Thousands of children across the United States dream of becoming professional athletes, yet less than one in a thousand high school seniors will go on to play in a major pro league. Of those select few, many will find that after a childhood of full-time commitment to their sport, their professional careers will likely be brief and injury-ridden. Within each of the top professional leagues in the U.S., the competition is fierce to not only get into the league, but to stay there-the average career in the National Basketball Association lasts less than five years, and in the National Football League only three and a half. The Anatomy of Competition in Sports: The Struggle for Success in Major US Professional Leagues examines the role competition plays in each of the major sports leagues in the United States: Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Football League (NFL), the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), the National Hockey League (NHL), and Major League Soccer (MLS). In order to provide a comprehensive review of competition within each sport, Christopher B. Doob scrutinizes the challenges faced at the youth level, opposition encountered by individuals competing to join a pro league, the obstacles pros must overcome throughout their careers, and the history of each league. Furthermore, Doob dissects competition across the sports by looking at such common influences as family, school, colleges, the draft process, coaches, and the playing conditions within the professional leagues. An additional chapter examines so-called "atypical pros"-such as disabled athletes, gay and lesbian players, and two-sport pros-who must face competitive challenges beyond the average athlete. A final chapter discusses life after the pros, including the legacy of debilitating injuries many former players face and the prospects of post-retirement jobs, such as coaching, managing, and broadcasting. Highlighting the struggles many athletes must face, The Anatomy of Competition in Sports features vignettes about current and past professionals, including Mariano Rivera, Earl Campbell, Candace Parker, and Sidney Crosby. Drawing on diverse sources such as histories of each league, research studies, newspaper accounts, and personal narratives, this book is simultaneously thought-provoking and accessible for all sports fans.
Preface Acknowledgments Introduction - Pro Athletes' Uncommon Careers The Advent of Pro Team Sports' Affluent Age Players' Challenges Pro Players' Uncommon Experiences Chapter 1 - MLB: Separation Anxiety From The Beginning The Campaign for MLB Diversity The Journey and Its Challenges The Draft Joining a Minor-League Team Moving Up Pitfalls Shooting Down the Competition Players Caught in the Media Circus Outside the Lagoon Players' Performance Hitting Pitching Fielding Closing the Career Chapter 2 - NFL: A Collision Cocktail Spiked With Size, Strength, Speed, And Skill The Organization of a Highly Organized Game African Americans' Integration of the NFL Factors Contributing To Young Footballers' Development Zeroing In On Going Pro Preparing For the Upcoming Campaign Experiencing Competition in the NFL The Day of the Game Rugged Realities of NFL Games Casualties of a Collision Sport Destructive Psychological Impacts of A Pressure-Ridden Game Positions and Personalities Leaving the Game Chapter 3 - NBA & WNBA: Trees In Blossom The Development and Growth of a Pair of Modern Leagues From All White to a Decisive Black Majority The Background for Making the NBA College as One and Done or Close To It The Draft and Surrounding Events Too Many Candidates for Too Few Slots Playing In the NBA Key Elements of the Game Scoring and Its Contribution to the Team The Discreet Decline of Rebounding The Impact of Assists Defenses: Their Understated Value The WNBA and Its Achievements The Development of WNBA Players The End of the Line Chapter 4 - NHL: Intricacy on Ice The Birth of the National Hockey League Mobilizing Boys toward the NHL College or the Pros? On The NHL's Doorstep Important Challenges on Joining a NHL Team Effectiveness in Training Camp Unrelenting Performance Demands Team Expectations Need To Satisfy Team Trust On-Going Controversy about Fighting in the NHL Deploying the Combatants The Front Line The Defense A Final Comment Chapter 5 - MLS: New Kid on the Global Pitch The Down-And-Slowly-Up History of American Pro Soccer The Measured Development of Elite American Soccer Players A Look at MLS Academies' Foreign Competition The Combine and Draft MLS and Its Stringent Agenda The MLS Preseason and Its Challenges Various Difficult Issues: Salaries, Foreign Players, Injuries MLS and Ranging Incomes The League's Imports Performance Interrupters: Injury and Illicit Drugs The Impact of Concussions Additional Injuries and Responses To Them PED Use in MLS: Making Too Much Out Of It? The Divided Pitch Forwards, Especially Strikers Men in the Middle The Deep Defenders The Long Road Ahead Chapter 6 - Atypical Pros and Their Competitive Reality Disabled Athletes in Pro Sports Modern White Players in the NBA Gays and Lesbians in the Pros The Lonely Life of NFL Kickers Two-Sport Pros A Final Commentary Chapter 7 - Life after Game Days: A Wrenching Experience? Wrapping Up The Brutal Aftermath Work after Play Former Point Guards and Catchers and Other Would-Be Coaches and Managers Sports Jocks on the Tube and Elsewhere Notes Selected Bibliography Index About The Author
