Athlete Biography

Legacy of the Mat is a collection of stories from the Athletic and Coaching careers of twin brothers Jim and Dave Hazewinkel, two-time Olympic wrestlers. For years they have shared these stories with family and friends, and now they share them with you. Listen to the inspiring stories of these athletes as they smuggle Bibles across the Iron Curtain, coach the West Point Cadets, and witness the 1972 Munich Massacre.

Roderick Sewell was an active kid. Born without tibias in both of his legs Roderick wrestled with his cousins and climbed every surface of his grandmother’s home. When he was two years old his mother, Marian, made the incredibly tough choice to have his legs amputated to save his life. That didn’t stop Roderick, a rambunctious toddler who could hardly sit still while his body healed. But when his mother's modest income couldn’t cover Roderick’s prosthetics, she made another impossible decision: to leave her demanding job working for the US Navy and go on unemployment.

Young minds are constantly seeking direction and inspiration. But in today’s environment full of distractions, it’s not easy to find the right resource for what kids really need. That’s why this book is so timely. This book understands the hurdles kids face – the need for role models, the struggle with challenges, and the desire for meaningful connections. It’s the solution you’ve been looking for: a collection of 15 awe-inspiring stories from basketball legends, each a testament to overcoming adversity and achieving greatness.

Mark Messier is one of the most accomplished athletes and dynamic leaders in the history of professional sports. He won the Stanley Cup five times with the Edmonton Oilers during their dynasty years and once more with the New York Rangers, ending the team’s 54-year championship drought. He is second on the all-time career lists for playoff points and third for regular season games played and for regular season points. Notably, he is the only player to have captained two different NHL franchises to championships.

An inspiring and intimate self-portrait of the champion of equality that encompasses her brilliant tennis career, unwavering activism and an ongoing commitment to fairness and social justice. In this spirited account, Billie Jean King details her life's journey to find her true self. She recounts her groundbreaking tennis career - six years as the top-ranked woman in the world, 20 Wimbledon championships, 39 grand-slam titles and her watershed defeat of Bobby Riggs in the famous 'Battle of the Sexes'.

Simone Biles has been the face of women's gymnastics since she first entered the international stage. In addition to winning a record seven Olympic medals, 30 World Championship medals, and 19 world titles, she has become a superstar outside the gym for her public bravery. For being an outspoken advocate for mental health awareness and fair treatment for athletes, Biles earned the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor.

Fierce competitor. World Cup winner. Role model. U.S. Women's Soccer star Alex Morgan has earned each of these impressive titles throughout her incredible career. As a young girl growing up in Southern California, she dreamed of being a professional soccer player, fighting to compete on the international stage against the world's greatest athletes. Flash forward to the present and Alex Morgan has emerged as the face of U.S. Women's soccer, famous for her clutch, late-game goals, and an inspiration to kids across the country.

Women don't take up triathlon in their 40s, right? Wrong! That was exactly what 41-year-old Debs did. Not caring that she was more than a bit on the heavy side, and diabetic to boot, she signed up for her first triathlon.

When Ashton Kutcher first heard about 50 Cent's nine-figure Vitaminwater windfall in 2007, the actor realized he'd been missing out. He soon followed the rapper's formula - seeking equity instead of cash for endorsement deals - but with a twist: as the first person to top one million Twitter followers, Kutcher leveraged his social reach to accumulate stakes in a vast range of user-hungry tech startups. A decade later, Kutcher is perhaps the brightest in a firmament of star investors from Beyoncé and Jay-Z to Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez.

Inspiring Football Stories for Kids and Teens 🏈 35 Epic Stories of Perseverance, Teamwork, and Legendary Greatness! 🏆 Football isn’t just a game—it’s a journey of determination, teamwork, and never giving up. Every touchdown, every impossible catch, and every game-changing play is a lesson in resilience, heart, and pushing past limits. In this book, young readers will dive into 35 inspiring true stories of football’s greatest players, coaches, and teams. From Tom Brady’s underdog rise to GOAT status to Patrick Mahomes’ electrifying playmaking, from Walter Payton’s ...

Despite debuting on Canada’s senior national soccer team 20 years ago, scarce is known of Atiba Hutchinson. We’ve watched him win Canadian Men’s Player of the Year six times; celebrated his club team championships; and mourned his injuries. We’ve lamented the state of Canadian soccer and cursed the lost potential—and years. Yet, we know little about Atiba’s personal life, or how he rose from suburban Brampton to becoming Canada’s most-capped national men’s team player, often described as the country’s greatest athlete you haven’t heard about.

Throughout over two decades, Tom Brady has led his teams to seven Super Bowl championships and earned three Most Valuable Player Awards, arguably cementing his status as the greatest quarterback of all time. From the moment Tom Brady stepped on the NFL gridiron, pro football was forever changed. A star, a legend, a future hall-of-famer was born. Over the years, he mounted comeback after comeback win, finding the open man for a touchdown just when victory seemed out of reach.

The Tyler Campbell story is the journey of a man who is in constant search of finding the best version of himself. At an early age, Tyler discovers that his path in life will be a constant emotional roller coaster, that his life will be full of faith-tested trials and heartbreaking setbacks. The son of an NFL Hall of Famer and Heisman Trophy winner, Tyler is on the quest to create a new path for himself and he would utilize the game of football to do it.

Be inspired by the story of Kevin Atlas (formerly Laue), whose faith and perseverance helped him become an NCAA Division I basketball player, despite being born with only one arm. Even before entering the world, Kevin Atlas was a fighter. He should have died in childbirth, as the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck twice, but he survived because his left arm was in the middle of it, allowing blood to flow to his brain. But since circulation was cut off in that arm, he was born with his left arm ending just below his elbow.

In August 1939, Alice Marble graced the cover of Life magazine, photographed by Alfred Eisenstaedt. She was a glamorous worldwide celebrity, having that year won singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles tennis titles at both Wimbledon and the US Open, then an unprecedented feat. Yet today one of America's greatest female athletes and most charismatic characters is largely forgotten. Queen of the Court places her back on center stage.

Glory Through Pain is a riveting memoir of faith, perseverance, and the miraculous. One phone call altered Christy’s world forever—the call that delivered the news that her brother had been in a life-threatening head-on collision. Afraid and uncertain, she rushed to the hospital, where the next few weeks were filled with tension, prayer, and waiting. As Christy endured the agonizing hospital ordeal, she couldn't forget the miraculous moments from her past that had changed her life.

In this biography anthology, meet 30 artists, thinkers, athletes, and activists with disabilities, from past and present. From Frida Kahlo to Stephen Hawking, find out how these iconic figures have overcome obstacles, owned their differences, and paved the way for others by making their bodies and minds work for them.

An inspirational, motivational book that chronicles Michael MacDonald's transformation from a scholarship player at Rutgers' high-level Division I basketball program to a highly successful executive at Xerox and then chairman and CEO of Medifast.

This amazing memoir follows the story of Reggie Williams - ex-NFL linebacker, former Disney executive, renaissance man, and the epitome of determination in the face of extreme challenges.

Ron Fawcett is a natural-born climber. In 1969, while still at school in his native Yorkshire, he tied into a climbing rope for the first time and was instantly hooked. From that moment on, it seemed nothing else in his life mattered nearly as much as his next vertical fix... Fawcett found the pressures of the limelight too much to bear, and at the end of the 1980s he faded from view. Now, for the first time, he tells his extraordinary story, of how his love of nature and the outdoors developed into a passion for climbing that took him to the top - and almost consumed him.