed along, girl to girl, mother to mother, dad to dad." -- USA TODAY.com

"Well-written, readable...This find book deserves wide readership among both young female athletes and their parents." -- Library Journal --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• ISBN-10: 0380808609
• ASIN: B000GG4ZHC
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #831,807 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jonathan Littman is the author of The Fugitive Game and The Watchman and is a contributing writer for Red Herring magazine.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars at what price glory?, June 13, 2003

By 

Bub (Cape Coral, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Beautiful Game: Sixteen Girls and the Soccer Season That Changed Everything (Paperback)

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.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Readers, like players must work to get full benefit, December 16, 1999

By 

Fran Sepler "inhaler of great books" (Minnesota United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Beautiful Game:: Sixteen Girls And The Soccer Season That Changed Everything (Hardcover)

I have coached girls soccer for years, and am a mom to two high level players. What I love about this book is the demands it places on the reader. Like the training the girls undertook, the rewards are not obvious, the results not simple. Emiria is not likeable. Her training methods are controversial, to say the least. Her adversaries are not one dimensional political hacks, but parents looking out for their kids, and the players are not all natural, gifted athletes. Littman does not ask us to love or hate any of these people, but lets us work through the story to learn the unwritten lesson -which is that the girls, despite or because of (reader decides) their parents and coach learned the real lessons of the game -- how to be a team and how to value themselves. The technical descriptions of the games leave something to be desired, and soccer junkies will want to hear more about what exactly wasdone to make the transformation from kick and chase to possession WORK. But the real stories are the girls, and like others, I turned to the back cover over and over again to connect with them. At the end of the book and the season, Emiria tells the girls that their loss humiliated and upset HER. Littman does not indulge in the requisite adult analysis of this egocentric, immature position, but lets us hear the girls make their judgements. My only wish is that we could see the next season to its end and learn whether the girls finally realized who their coach was -- one another!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I was there., April 19, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Beautiful Game: Sixteen Girls and the Soccer Season That Changed Everything (Paperback)

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.