Game On: The All-American Race to Make Champions of Our Children

I can't wait to read this book!

I just found out that this book existed. Back in 2005 Tom Farrey covered my son's basketball team at the 8-U AAU National Championship Tournament in Memphis, TN. I remember reading his article on ESPN.com, but had no idea that a book was going to be published. Some friends and fellow basketball coaches in our area recently told me about the book. I believe my son is mentioned in Chapter 8. A lot of people thought that we were crazy for taking seven 8 year olds across the nation to a basketball tournament. That turned out to be one of the best trips ever. My son has benefitted so much from that experience. It is now almost three years later and Jason is still playing basketball and is still on the honor roll. In fact, he is one of the better players in his age group in Northern CA. I can't wait to read this book!

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A primer for parents and coaches

Tom Farrey did his homework. In the tradition of quality investigative journalism, he uses past research on youth sports to inform his provocative and insightful critique of the increasingly organized sports that involve many young people today. In the process, he extends what we know, raises new questions, and presents a cogent analysis that will resonate with anyone who has invested time, money, and energy into youth sports¿or plans to do so in the future. After teaching and doing research in the sociology of sport for thirty-five years, I know that academic research has only limited influence on how youth sports are organized and played in the United States. For me, Game On is an accessible and sensible book that will add needed depth to popular discourse on sports in the lives of our children. Farrey engages readers and raises critical issues without provoking defensiveness. He uses his investigative skills and ESPN¿s cache to garner interesting examples and quotes from interviews with experts worldwide. He doesn¿t provide a recipe for transforming the physical condition and activities of our children, but his recommendations will inspire parents, teachers, youth coaches, and program administrators to think more critically about youth sports and what they could and should be in the United States.