Special Post - Best Sports Instruction

Now that summer is here, it's time to think about playing outdoors. And playing a sport well is the best fun. But if you really wanted to learn how to be efficient, effective, and joyful at tennis, golf, baseball, and/or swimming, which books would you choose to read? 

Below are my favorite instruction books for these sports. I have used them all for years and each has changed how I play each game. Also, they have given me a better understanding of the principles of efficient use of my physical and mental energy toward a goal of playing well and simply having fun. 

Happy reading. 

Fred

www.firstsentencereader.blogspot.com

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Tennis For Life - Peter Burwash

First Sentences 

If you're like almost every other tennis player, you've reached a plateau on which you're stuck.

No matter how hard you practice, no matter how many lessons you take, you're stuck on that level. 

Description:

Peter Burwash, a former tennis professional from Canada, observed the common traits followed by successful pros and then incorporated them into lessons for us ordinary players. He discards the usual advice such as "Watch the ball" and "Racquet back," and instead stresses techniques that actually influence the ball. Burwash emphasizes the importance of the contact point between racquet and ball (backswing and follow-through do not actually direct the ball since the ball is not on the strings during each of these!); snapping the wrist in serving; "catching" volleys like a baseball player; and responding to emergency situations when perfect strokes are not possible. 

He breaks the game down into techniques easily understood, remembered, and applied. These techniques work for players of all levels. Believe me, I've seen it happen countless times when I taught beginning and nationally-ranked players using these same concepts. Definitely a game-changer of a book.

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Total Immersion: The Revolutionary Way to Swim Better, Faster, and Easier - Terry Laughlin

First Sentences  

It's no mystery why people why people have trouble swimming as fast or as far or as smoothly as they'd like: Most of them are doing it backwards.

"Don't worry if you form's not perfect," coaches and instructors have always assured us. "Just get those laps in. Eventually you'll be fit enough to develop a smoother, stronger stroke." 

It really works the other way around, but that's not how it's been taught.

          

Description:

Author Terry Laughlin was a competitive swimmer all his life including college, but gave it up due to the boredom of endless laps and lack of personal progress in speed and efficiency. Entering Masters competitions renewed his interest in pursuing a revolutionary method of swimming and training: using streamlining and gliding techniques rather than energy-inefficient power strokes. Easy to comprehend and easy to practice, these step-by-step progressions practiced in short bursts of one lap provide fun, highly obtainable results. Really changed my stroke and enjoyment as now I can swim over a mile smoothly without becoming winded.

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Five Simple Steps to Perfect Golf - Count Yogi

First Sentences  

It has always been said that good golf starts with a good grip. That is true.

        

Description:

Count Yogi was a highly successful golfer who hustled for money and gave demonstrations on California courses using a simplified approach to mastering the few essentials of the sports: grip, balance, approaching the ball, total swing, and putting.

Instead of breaking down the swing into minute elements no one can remember or implement, he simply focuses on stroke smoothness and a few minor tips (hitting through the ball). Count Yogi also adds plenty of snarky comments about current pros and their detailed books which offer advice the pros/author don't use on the course ... because they all are actually using Count Yogi's techniques, of course. A hard book to find, but worth the effort. Lots of fun to read and plenty of great tips.

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The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance - Tim Galloway

First Sentences  

The problems which most perplex tennis players are not those dealing with the proper way to swing a racket.... 

The most common complaint of sportsmen ringing down the corridors of the ages is, "It's not that I don't know what to do, it's that I don't do what I know."

   

Description:

Self One and Self Two are constantly battling inside the head of every tennis player. Self One, the critical one, says "Why did you do that, you moron," while Self Two, quietly envisions the success of the shot. Author Galloway argues that silencing Self One and focusing on Self Two via visualization of quality shots and results will be more successful than endless drills and techniques. His offers an easy-to-comprehend philosophy, relying on imaging and quietness of the mind to achieve goals. Fascinating, and it actually produces great results both in shots and one's enjoyment of the game.

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The Science of Hitting - Ted Williams

First Sentences  

Hitting a baseball -- I've said it a thousand times before -- is the single most difficult thing to do in sport.

Description:

Williams, the last baseball hitter to end a season with a .400 average, shares the science and practice behind successfully hitting the ball. He has broken this seemingly simple action into details that are easily understood, but require practice, discipline, and then even more practice to achieve the goals. Very solid writing and theories behind this difficult art.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Bauby, Jean-Dominique. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: A Memoir of Life in Death. Paris: Vintage. 1998. Print.

First Sentences:

I had never seen so many white coats in my little room.

Description:

Sometimes the parts that make up the whole are overwhelming to contemplate. The number of bricks individually laid to make a house, the millions of railroad ties in a mile of train track, the knots and strings woven into Persian rug. Like an optical illusion, sometimes it is difficult to see that the forest is made up of thousands of trees.

To write The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: A Memoir of Life in Death, author Jean-Dominique Bauby, a locked-in former editor for Elle fashion magazine in Paris, "dictated" each individual letter of the book in a unique way. After a massive stroke left him without movement in all body parts from the neck down and took away his ability to speak, Bauby wrote this book by blinking his left eye to indicate each letter to compose each word. It was the only body part he could control. 

Claude Mendible, who assisted Bauby in recording these letters, cleverly created a special display of the entire alphabet rearranged by frequency of letter use. He then held this display up for Bauby to see and carefully recited or pointed to each letter until Bauby blinked at his choice to start a word. Then the process was repeated for the next letter of that word, then the next, then the next ... and on and on to create The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Bauby's 132-page memoir. Unbelievable.  

Can you imagine the effort, the tedium, the self-control, the dedication to create an entire book in this manner? Bauby spent hours writing and rewriting each essay in his mind while lying alone and immobile in a hospital bed in Berck, France, before Mendible arrived to slowly transcribe his thoughts into this book.

And what a beautiful, sensitive, thought-provoking book of short essays Bauby created. Structured loosely around the daily rhythms and scheduled "events" in his locked-in hospital world, Bauby also lets "the butterfly" of his imagination and thoughts soar or wallow and writes whatever he feels at that time. He contemplates his relationships with the mother of his two children, his kids, his new companion, and the hospital staff. He describes his own emotions and the appearances of other patients glimpsed while rigidly strapped to his wheelchair during short excursions in the building. And he reflects on the tragedy of his current status and the new life he knows he will lead forever.

I need to feel strongly, to love, and to admire, just as desperately as I need to breathe. A letter from a friend, a Balthus painting on a postcard, a page of Saint-Simon, give meaning to the passing hours. But to keep my mind sharp, to avoid descending into resigned indifference, I maintain a level of resentment and anger, neither too much not too little, just as a pressure cooker has a safety valve to keep it from exploding.

But there is humor, too, in Bauby's essays:

I've lost sixty-six pounds in just twenty weeks. When I began a diet a week before my stroke, I never dreamed of such dramatic result.

The smallest of situations or actions can bring Bauby pleasure or sadness, and he relates both with clarity and power:

Having turned down the hideous jogging suit provided by the hospital, I am now attired as I was in my student days. Like the bath, my old clothes could easily bring back poignant, painful memories. But I see in the clothing a symbol of continuing life. And proof that I still want to be myself. If I must drool, I may as well drool on cashmere.

He lives as if in a "diving bell," so weighed down it is impossible for him to move. Yet the butterfly of his imagination keeps him sane and fills book with his soaring thoughts.

Once, I was a master at recycling leftovers. Now I cultivate the art of simmering memories. You can sit down to a meal at any hour, with no fuss or ceremony. If it's a restaurant, no need to call ahead. If I do the cooking, it is always  success.

The stories he relates, from a Father's Day with his family, to visits from uncomfortable friends, to his days at "the Beach Club" (a small bit of sand overlooking the ocean outside the hospital where he can sit and luxuriate in the smells of the world), to the last time he saw his father and his own tender memory of shaving him, are essays so intimate and strong they are almost poetry to read. Quiet passion, astute observations, and strong opinions are all there, but again the concept of the effort made to create these beautiful essays is almost overwhelming.

It is not until the final essay that we learn exactly what happened on that December 1995 day when the stroke occurred and Bauby went into a 20-day coma. 

How can I begin to recall those long futile house, as elusive as drops of mercury from a broken thermometer? How can I describe waking for the last time, heedless, perhaps a little grumpy, beside the lithe, warm body of a tall, dark-haired woman?

He emerges from this trauma to learn of his locked-in status. It is a cruel fate, but one he does not consistently dwell on. He immediately works to learn how show anyone he is still thinking, feeling behind his useless body. He knows it is vital to communicate with the world to preserve his self-dignity and humanness despite his limited capabilities.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly was published to rave reviews in France in 1997 and later made into a poignant movie. Tragically, Jean-Dominique Bauby died of an infection two days after the book's publication. But his will, his thoughts, and his passionate writing remain behind for all in this beautiful work.

Happy reading. 

Fred

www.firstsentencereader.blogspot.com

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If this book interests you, be sure to check out:

Pistorius, Martin. Ghost Boy: The Miraculous Escape of a Misdiagnosed Boy Trapped Inside His Own Body

True memoir of a young man who contracts a mysterious illness that causes his voice, body, and all movement to be rendered uncontrollable, even though he is fully aware and thinking inside. Misdiagnosed for ten years, he eventually is able to communicate through a compassionate nurse and tell his fascinating story.

Scalzi, Joe. Lock In

Set in the future when locked-in people (paralyzed and fully sentient but unable to respond) are common due to an international pandemic infection, Lock In tells the story of one such person who is an FBI agent and conducts his investigations via a robot controlled by his mind as his inert body lays in a protective bed miles away. Fascinating. (previously reviewed here) 

Mud, Sweat, and Tears: The Autobiography

Grylls, Bear. Mud, Sweat, and Tears: The Autobiography. New York: William Morrow. 2012. Print

First Sentences:

The air temperature is minus twenty degrees.

I wiggle my fingers, but they are still freezing cold. Old frostnip injuries never let you forget. I blame Everest for that.

Description:

Feeling a bit tired today? Under the weather? Is it inconveniently rainy and cold outside? Did your boss say some hurtful things to you? Maybe those chores around the house just seem too daunting. Is a nap your primary goal for the day?

Well, I've got the antidote to feeling sorry for yourself: Bear Grylls' autobiography, Mud, Sweat, and Tears,  Grylls, the world-wide celebrity renowned for his ultra-survival television series Man vs. Wild, recounts everyday occurrences he experiences in his life that put our petty complaints to shame. He faces more inclimate weather, strength-sapping hikes, and sleep deprivation in one week than all of us together experience in our lifetimes. But he loves it and rises to every challenge. Here is a man who chooses the hard road, forces himself to conquer tasks, and, upon completing the job, looks around for something else to do that is even harder. For that he is a person thrilling to read about, even if we do it from our comfy couch in front of a warming fire. 

A former member of the elite British Special Air Services (SAS) force, Grylls is also one of the youngest men to have scaled Mt. Everest, a black belt karate expert, and a survivor of a horrific parachute accident - all before he was 25 years old. Mud, Sweat, and Tears carefully puts readers in Grylls' mind as he experiences each step.

The big three of any quality read are, of course, characters, story, and writing style. Having two of these can overcome a weakness in the third. Grylls offers all the plot and character you could want in any book. If at first his writing seems a bit bland and not on the same level as the other two criteria, wait just a minute. By relying on plain facts, observations, and emotions rather than fanciful descriptions, Grylls lets readers focus on the actions and characters without being caught up in overly embellished phrasings and descriptions. I found the beauty of this book to be its straightforward, clear of narration of its many spectacular escapades. What I initially thought would be a weakness to Mud, Sweat, and Tears actually is one of its strengths.

Witness the opening sentences, simply written but tightly focused to reveal compelling details. You can't help but be yanked into the next pages of the book to answer questions. Where is he that is so cold? Is he injured? And what's this about a previous Everest experience? With each sentence Grylls lures you on further and further as any great storyteller does. You simply must read on, heart in your throat, marveling at his tenacity, strength and will.

His words are simple and honest as he talks about his childhood freely roaming the wilds of Northern Ireland and Isle of Wight, as well as his rude awakening to bullying in a private boarding school. Eton University introduces him to lifelong friends in mischief as well as mountaineering, karate (to protect himself from bullies), and the possibility of joining the British special forces. The training for this elite group is unbelievably daunting. No one is failed if he can achieve the goals (run up hills in full packs, cross-country rendezvous without maps, hike in freezing cold through swampy lands, etc.). Most trainees just give up and are escorted to waiting trucks to remove them from this crushing life.

I had a hunger to push myself, and I found out that I could dig very deep when I needed to. I don't really know where or how this hunger came about, but I had it. I call it "the fire."

After injuries force him out of the elite SAS, he reevaluates his life and choices. 

I had come within an inch of losing all my movement and...still lived to tell the tale. I had learned so much but above all, I had gained an understanding of the cards I had been playing with. The problem was that I had no job and no income.

So he reinvents himself from an elite soldier into a mountain-climber of the highest order. As he trains for the Everest trip, he again lets readers see what he sees, understand each thought he has, feel each step in the biting cold as he trudges upward en route to the summit. 

It was like climbing a mountain of waist-deep molasses while giving someone a fireman's carry, who, for good measure, was also trying to force a pair of frozen socks into your mouth.

Throughout his later success of giving travel and motivational presentations to corporations worldwide and starring in his Man vs. Wild television series (global audience of 1.2 billion people in 180 countries), Grylls stresses his love of "the focus, the camaraderie, and above all the acquiring of an art that requires the use of guile over power, technique over force." His favorite quotation is from John F. Kennedy:

When written in Chinese, the word "crisis" is composed of two characters. One represents danger and the other represents opportunity.

These guiding tenets strengthen him as he faces each new, more difficult challenge. While you may secretly dream you could survive these tests as he does, deep down (or maybe not so deep) you know you would have given up long ago.

This is a great tale of personal triumph, of a man who continually seeks out and then rises to conquer challenges. Throughout he maintains a love of nature, of perseverance, and of self-confidence in the ability to dig deep down for that final bit of energy. It's satisfying to know that, while I cannot do any of these things, there is a man out there who epitomizes the strength of will to never give up, to find a way to take just one more step without complaint in order to accomplish his goal. Admirable and fascinating on every level.

I am ordinary, but I am determined.

Happy reading. 

Fred

www.firstsentencereader.blogspot.com

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If this book interests you, be sure to check out:

Lansing, Alfred. Endurance: Shakleton's Incredible Voyage

Historic account of Ernest Shakleton's ill-fated voyage in 1914 to the Antarctic in a quest to reach the South Pole, only to find his ship and crew locked in by ice, with the only possibility of survival to hike across the froze wasteland pulling boats and then sailing to find help. Astonishing.

Grylls, Beat. A Survival Guide for Life: How to Achieve Your Goals, Thrive in Adversity, and Grow in Character

Wisdom and skills learned from Grylls' adventures that can be applied to everyday occurances in one's life, helping to find the strength to push on when faced with advesity.