Sisterhood in Sports
How Female Athletes Collaborate and Compete
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- $42.99
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- $42.99
Publisher Description
Sisterhood in Sports: How Female Athletes Collaborate and Compete tells the stories of all kinds of female athletes in a variety of sports. Their natural tendency to use talking as a primary form of communication is essential to their experiences and successes in sports. Women and girls tend to have BFFs, collaborate during periods of stress, express empathy for one another, worry about themselves and others, and desire to have fun in sports, which makes their experiences of sports and competition different from their male counterparts. Female strengths are grounded in both mind and body, and they take these strengths onto the court, field, and track.
There are now dozens of studies showing how the female brain and hormones operate quite differently than those of men. This book reveals the ways in which these differences confirm that intense emotions about relationships are part of the sporting life for female competitors. Joan Steidinger uses real stories to show that women and girls compete at very high levels, but also have a different view of their teammates and opponents, one based on relationships and communication, that impacts performance both on and off the field. They enjoy and revel in sisterhood, even as they fight to win. Understanding this need for connection helps us better understand how female athletes succeed and perform both in sports and in life. Female athletes and anyone who works with them will learn how to better facilitate mastery, competition, collaboration, and connection on and off the field the practice of female collaborative competition.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Sports psychologist and former competitive ultrarunner Steidinger takes an in-depth look at women and girls in sports in this informative book. Drawing upon interviews with a wide range of female athletes, neurology, and anecdotes from her psychology practice, the author notes differences between the male and female brain that influence their attitude toward sports: "Whereas girl athletes tend toward best friendship and collaborative, emotional relationships, boy athletes line up in order of dominance in teams and have activity-based, (thinking) relationships." Male and female athletes, she asserts, do not "think alike." Even in the competitive sisterhood of sports girls "just wanna have fun." Girls do best when they are encouraged to value and enjoy their relationships with friends. Each chapter concludes with a bullet box of strategies (e.g., "Ten Mental Strategies for Teenage bffs," "Ten Mental Strategies for Coaching Female Athletes," or "Ten Family Strategies for Supporting a Young Female Athlete). Female athletes and those who strive to support them will find plenty of practical ideas here that will help girls succeed and find fulfillment in sports as well as in their family and social lives.