Just for Kicks
Reviewed by Anne E. Stein
CONSUMER HEALTH INTERACTIVEGo for the Goal: A Champion's Guide to Winning in Soccer and Life
By Mia Hamm, with Aaron Heifetz
Quill
254 pp $21 
If you're looking for a practical guide to soccer, there may be none better than the one by Mia Hamm, the most prolific goal-scorer in the history of women's soccer. Hamm is among the most likeable of pro athletes, and she doesn't make waves. Her mantra is "the team," and it's a wonder the publicity-shy star was persuaded to write even one chapter about her personal life -- which is how much space the book devotes to that topic. She also tends to be humble about her achievements -- a refreshing change from some athletes. "My name is Mariel Margaret Hamm, but everyone calls me Mia. Many people say I'm the best women's soccer player in the world. I don't think so. And because of that, someday I just might be." A page later, she writes, "I'm training and playing with some of the best players in the world every day. When I see their amazing skills and talents, I have no doubt that I still have a lot of work to do." Coming from the star of a team that won the gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, the 1999 women's World Cup Championship, and a silver medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympic games, these words might sound a tad disingenuous. The reader may even get the urge to draw smiley faces on the margins to augment Hamm's overuse of exclamation points. But Hamm's unaffected spirit may overcome even the most cynical reader. After all, her credibility is unquestionable. When Hamm says "I always make sure I thank or hug the person who gave me an assist on a goal because the point belongs to her as much as to me," that's something for ambitious young players to consider emulating. Useful drills
The book is divided into three parts. The first includes her biography as well as her insights on teamwork and the physical and mental aspects of the game. Part two is the soccer nitty-gritty, which your niece (or nephew) playing on the school soccer team may find especially useful. The technical aspect of the game -- trapping (the ball), passing, dribbling, shooting, heading and goalkeeping -- is shoptalk with a vengeance. Lists of useful drills for readers to learn skills accompany snapshots of national team stars, which should entertain both soccer fanatics and average students of the game. Hamm doles out advice in the last third of the book, including tips on being a winner. She should know a lot about that, after all -- the book includes her "inside" story of the U.S. team's victory in the 1999 Women's World Cup. Don't look to Hamm's memoir for the inside scoop on women's athletic struggles, however. For that, you'll need New York Times reporter Jere Longman's The Girls of Summer: The U.S. Women's Soccer Team and How it Changed the World, which gives the not-always-so-pleasant lowdown on the politics and history of women's soccer in America. But Hamm's book is an important one for male or female players, aspiring or otherwise, as well as coaches, fans, and soccer parents. Consider this one of the better books on how to play soccer -- plus how to win with grace and style -- and you won't be disappointed. -- Anne E. Stein is the former managing editor for Inside Triathlon magazine. As a cyclist, she has written for Sports Illustrated for Women, Bicycling Magazine, and the Chicago Tribune.
Reviewed by C.E. McLaughlin, MD, a professor of sports medicine at the University of California at Berkeley.
Our reviewers are members of Consumer Health Interactive's medical advisory board.
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First published January 24, 2001
Last updated October 29, 2008
Copyright © 2001 Consumer Health Interactive
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