Play Big: Conquer Your Fears and Make Your Dreams a Reality--Lessons from the First Woman to Coach in the NFL

by Jen Welter

When Jen Welter became a linebackers coach for the Arizona Cardinals in 2015, she was the first woman to ever break the glass sideline of the NFL, but it wasn't her first time pioneering as a woman in football: Welter was also the first woman to play running back in a men's professional football league. In Play Big, Welter reveals the grit and determination that it took to be a trailblazer in one of the country's toughest boys' clubs.

With reliability and encouragement, Play Big lays out how she handled the unique pressure of being the only woman in a notoriously sexist environment. By detailing her own strategies for succeeding despite the odds, Welter gives readers the tools they need to do the same, whatever their own obstacles might be.

Drawing on a move that garnered attention during her time with the Cardinals--writing personal motivational notes for each of her linebackers the night before a game--Welter translates simple but effective tips for perseverance and toughness in Play Big.

Genres: Sports, Football, Nonfiction, Memoir, Psychology, Leadership

Audio

Published October 3, 2017

Reviews

[Lance · Rating 4 out of 5]

Football has been an important part of Jen Walters’ life since she was a child. She played tackle football in school, had a long and successful career in women’s professional football as a linebacker, became the first woman to play in a men’s professional league (as a running back), and then became the first woman to coach in the NFL when she was the linebacker coach for the Arizona Cardinals during the 2016 training camp and preseason. Being so good at breaking glass ceilings, she decided to help other women accomplish the same thing in their fields with this fast-paced book that is a quick and enjoyable read.

While women are the targeted audience of this book, it is very useful for everyone. Advice on such traits maintaining a positive attitude, keeping lines of communication open and facing adversity is given out liberally between stories and accounts of her football career and some information on her personal life and education as well. An example of this type of advice that she learned during her football career came when she was studying the Cardinals’ playbook and she came across the term “salt and pepper.” She was trying to figure out what it meant in football – as it turned out, it was a minor detail in the team’s own language. It was a lesson to not get too lost in minor details and she uses that to provide advice to readers.

Even though Dr. Welter was a coach, don’t expect to read about playbooks, how a linebacker will fill the gap before a running back gains yardage or the drills she made her players run. Instead, the coaching she did in both the men’s indoor football league (the same league in which she was a player) and for the Cardinals was about attitude and confidence. Her notes left for each of her players became the talk of not only the Cardinals’ training camp, but of the entire league. While her time with the Cardinals may have been short (she was considered an intern and no interns were kept by the team after the preseason ended), her legacy for women in a game that has been an exclusive male club will last for a long time.

I wish to thank Da Capo Press for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

http://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/201...

[Carianne Carleo-Evangelist · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this more than I ultimately did. I think it's because I went in expecting a different kind of book than it was. For those also looking for that kind of book, Amy Trask's You Negotiate Like a Girl: Reflections on a Career in the National Football League hits the spot.

I thought it would be more about her NFL stint, which was my own poor research. I did enjoy the book though. I liked the message that just because someone says you can't, doesn't always mean you can't. Maybe she could have been a tennis pro too. It's also a lesson that coaches need to stop saying can't.
I think all of her teammates as well as the players she coached were lucky to have her. I also liked the layer she added to the stories that went beyond what has been covered in her interviews. And of course there's the silliness in and over analysis of the handshake between she and Sarah Thomas.

A good read ahead of the NFL season.

[☘Misericordia☘ ⚡ϟ⚡⛈⚡☁ ❇️❤❣ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now, THIS is what real feminism is. You go and do things better than anyone else instead of prattling about how you're destined for equality.

TBC

[Krista Stevens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recommended to me by a student. Somehow, I wasn't aware of this - Dr. Jen Welter was the first woman to coach in the NFL. She has an amazing story - and is forthright about the difficulties women's sports face in obtaining sponsorship as well as her own struggles in relationships and trying to figure out what to do in her life. Each chapter has sidebars or text boxes that summarize great women in sports or highlight her messages of how to Play Big. Put on all 4 SR lists?

[Tony | Outwork · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lessons in being limitless from the first coach in the NFL.

Also, the first female to play in professional football outside of the kicker position at a whopping 5’0. Play Big is her story of how she made it in a predominantly male sport. Her recount of her time playing women’s professional football is a testament to determination and grit. There is almost no respect for women’s professional football and it would have been easy to give up and continue with her successful business career. It is especially tough to keep going when there isn’t any real possibility of continuing to make it to the next level. There was no guarantee that Welter would have made it to the NFL as a coach because she was the first one to break that barrier.

She has a degree in sports psychology and a Ph.D. in psychology which is one of the reasons why I chose to read this book. I wanted insight into an active application of sports psychology, which shows with her thoughts on greatness: Greatness is not an accident. Greatness is a choice you make over and over and over. And when you choose personal greatness, it becomes a part of who you are.

Pursue Greatness: www.outworkinc.com

r/Onward

[Albert Qian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great story about Jen Welter, the first female to coach the NFL. The story is great though the advice given is fairly generic.

[Noel Guevara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have no clue why anyone rated this less than 5. She broke barriers and walked us through how she did it. This woman is harmonious balance of elegance, strength, and courage.

[Francia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very inspirational book!

[Cait · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tidbits of knowledge but often repetitive. However, repetition can drive progress?

[Sharon Skinner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written. Dr. Welter has lived an amazing life and offers solid ways for women to aim high in life based on her personal experience.

[Bridget · Rating 2 out of 5]

I honestly don't know where to begin with this book. It was a bit of a roller coaster ride but a really good set of lessons overall.