The women you've seen play today, we are more than football players, more than athletes and sportspeople of the very highest degree. We are heroines or heroes - or however you wanna say it – and we should be taking our place on posters and platforms and TV stations, changing the way perfect is thought of, changing the way girls can be brought up. Offside tells the story of women's football in the UK through the eyes of a modern professional female footballer as she seeks to find a future in the game through exploring its past. Mickey is alone in the locker room; she deliberates with herself about the biggest decision of her life, her career, her love – her football. But in a world where sexism is rife and a feeling of self-limitation reduces opportunities, fear makes for poor decisions while joy flourishes in the unlikeliest of places. Offside has been researched with top women's teams, Manchester City Women's FC and Millwall Lionesses, where many players, sports scientists and others who are integral to the development of the game have been interviewed to gain an in-depth insight into their world. The play blends a dramatic narrative with performance poetry and chanting to evoke the pace and passion of the women's game. The production, by Futures Theatre, has been developed in partnership with the National Football Museum, Manchester, and the IWM, London.

Alecia's Vancouver soccer team, the Burrards, are a good, hard-fighting squad--her teammates are her friends and her coach is her loving step-dad. When Lexi, a new kid, joins the team, her bad attitude makes things fall apart fast. Alecia decides to find out what makes Lexi so difficult, and to hold the team together, on the field and off. Offside! shows how embracing unexpected change can make teams, and players, stronger.

Soccer is the world's favorite pastime, a passion for billions around the globe. In the United States, however, the sport is a distant also-ran behind football, baseball, basketball, and hockey. Why is America an exception? And why, despite America's leading role in popular culture, does most of the world ignore American sports in return? Offside is the first book to explain these peculiarities, taking us on a thoughtful and engaging tour of America's sports culture and connecting it with other fundamental American exceptionalisms. In so doing, it offers a comparative analysis of sports cultures in the industrial societies of North America and Europe. The authors argue that when sports culture developed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, nativism and nationalism were shaping a distinctly American self-image that clashed with the non-American sport of soccer. Baseball and football crowded out the game. Then poor leadership, among other factors, prevented soccer from competing with basketball and hockey as they grew. By the 1920s, the United States was contentedly isolated from what was fast becoming an international obsession. The book compares soccer's American history to that of the major sports that did catch on. It covers recent developments, including the hoopla surrounding the 1994 soccer World Cup in America, the creation of yet another professional soccer league, and American women's global preeminence in the sport. It concludes by considering the impact of soccer's growing popularity as a recreation, and what the future of sports culture in the country might say about U.S. exceptionalism in general.

Between finishing late school projects and looking after her brothers and sister, Faith Patel barely has time to play soccer. And when she's at practice, surrounded by girls who can afford to play in club leagues, she doesn't even feel like part of the team. So when Coach Berg starts to give Faith extra attention, she feels . . . really special. It might be crazy, but suddenly Faith has a crush on her coach. Can she keep her head in the game? The situation gets worse after Faith's frenemy Caitlyn decides that Faith's getting special treatment. Will Caitlyn tell the rest of the team—and make Faith into a total outcast?

Fifteen-year-old Cal Deane has a chance to make it as a professional footballer. To get there, he'll have to cope with the loss of his mum and a group of racists. For Cal, the battles off the pitch are far more challenging than any game of football.

Alex and his teammates love to play soccer. But why are there more referees at their games this season waving silly flags and stopping them right before they go in to score a goal? This fully illustrated storybook is intended to help youth soccer players understand what it means to be in an offside position. iPlaySoccer! Books are instructional stories focused on advancing youth player development. The illustrated children’s books teach foundational concepts and vocabulary in a fun way that allows children, parents and coaches to develop together in “the beautiful game.” The series is not intended to replace the instruction of a coach or the learning derived from actual play. Rather, the purpose of these books is to assist the player in mastering concepts as the game becomes more complex. Besides, the focus of iPlaySoccer! is on teaching children how to think independently, while also maintaining a collective understanding of the team during competition. This is an essential skill that helps young players not only in sport, but also in life. Each title is not intended to supplant the instruction of a coach, or the time a child spends learning a sport by playing it. Rather, the authors’ purpose is to assist young players with their comprehension of sport in a way that is engaging, inspiring, and empowering. To that end, no matter the level of play, the coach is the teacher, the player is the student, and this series is merely the provider of fun educational tools designed to reinforce what should be learned on the training ground.

Rejoin the Soccer Sisters in this latest installment—full of friendship, teamwork, and soccer fun! Val Flores has always loved being a Soccer Sister. She and her best friend Makena have been part of the super competitive Brookville Breakers for a long time now, and she knows there's nothing that could break them—or the team—up. But when the other girls start talking about the winter dance and going boy crazy, Val begins to feel out of place. It doesn't help that her teammate Jessie has been acting super weird and later tells Val the team would be better off without her. When the Breakers play a game against El Fuego, a team from Val's school, she wonders if she should switch sides. Is Val's time with the Breakers up? Does she belong as a Soccer Sister after all? And should she quit while she's ahead—even if it costs her team the indoor soccer championship? Fans of Alex Morgan's The Kicks will love this series by former soccer player, coach, and motivational speaker Andrea Montalbano. "The Soccer Sisters series isn't just about soccer. It's about friendships, family, and the awesome thrill that comes from winning."—Carl Hiassen, New York Times bestselling author

You can't fake passion… The secret is out. Zoe's brother knows about his little sister's relationship with the captain of his soccer team—and his roommate. He's not happy, but he can't stop it. Zoe is struggling to decide whether she should go to Paris for a semester to study dance or stay in California. Her heart wants to wait for Ian, the man she loves, to finish his soccer career. Should she tell him she's been excepted? Or will their fire fizzle out, just like her brother predicted? Love is friendship caught on fire… My Brother's Roommate Series Book 1 – Scoring Devotion Book 2 – Passing Emotion Book 3 – Offside Passion Search Terms: roommate romance, new adult romance, contemporary romance and sex, billionaire obsession, romance love triangle, romance love, sweet love story, melody anne billionaire bachelors series, billionaire romance, billionaire romanc, true love, happily ever after, famos actor, hot and steamy, hot romance, hot doctores, bad boy, Alpha Bad Boy, Alpha male romance, billionaire, romance, new adult, contemporary romance, love and life, cancer, fake girlfriend, fake, sexy, sexy hero, sweet romance, hot steamy, love

A pulse-pounding, sizzling sports romance that combines courage, second chances, and a fight for love against all odds. I can't tear my eyes away from her. I'm mesmerized by her every move. She's a force of nature on the soccer field, raw talent personified. A hundred percent my type, but a thousand percent a distraction I can't afford right now. I try to resist, but this pull between us is unstoppable. Now she’s facing a nightmare: the most powerful man in soccer is set on destroying her career. Behind closed doors, he's hurting her and everything she's worked for. I doubted her once before and rejected her. Now, I'll do anything to make things right and protect what’s ours. Exposing the truth means risking my career. But how can I chase my dreams knowing hers are slipping away? With both our futures on the line, I’m ready to risk it all and expose the truth. This time, I'm all in - fighting for her trust, her dreams, and the love we both deserve. OFFSIDE DESIRE contains the books Forging Passion and Forging Glory.

Sometimes love takes balls. Newly retired championship football player Simon Wood is taking on his next challenge. His plan for a charity to provide funding for underprivileged children to pursue football as a career has passed its first hurdle: he has backers and an executive consultant. Now it’s time to get the ball rolling. Lucien Morel, heir to the multibillion-euro Morel Corporation, is shocked—and thrilled—to learn his father has volunteered him as consultant to a fledgling football charity. Better yet, the brains behind it all is heartthrob Simon Wood, his teenage idol and crush. Although Simon and Lucien get off on the wrong foot, it’s not long before they’re getting along like a house on fire—sparks included. But with the charity under public scrutiny, can their romance thrive? This second edition was previously published as The Athlete and the Aristocrat. No substantial changes have been made.