Through numerous examples from sports, highlighted by interviews from distinguished players and coaches around the world, de Rond shows what team leaders can learn by focusing on the individuals within them.

A professional sports team owner (baseball, football, and basketball) meets with his general managers to discuss a highly acclaimed college athlete featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated. His proficiency is in the three sports identified. When the owner becomes disgruntled with the fact that all three of his general managers want the athlete for their respective sport, he exclaims, Why cant we draft this kid for all three of my teams? As the college senior competes in each sport during the year, a due diligence plan is prepared and successfully implemented to have the athlete drafted by all three professional teams. The three-sport star eventually agrees to sign a contract requiring him to be available as needed in the basis for each sport. He becomes an Athlete for Hire.

Sports is a singular field, in that if someone has the skills it takes to play the game, at whatever level, it doesn't matter whether they are rich or poor, or what their background or culture is. And of course anyone can come together to enjoy a good game. Despite this inclusivity, the field of sports definitely has its weak points. Readers will gain new perspectives after reading about vital issues including stereotypes in various sports, the pros and cons of segregated versus inclusive sports, and the issues surrounding integrated sports.

The untold story of the root cause of America's education crisis--and the seemingly endless cycle of multigenerational poverty. It was only after years within the education reform movement that Natalie Wexler stumbled across a hidden explanation for our country's frustrating lack of progress when it comes to providing every child with a quality education. The problem wasn't one of the usual scapegoats: lazy teachers, shoddy facilities, lack of accountability. It was something no one was talking about: the elementary school curriculum's intense focus on decontextualized reading comprehension "skills" at the expense of actual knowledge. In the tradition of Dale Russakoff's The Prize and Dana Goldstein's The Teacher Wars, Wexler brings together history, research, and compelling characters to pull back the curtain on this fundamental flaw in our education system--one that fellow reformers, journalists, and policymakers have long overlooked, and of which the general public, including many parents, remains unaware. But The Knowledge Gap isn't just a story of what schools have gotten so wrong--it also follows innovative educators who are in the process of shedding their deeply ingrained habits, and describes the rewards that have come along: students who are not only excited to learn but are also acquiring the knowledge and vocabulary that will enable them to succeed. If we truly want to fix our education system and unlock the potential of our neediest children, we have no choice but to pay attention.

Why do so many sports teams have losing records, year after year? Why do others win big, but only every 20 or 30 years? And why is it that so few teams enjoy sustained, continual success? This book gives the answer. Providing a blueprint or "playbook" for success in sports at every level, it lays out a clear step-by-step plan for building a team culture that will lead to winning consistently. With each step, the book introduces real-world tools that can be easily implemented by every sports organization and coach to achieve success, including team charters, individual athlete plans, player accountability systems, and team communication strategies. It offers expert advice and practical guidance on key areas, such as aligning individuals with a clear team plan, resolving conflicts proactively, and learning from every game and every season to develop a smarter and more consistent culture of success. The Sports Playbook: Building Teams that Outperform, Year after Year will help every team fulfil its true potential through leadership, focus, and performance. It is essential reading for coaches, sport management professionals, and leaders of every kind of team, inside and outside of sports. The foreword, introduction, chapter 1 and chapter 2 of this book are freely available as downloadable Open Access PDFs under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com.