A Drive to Win: The Story of Nancy Lieberman-Cline (Anything You Can Do... New Sports Heroes for Girls) - Softcover

The significance of the U.S. Women's Soccer Team and their remarkable achievement in the World Championship doesn't only exist in the realm of the sports world. The influence reaches far beyond the fields and the stadiums. Recent research findings from the Department of Health and Human Services, the Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development, the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, the Melpomene Institute, and the Women's Sports Foundation have noted the significant positive impact of sports participation on girls' lives. The findings suggest that girls who participate in sports have a physical, sociological, psychological and educational advantage over girls who do not. A very important finding is the powerful effect of positive role models on girls. We need more books about female sports heroes. Girls participating in sports are more likely to be successful in school, less likely to get involved with drugs and less likely to have an unwanted pregnancy. Sport is where a girl can experience feelings of mastery and competence. Sport is where boys have traditionally learned about assertiveness, goal setting, achievement orientation and the pursuit of excellence. Girls and women need those skills, too. In a recent study of female executives at Fortune 500 companies, 80% self-identified as having been "tomboys". The number of girls participating in athletics has jumped from 300,000 to 2.5 million in the last 25 years. Participation in exercise and sport is directly related to psychological well being. Girls involved in athletic activity experience higher levels of self-esteem, self-confidence and less depression. Body image becomes particularly important to pre-adolescent girls and is closely tied to self-concept. Involvement in sport enables a girl to feel good about her body. Sport and exercise improves strength, builds lean muscle and decreases body fat. The girl who is athletic eats and sleeps better. Participating in exercise and sport helps girls to lay down bone mass and avoid suffering from osteoporosis. Four hours of exercise a week can reduce the risk of breast cancer by almost 60%.

In spite of the noted benefits of sports participation -- there are two alarming research findings. It is a fact that if a girl does not participate in sports by the time she is ten years old - there is less than a 10% chance that she will be participating when she is twenty-five. Also, girls in the critical 11-14 age group, who are actively involved in athletics, begin to drop out of sports at a rate six times greater than boys. Lack of encouragement, opportunity, positive messages and experience with role models all add to this troubling statistic. To combat this trend, Wish Publishing is proud to announce the forthcoming publication of the first two titles in the Anything You Can Do.... New Sports Heroes for Girls series. This series will not only establish new heroes for girls, but also new possibilities, by exposing girls to stories about many different sports. This series can open a whole new world for young girls. These books will give young girls a chance to explore a contemporary frontier with real heroes. What a journey it will be! There are genuine adventures with exciting travels, nerve-wracking competitions, heart-wrenching defeats, intense rivalries and unparalleled friendships. The common thread that runs through all of these stories is a strong one - of perseverance and desire. Yet, each story is unique. They range from a very poor, gawky girl who randomly chooses an after school activity that leads her to the Olympics, to a young girl nourished on sports by an athletic, competitive and very demanding family. Some are famous, some are not. Although the young reader may not always recognize the name of every athlete in the series, she may very well recognize herself, her friends and her teammates in the setbacks and successes of these world class female athletes. These books are not simply a listing of the chronological accomplishments of athletes. Real feelings and motivations are examined through behind the scenes' anecdotes. A highlight of each book is the detailed recounting of a significant competitive event during youth or adolescence that had a powerful impact on this athlete, whether she won or lost. A unique feature of this series is the "Sports Talk" section for parents and teachers. This section highlights the relevant themes the reader has encountered in the story, such as body image, competition issues, anxieties and relationships with the coach, team, family and friends. Here, the authors give a brief statement about the influence of sports on the development of girls. There are specific suggestions and cautions suggested by the athlete's own experiences. The "Sports Talk" section ends with discussion ideas and questions. There is also a glossary, which includes technical and sport terms. Parents and teachers will be given information about the state of the individual sport and women's involvement at different tiers - from school through the Olympic/Professional level and resources for further exploration.

From the Introduction by Jackie Joyner-Kersee: More than 25 years ago, the Women's Sports Foundation was founded, to promote the lifelong participation of girls and women in sports and fitness. We have been very successful, and we have seen many changes over the years. At that time only one in twenty-seven girls played sports; now it's one in three. And that's because more and more opportunities exist to be a female athlete and also to follow female sports heroes.

Even with thousands of girls attending World Cup Soccer or cheering on their favorite WNBA team, we still have a long way to go. We need to get the message out to more girls. We need to let every girl know how great it feels to play sports and how very important it is to her whole being. We still have too many 11 and 12 year-old girls dropping out of sports or never even having had the chance to play at all. In fact, if a girl does not participate in sports by age ten, there is a less than ten-percent chance that she will be participating when she is twenty-five.

Research suggests that girls who participate in sports have a real advantage over girls who do not. Girls active in sports are more likely to be successful in school, less likely to get involved with drugs, and less likely to have an unwanted pregnancy. Sport and exercise can help to keep girls healthy, both physically and emotionally. The girl who is athletic feels stronger, eats and sleeps better, is more self-confident, and generally feels more positive about her life.

For a very long time, boys have had unlimited resources, such as books, movies, and games about sports and their favorite sports legends. Sport is where boys have traditionally learned about achieving, goal-setting, team-work, and the pursuit of excellence. Girls and women should have these skills, too. We need to establish a large- scale network of resources about girls' sports and female athletes.

And we need to give girls their own heroes. "Anything You Can Do. . ." is unprecedented in its concept of offering real stories of new heroes to young girls. These are the adventures of young girls, coming from different backgrounds, who go on to achieve excellence in sports.

This series can open a whole new world for young girls. These books will give young girls a chance to explore the biographies of elite female athletes and their early sport experiences. The common thread that runs through all of these stories is a strong one - of perseverance and desire. Yet, each story is unique. Some are famous; some are not. Although the young reader may not always recognize the name of every athlete in the series, she may very well recognize herself, her friends, and her teammates in these stories.

Doreen and Michael Greenberg bring to this series a long dedication to providing positive sport experiences for girls. I like their philosophy that it is not as important for the young reader to come away with the name of the person who won the big championship or the winning score, as an understanding of what it means to be a female athlete.

And by including the unique "Sports Talk" section in each book, Doreen has the opportunity to use her expertise as a sport psychology consultant and researcher to discuss important issues with parents and teachers. These are issues distinctive to girls in sports, including competing with the boys, making sacrifices, dealing with coaches, anxieties about winning and losing, and concerns about body image.

I am delighted that these books deal with a young girl's introduction to sports, the highs and lows of training and competition, and the reactions of family and friends, both positive and negative. It is so important for all of us to understand the young athlete as a complete person.

Most of all, the books in this series are fun and exciting to read. They will inspire girls to follow their dreams - whatever they are.