Run to the Roar: Coaching to Overcome Fear

by Paul Assaiante, Tom Wolfe (Foreword), James Zug

The winningest coach in college sports history shares his lessons on building and coaching teams of champions. For 244 consecutive dual matches over the past twelve years, the Trinity men's squash team has gone unbeaten. No other team in any collegiate sport has achieved the same sustained level of greatness. Run to the Roar is the story of a coach who succeeds in recruiting young men from around the world, getting them to work as a team, managing personalities, calming egos, and encouraging daily effort and focus under pressure. The focus of the book is a single match-Trinity vs. Princeton at the 2009 national championships. Within this framework we learn how Assaiante drives his players to achieve unparalleled success. Run to the Roar is not just a book about squash; it is an invaluable and unique reflection on mentoring and leadership.

Genres: Sports, Leadership

272 pages, Paperback

First published November 25, 2010

Reviews

[Timothy S Stone · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a great story but assembled poorly. Too much detail that doesn't add to the story. The incredible poignancy buried in each chapter is quickly buried in trifles and semantics. It was certainly worth reading, and I'd like to go back scrape the lessons succintly. I think this could have been a riveting page-turner if it were distilled.

[Dan Zilic · Rating 4 out of 5]

First things first: for years I've been participating in Reddit's Secret Santa (they closed it this year, those bastards) and this was one of the best presents I received. You know, I'm quite up to date with all things squash but I had never heard about this book, and I thought it was really something that this person unknown to me checked my Reddit profile and found this really cool Squash book that I had never heard of and gifted it to me (instead of getting some random Squash player biography).

Anyway, I've had the book sitting around for a bit but since I'm on a good motivational streak in terms of Squash I thought the book might help. Basically it tells the story of Trinity College's squash team's unprecedented winning streak. Each final match is relived, a lot of stories about the individual players, plenty of which were familiar to me (as someone following the squash scene closely). It's the coach talking and telling you about how he got to Trinity and what he believes in as a Squash coach. On top of that though, and that's the surprise, you learn that this super successful coach has failed marriages and a son in and out of prison due to heroin addiction.

I think squash fans will really enjoy the book, I certainly did. Funnily enough an old co-worker of mine is mentioned in the book, he played on the reserve team for Trinity at some point. Nickname: Shampoo, due to his wavy blond hair I guess.

[Bryan O’Barr · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve had this book on a shelf for a handful of years. Finally got around to it. I love to hear coaching perspectives. I was very intrigued by the international diversity that this coach had on his team, although I almost wish he would have gotten into it some more. To add, there seemed to be a lot of digressions and thus piecing together in the middle of chapters which disrupted the coherence. If you want to read this book I also recommend reading a bit about Squash beforehand. I got lazy and kept chugging along, but the visuals described by Assaiante I almost imagined as that weird alien dream from Bedtime Stories with Adam Sandler where they float around in that glass dome in outer space. I have no experience with Squash so I felt like I was making stuff up. Solid book.

[Scott Barnicle]

Biography of the Trinity squash team in it's heyday with a view on the coaching of Paul Assaiante

[Juan Diego López Rodríguez · Rating 5 out of 5]

People are drawn to literature because they can relate what they read to their lives. They can see themselves in the characters, living the stories, or sympathizing with the ideas presented. I played at Trinity, was coached by Paul Assaiante, and know every member of the 2009 team (the book has each chapter named after a player). Thus, it was hard for me to put down this book. I read it in less than 4 days--twice already. This is why, even when I have given 4 stars to a book like The Hobbit, I give this book a 5. Ratings are subjective, and I start this review acknowledging this. However, I do think that this book is engaging and many more people--even if you didn't play at Trinity or College squash--can make connections to their lives, their jobs, and their personal struggles. I wanted to start this review saying that this book is about education. But education is every experience that we've had in our lives. This book is about life, as Tom Wolfe mentioned in the foreword, “Run to the Roar...quiet effortlessly start you thinking about life far beyond the confines of the sport itself.” The book demonstrates the hybrid that is coaching, education, and life. If you want to surface what it's like to be a part of a team led by "Coach A.," I recommend this book to you.

I wrote a blogpost about how this book possesses many ideas of education: https://jdlrblog.wordpress.com/2016/0...

[John Farr · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very memorable book that weaves together the story of the Trinity squash dynasty and the coach's own personal difficulties with his troubled son. The result is some great lessons on sportsmanship and overcoming adversity that far transcend what you'd read in a typical sports book.

If you've read James Zug's "Squash" you'll probably remember that fantastic chapter chronicling the epic match between Jahangir Khan and Mark Talbott in Boston some time in the 80's. It was a point by point chronicle that ranks up there with some of the best sports journalism I've read. Zug brings that same style here. He really makes the reader feel like he's behind the glass wall watching every point unfold.

A great read for anyone interested in squash, Trinity, sports in general, or who knows someone dealing with drug addiction.

[Carl Yang · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining sports book (with a deep title) from the coach of the Trinity College squash dynasty. It is apparent that insanely hard work and constant everyday communication helps build great teams. Still it is so amazing Trinity has been the top school for so long.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great story. The contrast between the coach's personal and professional life is heart-breaking. Sure, squash is not a glamour sport, but being consistently this good needs to be recognized. And it must go beyond the players: the coach is driving this bus. I certainly learned a few things.

[Brad Hayes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Accessible to squash players and non-players alike, but the former are likely to derive more pleasure from the play-by-play descriptions. Assaiante's relationship with his players is all the more poignant when juxtaposed with the story of his family.

[Caleb Philbrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book contains more bones than meat - but the meat is really good. It made me take a hard look at what I feared, why, and what I could do about it - which is very helpful. Also, there are thoughts on how to build high quality functional organizations which can be applied to many areas.

[Ed Lamaze · Rating 1 out of 5]

Can you give less than one star?

[Maryann Cassidy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this inspirational book about coaching squash at Trinity College.

[Kim Mathew]

entertaining book if you like squash, which i do

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

A surprisingly moving book about coaching philosophy that was less prescriptive and more meditative.