Off-Season Psycological/Mental Training


Just as it is significant to prepare ourselves physically during our noncompetitive-season, it’s also important to mentally prepare. How do we do this? Read! There is a plethora of stories, biographies, and autobiographies from which we can identify themes or issues from the lives and experiences of other individuals. Each of us can glean something different from the books we read. From any book read, it is important that we grow or gain insight in different manners which can be applicable to us in sport as well as in life.

It is expected that all JV-B, JV-A and Varsity athletes read team text(s) between the end of the Spring academic term and the beginning of pre-season; notes are encouraged to be taken. The team will read one unifying text: John C. Maxwell’s, The 17 Essential Qualities of a Team Player. The other text will be decided by collaborating among your class peers. Book selection by class is exclusive to that class; there will be three different books read (2011's, 2012's and 2013's will each select a different book. The 2014's are expected to only read the Maxwell book.)

Examining the titles from any of the groups below in order to prepare for the decision (by checking them out on-line as linked to Amazon.com). As an individual, select four titles which are preferred personal reading among the existing selections. Next, when you collaborate with your classmates, as a group, you will prioritize three titles. Finally, all three classes will face-off to determine each class' second summer text.

During pre-season, we will break out into reading groups to discuss and share themes, concepts or ideas, which will be lead by teammates. Among the readings our team explores during the off season will prime us to set six personal goals (three as an individual member of the team and three as an athlete on the (training and competition) pitch as well as six team goals (three as a group of united individuals and three (tactical or strategic) for the season. This is one manner by which we will measure our success for the forthcoming field hockey season.

The 17 Essential Qualities of a Team Player: Becoming the Kind of Person Every Team Wants
by John C. Maxwell



Babe: The Life and Legend of Babe Didrikson Zaharias
by Susan E. Cayleff

Born to Win: The Authorized Biography of Althea Gibson
by Frances Clayton Gray , Yanick Rice Lamb

Venus and Serena Williams: A Biography
by Jacqueline Edmondson

Martina: The Lives and Times of Martina Navratilova
by Adrianne Blue
Champion in a Man's World: The Biography of Marion Hollins
by David E. Outerbridge

Race Across Alaska: First Woman to Win the Iditarod Tells Her Story
by Libby Riddles

Pretty Good for a Girl : The Autobiography of a Snowboarding Pioneer
by Tina Basich

Wilma Rudolph: The Greatest Woman Sprinter in History
by Anne E. Schraff

A Kind of Grace: The Autobiography of the World's Greatest Female Athlete
by Jackie Joyner-Kersee

See How She Runs: Marion Jones and the Making of a Champion
by Ron Rapoport

Young Woman and the Sea: How Trudy Ederle Conquered the English Channel and Inspired the World
by Glenn Stout

Kabloona in the Yellow Kayak: One Woman's Journey Through the North West Passage
by Victoria Jason

The Red Rose Crew: A True Story of Women, Winning, and the Water
by Daniel J. Boyne

Hungry Ocean, The: A Swordboat Captain's Journey
by Linda Greenlaw



The Match: Althea Gibson & Angela Buxton : How Two Outsiders--One Black, the Other Jewish--Forged a Friendship and Made Sports History
by Bruce Schoenfeld

The Rivals: Chris Evert vs. Martina Navratilova Their Epic Duels and Extraordinary Friendship
by Johnette Howard



Inge: A Girl's Journey Through Nazi Europe
by Inge Joseph Bleier

The Girl with the White Flag
by Tomiko Higa



In These Girls, Hope is a Muscle
by Madeleine Blais

Women Who Win: Female Athletes on Being the Best
by Lisa Taggart
Whatever It Takes: Women on Women's Sport
by Joli Sandoz & Joby Winans

Gutsy Girls: Young Women Who Dare
by Tina Schwager

The Assist: Hoops, Hope, and the Game of Their Lives
by Neil Swidey

Go For the Goal: A Champion's Guide To Winning In Soccer And Life
by Mia Hamm, Aaron Heifetz



Miracle in the Andes: 72 Days on the Mountain and My Long Trek Home
by Nando Parrado

Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster
by Jon Krakauer



It's in the Blood: My Life
by Lawrence Dallaglio

Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner
by Dean Karnazes

Gaijin Yokozuna: A Biography of Chad Rowan
by Mark Panek

When Nothing Else Matters: Michael Jordan's Last Comeback
by Michael Leahy

Days of Grace
by Arthur Ashe

I Never Had It Made: An Autobiography of Jackie Robinson
by Jackie Robinson

Breaking Back: How I Lost Everything and Won Back My Life
by James Blake

Artist of Life
by Bruce Lee

The Great One : The Life and Times of Wayne Gretzky
by Andrew Podnieks



Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream
by H.G. Bissinger

The Junction Boys: How Ten Days in Hell with Bear Bryant Forged a Championship Team
by Jim Dent



The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari: A Fable About Fulfilling Your Dreams & Reaching Your Destiny
by Robin S. Sharma