Although Tony Dungy was passed over in the 1977 NFL draft, Coach Chuck Noll of the Pittsburgh Steelers recognized his athleticism and understanding of the game and signed him as a free agent. Later, at the age of 25, Dungy began his NFL coaching career with the Steelers. He went on to coach the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and then considered retiring from football. Instead, he accepted a coaching job with the Indianapolis Colts and in 2007 became the first African American head coach to win the Super Bowl. Find out how Dungy’s intellect, strength of character, and leadership qualities have made him a champion on and off the field.
This will be the second title in Lauren and Tony Dungy’s series of children’s books which feature great stories that remind kids of the importance of family, friends, confidence, determination—and believing that anything is possible if you dream big. In this story, Jade has been planning to have her birthday party at a water park, but her new friend, Hannah, is in a wheelchair. Now Jade has a decision to make: Is it more important to keep the celebration where she planned, or to make sure all of her friends will have fun? Parents and their children will love reading and discussing this beautiful book, which celebrates the talents and strengths we all have, no matter our physical ability.
Faith and the support of a loving family help Linden when he is upset over being the only one in his class or at home who does not know what he wants to be when he grows up.
From an early age, Peyton Manning loved the mental challenge of playing quarterback. He is known for his extraordinary understanding of the game and his tireless work ethic. As the star of the Indianapolis Colts, he is on track to break career records set by history’s greatest quarterbacks. Even so, he is a team player, and he achieved his greatest victory when he led the Colts to a Super Bowl championship in 2007. Find out how this football heir is proving himself as the NFL’s next legend.
“Your only job is to help your players be better.” That single idea had a huge impact on Tony Dungy when he heard it from one of his earliest mentors, and it led him to develop the successful leadership style so admired by players and coaches throughout the NFL. Now, a storied career and a Super Bowl victory later, Tony Dungy is sharing his unique leadership philosophy with you. In The Mentor Leader, Tony reveals what propelled him to the top of his profession and shows how you can apply the same approach to virtually any area of your life. In the process, you’ll learn the seven keys of mentoring leadership—and why they’re so effective; why mentor leadership brings out the best in people; how a mentor leader recovers from mistakes and handles team discipline; and the secret to getting people to follow you and do their best for you without intimidation tactics. As a son, a football player, and a winning coach, Tony has always learned from others on his path to success. Now you can learn to succeed for your team, family, or organization while living out your values—by becoming a mentor leader.
Justin feels overshadowed when the Dungy family cheers for Jade at her track meet in this inspirational Ready-to-Ready story. Jade is running in a track meet, and the entire family goes to watch and cheer her on! Everyone is excited for Jade—except Justin. He wishes he was good at something that made everyone cheer for him. Older brother Jordan pulls him aside for a chat and explains that everyone is good at different things. He reminds Justin that he’s a wonderful artist whose drawing are up all over their house! The next time the Dungys go to a track meet, Justin has a surprise. This time everyone cheers for Jade—and for Justin! This inspirational Level 2 Ready-to-Read features the Dungy children and highlights the importance of encouragement and support.
In his no-holds-barred memoir, Sapp Attack!, Warren Sapp, one of the NFL's most hilarious and candid personalities, reveals a side of football most fans have never before seen. Big Man. Big Talent. Big Star. Big Mouth. Big Heart. Big Personality. Big Smile. Big Headlines. Warren Sapp, one of pro football's most dominating defensive players both on and off the field, has a reputation for being bold, brash, knowledgeable, and outspoken. During his All-American career at the University of Miami, 13 seasons as an NFL star, four years on the NFL Network and one very big season on Dancing with the Stars, Sapp has never held back. Now he brings that same fearless attitude to his memoir, a book that will create controversy and headlines; in other words, pure Warren Sapp. Sapp has won every award possible for a defensive player, but it wasn't just his extraordinarily athletic ability that made him a star; it was also his ability to understand the subtleties of the game. He writes about working his way up from the high school gridiron to one of the top college football programs in the country, to the NFL, and reveals how the system actually works—the behind-the-scenes plays that fans rarely get to see. He'll discuss what it was like to face some of the greatest players in NFL history, including Hall of Famers Steve Young and Jerry Rice, both of whom he put out of the game, and Bret Favre, whom he sacked eleven times during his career. In this revealing, hilarious, and must-read book, Sapp offers readers a look inside the life of one of football's biggest stars and shares his often controversial opinions about the state of pro football today and its future.
Niccolò di Bernardo Machiavelli is not only one of the most fascinating figures of the Italian Renaissance, an outstanding author and statesman, but indisputably one of its most influential political theorists, whose fundamental contributions to ideas of political power - as well as to the history of modern drama - remain astonishingly pertinent. His adventurous life led him to notable heights as a diplomat and reformer of the Florentine military, with his replacement of mercenaries by a citizen-militia. His fall, exile and eventual rehabilitation followed as briskly as his rise. Unlike many innovative thinkers about politics, he developed his radical theories of treachery and social transformation, here explored in terms of their originality, in an atmosphere of violence. Based on his experience of government, his insights led to a shift from understanding statehood, war and society as forms of finitude and stasis to those of process. All this unfolds in Paul Oppenheimer's compelling recreation of Machiavelli's life as he actually lived it.
In A Team Stays Together!, when the Dungy family heads out to a sporting event, Mom and Dad tell all the kids, “Don’t wander off!” But Jordan can’t resist getting a closer look at the field—and when he turns around to talk to his dad, he’s not there! Uh-oh. This light story about listening will surely ring true for kids who sometimes have a mind of their own.
When tragedy devastated a small town, an unlikely source of inspiration pieced the community back together in this dramatic true story. On a Sunday in May 2008, an F5 tornado hit the town of Parkersburg, Iowa, killing eight people and destroying 250 homes and businesses within a span of 34 seconds. The next day, Parkersburg's beloved football coach, Ed Thomas, made a stunning prediction: "God willing, we will play our first home game here on this field this season." One hundred days later, the home team scored a victory on the field they dubbed the Sacred Acre, serving as a galvanizing point for the town to band together and rebuild. But just as Parkersburg was recovering, another disaster struck. While working with a group of football and volleyball players early one morning, one of Thomas's former students walked in and gunned him down at point-blank range. Thomas was only 58 years old. The murder of this hometown hero spread across national news headlines, and Thomas's community reeled from the shock. But his story doesn't end there. As you discover more about this incredible town, you'll learn: That grief is no match for love The life-changing power of faith and forgiveness What it truly means to lean on your community How to use your God-given gifts for good Praise for The Sacred Acre: "Ed Thomas was a man who lived the gospel, loved his family, and believed in doing things the right way. He taught his players that there are no shortcuts and that you will ultimately be judged, not by what you did, but on how you did it. His heart, his faith, and his Christian character are evident in so many of them. I believe that reading this book will give you a better understanding of this special man and the example he left for all of us to follow." --Tony Dungy, former head coach of the Indianapolis Colts
