Professional coaches, Parents, and Players, all say that More Than A Game is a winner!
“More Than A Game” captures the essence of all that is good about youth football. It captures the delicate balance between teaching and learning, the values and lessons of teamwork, and the passion and joy that is the ultimate goal of youth athletics. Jim Brown captures the essence of all of these and focuses on the trials, tribulations and above all else, the successes of the nationally recognized St. Raphael Football program through his compelling work. His literary efforts speak volumes about the everlasting value of a properly organized and managed youth sports leagues.”
— New Orleans Saints Head Coach Sean Payton
“We hear so often about the problems in youth sports, but children and adults need to be reminded that there are many positive life lessons to be learned from the playing fields of our youth. To read More Than A Game is to vividly recall those lessons. Jim Brown captures both the good times and the bad in these pages, while teaching us about the great value of sports along the way.”
—Christine Brennan, USA Today sports columnist, ABC News/NPR commentator, author of Best Seat in the House
“More Than a Game invites you into the simple truths of most any season of life. Practice makes perfect … as you discover the play-by-play teachable moments of this team of eight-grade role models. Whether you coach a youth sports team, a business organization, or a family unit … you will learn meaningful insights into values, leadership and relationships.”
— Mac Anderson, founder of Successories and Simple Truths
“Jim Brown was a leader in the business world and now has applied his formidable leadership gifts to using sports to develop great people. St. Raphael's youth football is the kind of program that all youth athletes should have to help them become the best they can be. Jim has now brought the story of St. Raphael's to life with More Than a Game, a book that will grab you and keep you involved from the pre-season workouts to the banquet at the end of the year. This book is a positive contribution by an incredibly positive man.”
— Jim Thompson, Founder & Executive Director Positive Coaching Alliance
“More than a Game will leave you defenseless … as it tackles your mind, heart and soul. Beyond the “X’s” and “O’s”, this playbook teaches you lessons applicable to every season of your life. Whether you’ve been a football coach for years or you don’t know a thing about the game, this special season will keep you thinking long after the fourth quarter of the final game.”
—John G. Blumberg, professional speaker and author of Silent Alarm and Good to the Core
“More Than a Game is a must read for everyone who has ever been associated with the game of football. Jim Brown’s 40 plus years of involvement with football has allowed him to write an insightful and inspiring book about the game of football that goes way beyond the techniques, skills and X’s and O’s of the game. Anyone who has ever played the game of football knows it is much more than just a game. Every person reading this book will come away with an appreciation of the game of football beyond the wins and losses. Jim’s book should be required reading for any person wanting to start out in the coaching ranks.”
—Gary Goforth, Head Football Coach and Athletic Director, Benet Academy, Lisle, Illinois
“More Than a Game brings youth football to life more than any newspaper, magazine or broadcast possibly could. Through swift pacing and simple wording, on-field action smoothly leads to life lessons off the field. The powerfully-told stories will touch your heart. If you don't walk away wanting to coach football, you'll surely leave wanting to lead your family, organization or business in a better way – Jim Brown's way.”
—Brad Engel, Naperville Sun Sports Editor
“More Than a Game is a very clear and powerful perspective of the reality of youth sports and the impact it has on our lives. As a former professional football player and currently a youth coach More Than a Game unveils so many teachable moments; it’s simply a must read for anyone with the responsibility of coaching kids in sports. Jim Brown is able to transcend sports and life by providing characters that we all can relate to. It is an awesome tool box of applicable solutions that provides a lifelong playbook of teaching the balance between competition and character in our sports society today. Thank you Jim; for having the courage to share 40 years of your amazing experience with St. Raphael Football Program.”
—Shafer Suggs, President of the NFLPA Retired Football Players of Chicago; New York Jets starting strong safety 1976-1980
“More than a Game is a must read for people who “Coach” on the field or in the workforce, and struggle with connecting and motivating a group to successfully function as a team. Jim Brown’s decades of professional coaching and youth coaching success is the result of a sustainable foundation of guiding principles designed to build team unity. You will truly be amazed at the maturity of the youth characters in this book and their ability to learn and make defining choices that will shape the team and their lives for the future. Jim Brown captures the true essence of Coaching as it truly is More Than a Game.”
—Dale Grosso, Logistics Executive and Assistant Coach, St. Raphael Varsity Football.
“Jim Brown's More Than A Game is must reading for any parent whose child is or has played youth football. Jim's love of the game and four decades of coaching and developing young athletes for the game of life as well as football are testimony to the way the game is meant to be played -- for love, fun, and with dedication. As the author of biographies Papa Bear - The Life and Legacy of George Halas, and Rozelle, Czar of the NFL, I have seen firsthand how dedication to the game and the fundamentals build champions. Jim Brown has a winner in More Than A Game.”
— Jeff Davis, Author Papa Bear and Rozelle
“Jim Brown presents a winning lineup in More Than A Game. He carefully selects players, the characters in his book, who he’s personally worked with -- both on and off the field -- in his 40 years of coaching youth football at St. Raphael. He takes the reader through many of the hardships and triumphs he’s faced first hand, as a coach and mentor of the players in the program. Ultimately, the players come together and become a dream team."
—Margi Schiemann – Team Mom and Mother of a Youth Football Player
"More Than a Game is motivating, intense, gut wrenching, and exciting all at once. I could relate to the players in Coach Brown's book, and I think I may even know a couple of the players who he writes about in his starting lineup."
—Brian Schiemann - Youth Football Player
“In this day and age of hyper-competitive youth sports, Coach Brown has put together a must read manifesto for anyone who is charged with the responsibility for coaching youth sports. More Than a Game and its lessons provide a moral and ethical roadmap that all youth coaches can, and should follow. As a youth football coach myself, this book serves as a blunt reminder that we have an awesome responsibility to those we coach, and we have an enormous impact on how they grow and mature into the world around them. This book should be required reading for anyone given the privilege and honor of coaching young men and women.”
— Frank Ribaudo, Head Football Coach, All Saints Academy
“When you're talking sports, you always hear that a coach or team member is "full of heart." That description fits More Than A Game in a nutshell; it's a story about teamwork that's full of heart, and sets a great example for the next generation of team sports players.”
—Carole Bellacera – Award winning author of Spotlight; Border Crossing; Tango’s Edge; Understudy; Shepherd Moon; and East of the Sun
“More Than a Game is about love. It tells the story of one man's experience of teaching young people, through football, how to be kind, compassionate, and effective human beings. For 40 years Jim Brown practiced his art, and the masterpiece he created is inspiring. Anyone who wants to learn how to give something back creatively and courageously should read this book.”
—Lari Washburn – artist – Etsy.com |
