Soccerhead Jim Haner
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Soccerhead: An Accidental Journey into the Heart of the American Game
Jim Haner
North Point Press
Hardcover
288 pages
April 2006
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When journalist Jim Haner became the reluctant coach of his son’s Boys and
Girls Club soccer team, the College Park (Maryland) Hornets, he did not know what he was getting himself into. He soon found out. What’s more, the more he learned about and became involved with the game that most of the world calls “football,” the more he liked it—to the point that he now proudly considers himself a soccer fanatic.
In Soccerhead, Haner, an award-winning reporter for the Baltimore Sun, recounts his budding love for the most popular game in the world. Recalling how he fell for the game, he writes, “Then it happened. Not slowly or easily, gracefully or gently, but, rather, with the vertiginous swoon that attends the dizzy nosedive of love at first sight. After just a couple of nights on the practice field with my squad of little hellions, I was hopelessly sucked in.”
In alternating chapters, he tells of his experiences with the Hornets and provides a historical overview of the evolution of soccer in the United States. His enthusiasm shines through the entire narrative. A soccer Mom myself, I appreciate Haner’s humorous anecdotes about his team and coaching experiences. I also got an education about the history and culture that surrounds the game so loved by millions throughout the world.
Originally published on Curled Up With A Good Book at www.curledup.com. © Jeanne Lesinski, 2006
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