Games Girls Play: Understanding and Guiding Young Female Athletes

by Caroline Silby, Shelley Smith

A Reviving Ophelia for soccer Games Girls Play gives parents advice for encouraging their daughters to participate in sports and making sure their experiences as athletes are empowering. Sports psychologist and former nationally ranked figure skater Caroline Silby teaches parents how to find the right sport for their young daughters and helps them tackle hurdles that affect older atletes. Using real-life examples, Silby prepares parents for the obstacles that female athletes face and offers solutions for handling everything from the stresses of competition, to motivation problems, to self-esteem issues, to difficult coaches, to eating disorders, to sexual harassment.

304 pages, Hardcover

First published August 5, 2000

Reviews

[Molly]

#DNF

[Jill]

I wish I'd read this book years ago - when my older daughter first began playing recreational soccer. It would have given me the tools to guide her through the years of travel and high school soccer with a better perspective on her training, how to better prepare her to work with coaches, teammates, other parents, and her own internal pressure. An excellent book and resource for parents of daughters who want to help them succeed while keeping the joy that drew them to the sport in the first place.

[Amy]

highly recommend for any parents with girls playing a sport at a highly competitive level. I wish I had read this book when my daughter had first started playing competitively.