Customer Reviews

Shooting from the Outside

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Tara Vanderveer is the author of the inspiring autobiography Shooting form the Outside.  In this autobiography, Tara Vanderveer discusses the challenges and obstacles that she must overcome into to reach her goal of winning the gold medal.  The autobiography discusses the hardships, conflicts, and problems that the team faces throughout the year and shows how teamwork can overcome anything.
This novel is pretty much an overview of the Women's Basketball team throughout their Olympic season.  The novel starts out with Tara Vanderveer talking about her child hood days and how she developed a love for the game.  She talks about how she use to be a mascot for the school, used to write down every new play she heard in a notebook, and how she went and watched the men's basketball team to learn any new play on offense or defense she could pick up.  The story then proceeds to Coach Vanderveer discussing her thoughts and concerns for the year that lay ahead of the eleven woman that have been selected as the national team.  She talks about her past failures like the 1994 World Games that have pushed her and motivated her to win the gold medal.  She promised that the embarrassment and disgrace that she felt from the World Games will never happen again.  One can easily feel the strong determination and motivation that Coach Vanderveer feels, and how she uses this as an ally and works the team harder than they have ever been worked before. 
This book was undoubtedly worth reading from my point of view.  This book taught me information about Title IX that I had previously never even heard about.  The book showed me the true struggle that a woman must face and has taught me a sense of respect for woman who have succeeded in the past. 
One issue the book brings up is that woman are not given enough opportunity to succeed in life.  A woman's determination and motivation can easily be destroyed or brought down by the cruelness and unfairness of discrimination towards woman.  Therefore, since woman can do all jobs just as productively as men, the book suggests that woman should be given fair and equal treatment and equal opportunities to men. 
In conclusion, Shooting from the Outside is an excellent book that teachers lessons and values that should be known and followed by all of society.  The story teachers discrimination is pointless and by not allowing woman to perform to their full capacity we are truly ruining our own opportunities to further succeed in life.

This is a fun and easy read for any fan of the women's game, centered around the pivotal 1996 Olympic gold medal-winning team, which in many ways marked a turning point in establishing the foundation upon which the modern game is built.

But not only does this book offer a wonderful historical perspective, and some great stories and inside anecdotes on many top players past and present, it also provides insight into the mind of one of the college game's top coaches.

Even for those close to Stanford basketball, Tara Vanderveer is a very private inividual. That's why I found this book especially helpful in providing a better understanding of her personal history, philosophy toward the game, how she feels it should be played, and how that all filters down to the teams she puts on the floor today.

Because Tara is often softspoken in public and not one to actively seek the limelight or TV cameras like some of the other big names in her profession, there may be a tendency by some to think she is more of a hands-off coach. And despite the occasional glare from the sideline, a calm and quiet presence. Nothing could be further from the truth. This book does a good job of uncovering the intensity that boils deep inside and her unbending desire to win.

An insightful look at the making of a champion. Issues like Title IV and gendre inequities examined in a thoughful yet passionate fashion. The author relates Her own struggle and eventual triumph without pointing fingers and assessing blame.It was a pleasure to read a story that states why rather than why not.Enjoyable and thought provoking.A must read

VanDerveer's book provides a compelling behind-the-scenes glimpse into the relationships and hard work that brought the 1996 U.S. National Team a 60-0 record and Olympic gold medal. The book is thoroughly entertaining and refreshingly candid. As a long-time basketball junkie, I would have liked to read more details about the X's and O's of the team's preparation. There were also a few minor typos or grammatical errors here and there (nothing appalling). But on the whole, the book is a great read. I wish that VanDerveer would write another book on her career (up to this point) at Stanford.

This is a really inspirational book for those who care about womens' basketball. I had a really hard time putting it down. You feel as if you are part of the U.S. Olympic Team, and were there to witness the trials and tribulations of their road to Gold. Great book for those who play basketball or enjoy it. (Especially if you're female!!) I think I will start reading the book from the beginning again tomorrow. It also meant more to me then maybe someone else because I have been to Tara's Camps and been able to interact with Jennifer Azzi and Katy Steding, and other players as well. It is totally my favorite book ever!

I confess that I have been a fan of Tara Vanderveer for nearly 10 years. I think I understand that basketball is a very major part of her life. She likes Bob Knight, sheesh. This book was a very easy read even though you already know how it will end. When you finish the book you might feel like you want to see if the players saw everything the same way. Well, this is her point of view.

I thoroughly enjoyed this in-depth view of Tara's work with the Women's National (Olympic) team of 1996. The team was a masterpiece, and being able to see it thru the eyes of its coach was really something special. It gave me great insight into Tara and her drive and dedication to the sport and to the team. A great book!!

A great story! The story of the 1996 US Women's Olympic Basketball Team from the coach's point of view. Tara gives a great overview of the Olympic team from their first tryout to the Gold Medal game in Atlanta. Its filled with information that helps you get to know and love the team and its coaches. It also helped me realize some of the inequities that women athletes must face in achieving their goals. Tara clearly gets this point across to the reader without sounding like she's on a feminist mission to champion women's athleteics. This is a must-read book!

This book about the 1996 Olympic Women's Basketball Championship team was enjoyed on many levels-- 1)as a feminist, I liked how Tara intertwined the curent interest with women's sports with the passing of Title IX, and I appreciated her own revelations about her struggles as an young athlete when women and sport were incompatible; 2) as a basketball fan, I was fascinated with the inner-workings of the team, their relationships to each other and to the coaches, and to the ties to the business world that sponsored them (particularly by the discrepancies between the treatment of the female and male athletes); 3) as a fan of Tara, I have watched her coach since 1978 and I now have a better understanding of her work and a greater appreciation for the efforts it takes to put together a championship team. Tara is to women's basketball what Billie Jean King has been to women's tennis; Tara is moving the sport to higher and higher levels, and it is a *very* exciting ride for this fan.