Soccer Science

Behind every long stride, high-flying pole vault, and perfectly controlled discus throw, science is at work. As a high jumper takes off, potential energy is converted into kinetic energy. A discus thrower builds up momentum while spinning. Find out how science is involved in Olympic track and field events and how athletes take science into account in their quest for the gold medal.

In 2012, Hakeem al-Araibi was a promising young player on Bahrain's national football team when he was arrested for attacking a police station during the Arab Spring, despite television footage showing him playing soccer at the time of the alleged attack. After three months of torture and wrongful imprisonment, Hakeem was released. He fled the country and made his way to Australia, where he was granted refugee status. Hakeem made a life here and was playing for the suburban Pascoe Vale Football Club, in Melbourne. He thought he was safe.

Not too long ago, Max Best was stuck in a dead-end job, trudging from one day to the next and mourning the fact that his burning love of soccer was getting buried in a landslide of cold statistics and intangible tactics. Then, after saving an old man from a mugging, he was "cursed" with the ability to instantly ascertain a soccer player's attributes on sight and use that knowledge to upgrade his own skills. Now he's making a name for himself as an amateur team manager, but it's not enough for him to ditch his dud of a job.

Behind every Summer Olympic scoring soccer kick, tennis-ball bounce, and hard-hitting volleyball serve, science is at work. The type of kick used on a soccer ball affects its path. An equestrian leans forward during a jump to help the horse balance. Cyclists wear tight clothing to reduce drag. Find out how science is involved in several popular Summer Olympic events and how athletes take science into account in their quest for the gold medal.

Discover the Secrets Soccer Professionals Use to Recover from Games and Training! Is your game performance compromised by playing too many games or training too much? Does after game injury or muscle soreness seem to follow you, too often? Is your post-game fatigue causing you to recover slower than your teammates? Are you getting sidelined not because you lack the skill, but because you lack stamina? In this Smart Soccer Recovery, strength and conditioning specialist Mario Jovanovic, lays the foundation on the best known strategies on how to optimally recover after games and trainings. He ...

After 14 years as a stay-at-home mom, Kate Connor has finally rejoined the workforce. But unlike most working moms, Kate can't rearrange her home obligations to fit the needs of her job. Well, not easily, anyway. And not without a few little white lies. Because the truth is, no one in her family has any clue that she's returned to the job of her youth. Which means no late nights working beside her husband at the kitchen table while the kids watch television. Although, when you think about it, that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Kate Connor is your average, everyday mom with two kids, a husband, and one very big secret...she used to be a Demon Hunter for a secret arm of the Vatican. Now retired, she's more interested in the domestic than the demonic. So when she catches sight of a demon in Walmart, she tells herself it's some other Hunter's problem. But when that demon attacks her in her kitchen, retirement is no longer an option.

If you want something done, ask a busy person. Kate Conner could kill whoever first said that. As if the full-time mom, part-time demon hunter didn’t have enough to do, she’s now been given a third job—as headmistress at a special academy for up-and-coming slayers. Kate’s first charge? Her own teenage daughter Allie, who thanks to her unique heritage, has more power than either she or Kate understands. And definitely more than either knows how to use.

In this compelling new book, relying on original reporting from the most dangerous corners of Rio to the halls of power in Washington, DC, Dave Zirin examines how sports and politics are colliding in remarkable fashion in Brazil, opening up an international conversation on the culture, economics, and politics of sports.

Sin apartarse del principio conductor de Dios es redondo - «el futbol es la recuperación de la infancia» - los retratos y las crónicas de Balón dividido abarcan a las figuras recientes del balompié actual - Piqué, Messi, Pep Guardiola, Cristiano Ronaldo, los hermanos Boateng - y, entre extraordinarias conexiones con la literatura, la historia y la psicología, como Juan Villoro nos ha acostumbrado, calienta el ambiente para los numerosos y encendidos debates que el futbol siempre concede, sobre todo en años mundialistas.

xGenius explores the interplay between analysis, tactics, and decision-making. It seeks to put the sport of football under the microscope with the aim of getting closer to the ultimate truth of what makes players, managers and teams successful. What, ultimately, wins football matches. Packed with examples from the Premier League and beyond, xGenius shows how xG and other performance analysis tools are helping answer previously unanswerable questions.

In Soccer Grannies, Jean Duffy, a soccer-playing mom herself, recounts how she and her team set to work to bring the Soccer Grannies to the U.S. after hearing their incredible story. Despite many obstacles that stand in their way, the Soccer Grannies finally arrive, and Jean describes the wonderful friendships and cultural exchanges that follow. But Soccer Grannies tells more than just the physical journey of the South African women; it also details the Grannies’ personal journeys, sharing poignant insights into the realities of women living in South Africa.

Demon-Hunter Kate Connor is having a very bad month. Her resurrected first husband houses the soul of a demon. Her current husband is being overly attentive to the point of smothering. Her toddler son has entered a tantrum phase. And her teenage daughter is still determined to be the next, best demon slayer. Worse, she's determined to get her learner's permit the day she turns 15. That's a lot for one woman to juggle, even a Demon-Hunter. Add saving the world to the mix, and things are about to get complicated.

Once again, Kate Connor has a problem. Several, actually. For one thing, her daughter has figured out that mom is a demon-hunter - and wants to be just like her when she grows up. And there's that nagging suspicion that her dead husband has come back to life in the body of another man. Plus, her living husband still doesn't know her secrets. Not to mention the fact that she's acquired a mystical item that the entire demon community seems hell-bent on reclaiming.

In 2008, Dave Bidini accompanies Homeless Team Canada to the Homeless World Cup in Melbourne, Australia. Home and Away offers a powerful look at the poor and dispossessed, from the barrios of Mexico City and the shanties of West Africa, to the streets of North America and Europe, and illuminates the renewed meaning that these homeless players find in the beautiful game.

In The Title, Scott Murray delivers a lively, cherry-picked history of the country's football narrative through the prism of the old First Division. Rich with humour yet underpinned with solid research, this is a glorious ramble across English football's varied terrain. With as much about Preston, Burnley, Wolves, Portsmouth and West Brom as the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United, we learn the less well-known stories the sport has to tell, such as the plight of Glossop - the smallest club to ever play top-flight football.

When Kate goes to Rome with her family, she's hoping for a little R and R. The chance to bond with her husband, spend quality time with her kids, and visit her pseudo-family at Forza Scura. In other words, this suburban mom is doing the tourist thing, and intending to do it up right. But while Kate may want to take cheesy pictures and buy overpriced souvenirs, the demon population has other plans. And soon Kate and over-eager daughter Allie are thrust into the middle of a demonic feud.

50% Save Percentage on breakaways! 75% Save Percentage from the six and in! This book will give you a peek into the mind of a top tier high school soccer goalie. It analyzes every type of shot and game situation you will face and how, why, and where you should position yourself for maximum success. It also tells what you can do off the field as well to help you maximize your success on the field. This book is ideal for goal keepers of all ages.

When daughter Allie finds herself knee-deep in demons, Demon Hunter Kate Connor must come to the rescue in this first short story featuring not only Kate, but 14 year-old Allie, too! The Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom series features Kate Connor, a retired demon hunter and mom of two forced back into business when a demon crashes through her kitchen window.

Kate Conner is an expert at multi-tasking. Wife, mom, demon-hunter. She can stuff hundreds of Easter eggs for the neighborhood fair and still have enough energy to pummel a demon back into the ether. But Kate's life has gotten more complicated. Her first husband has returned from the dead in the body of her daughter's chemistry teacher. Different body, same hot desire for Kate.