Switching Fields

Switching Fields
George Dohrmann
RRP:
NZ$ 90.00
Our Price:
NZ$ 72.00
Hardback
h235 x 156mm - 288pg
15 Nov 2022 US
International import eta 7-19 days
9781524798864
Out Of Stock
Currently no stock in-store, stock is sourced to your order
Quantity:
 
 
A Pulitzer Prize-winning sports journalist unravels why the United States has failed to produce elite men' s soccer players for so long-and shows why a golden era just might be comingThe contrast is striking. As the United States women' s national soccer team has long dominated the sport, winners of four World Cups and four Olympic gold medals, the men' s team has floundered. They failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup and the last three Olympics and have long struggled when facing the world' s best teams. How could such a global powerhouse on the women' s side-and in other men' s team sports-be so far behind the rest of the world? In Switching Fields, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist George Dohrmann turns his investigative focus on the system that develops male soccer players in the United States, examining why the U. S. has struggled for decades to produce elite talent. But rather than just focus on the past, he turns forward, connecting with coaches and players who are changing the way talented players are unearthed and developed- an American living in Japan who devised a new way for kids under five to be introduced to the game; a coach in Los Angeles who traveled to Spain and Argentina and returned with coaching methods he used to school a team of future pros; an Arizona real estate developer whose grand experiment changed the way pro teams in the U. S. develop talent. Following these innovators' inspiring journeys, Dohrmann gives ever-hopeful U. S. soccer fans a reason to believe that a movement is underway that is smashing the developmental status quo, and it has put the United States on the precipice of greatness.
"George Dohrmann is one of our most perceptive chroniclers of youth sports in the United States, and here he brings his keen eye to the history and present of U. S. men' s soccer development. You come away with a deeper understanding of the pay-to-play system, how it developed, and why it left out so many Latinos and Black Americans-as well as why that may finally be changing. Writing about a culture isn' t easy, but Dohrmann picks the right people to help tell the story in a book that' s well worth your time. "-Grant Wahl, CBS Sports analyst and New York Times bestselling author of Masters of Modern Soccer: How the World' s Best Play the Twenty-First Century Game "Essential reading for anyone wanting to understand why the U. S. men' s team has disappointed in the past but should have a brighter future ahead . . . Dohrmann' s reporting takes us beyond the up and down of results to find the structural causes-which, as so often in the United States, have much to do with race. This optimistic book is a pleasure to read. "-Simon Kuper, New York Times bestselling co-author of Soccernomics and author of The Barcelona Complex: Lionel Messi and the Making-and Unmaking-of the World' s Greatest Soccer Club "A fascinating insight into how racism, the lust for profit, and a lack of basic infrastructure have held back U. S. soccer. "-Jonathan Wilson, author of Inverting the Pyramid: The History of Soccer Tactics "An exhaustive and necessary examination of what has stood between the U. S. men' s national team and relevance in international soccer . . . Dohrmann takes a microscope to the failings of scouting, youth coaching, and, often, imagination in the American game, all in the desperate hope that something will change-and the United States can finally build a winner. "-Joshua Robinson and Jonathan Clegg, co-authors of The Club: How the English Premier League Became the Wildest, Richest, Most Disruptive Force in Sports
George Dohrmann is a senior managing editor at The Athletic and was formerly an investigative reporter at Sports Illustrated. His first book, Play Their Hearts Out, was named one of the best books of literary journalism of the twenty-first century by GQ and called one of the finest sports books of all time by Harper' s and The New York Times. He won a Pulitzer Prize at the St. Paul Pioneer Press for a series of stories that uncovered academic fraud within a college basketball program. He lives with his family in Ashland, Oregon, where he coaches soccer and is president of the Ashland Soccer Club.
Status: Indent title, imported to order
ISBN-13: 9781524798864
Published: 15 Nov 2022
Published In: United States
Imprint: Ballantine Books Inc
Publisher: Random House USA Inc
Format: Hardback
Height: 235mm
Width: 156mm
Pages: 288

In stock - for items in stock we aim to dispatch the next business day. For delivery in NZ allow 2-5 business days, with rural taking a wee bit longer.

Locally sourced in NZ - stock comes from a NZ supplier with an approximate delivery of 7-15 business days.

International Imports - stock is imported into NZ, depending on air or sea shipping option from the international supplier stock can take 10-30 working days to arrive into NZ. 

Pre-order Titles - delivery will vary depending on where the title is published, if local stock is available in NZ then 5-7 business days, for international imports it can be 10-30 business days. In all cases we will access the quickest supply option.

Delivery Packaging - we ship all items in cardboard sleeves or by box with either packing paper or corn starch chips. (We avoid using plastics bubble bags)

Tracking - Orders are delivered by track and trace courier and are fully insured, tracking information will be sent by email once dispatched.

View our full Order & Delivery information

Details of the product above will be automatically included with your enquiry.

View Cart or Browse other items in Sports & Outdoor Recreation.