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 - the Walking wounded...vs Its all in the game...Girls/women wreck their knees EIGHT TIMES as often as boys/men in team sports. Are you stunned by that? I am. DOnt let your daughters become athletic has beens by 18 and candidates for knee replacements because of poorly designed and monitored training. This book shows what is an overwhelming need for girls and women to train smarter, rather than tougher, (what else is new?? :-) to avoid the incredible injury rates they incur in sports and military training. No matter what anyone fears about women "measuring up" to males, we all "know" females are built differently from males and deserve to be trained in ways that they can continue to achieve their personal best. The author refers to a program from the Santa MOnica Orthopaedics clinic that appears to be reducing injury rates by improving balance and running mechanics for females. [...] check this out with whoever coaches your kids. Rating:  - Good First Step on Important SubjectHeard the author on Dr. Oz's radio show and purchased the book, as a result. Overall, the book was an interesting read, but it was often redundant. The title suggests that a wide range of sports would be covered, but the author primarily discusses soccer and basketball. As the parent of a competitive figure skater, I have noticed injury "epidemics" in this sport, as well (although they are different types of injuries than those that occur in soccer or basketball). So, it would have been more interesting if the author had been able to expand his research into other types of sports. Nevertheless, the book "opened my eyes" to the broader issue of the relationship between how our female (and male) athletes are being trained and the injuries we are seeing. It was a good "first step", and I will continue to research the subject matter further. Rating: - Warrior GirlsThis book is highly recommended to all the young ladies and their parents involved with soccer. It is very interesting to learn that we have all forced these new expectations on what we all believe is necessary to succeed. It would be doubly interesting to hear from the Mia Hamm's and Brandy Chastain's of this world as to what our girls should be doing realistically since it appears that when these ladies were in the spotlight, double practices where not required by coaches. Rating:  - Not enough prevention informationUnfortunately, the book is mostly comprised of anecdotal stories and interviews which the author uses to convince us that there is a problem with ACL injuries in women's athletics. There are about three pages in the end that suggest solutions to this problem. The author himself seems conflicted as to whether the problem is truly over-participation in a single sport or just a factor of the number of "exposures" a female has to any sport that causes them to changes directions quickly or land on their heels. I was hoping for specific help in what I can do as a coach to help my U11 soccer team avoid ACL injuries. A full chapter on specific preventative training methods and exercises would have made this book complete. But I appreciate his efforts at calling attention to the problem. Rating: - Wish I'd found this book 6 months agoMy daughter recently tore her ACL playing soccer at the club level. She was a freshman in HS, at the time. I wish I had come across this book before that fateful day and not a month after. Warrior Girls is well-written, well thought out, and well-researched. The first chapters are grim with cautionary tales of promising female athletes who were forced to give up their dream of a career in sports because of serial injuries. Fortunately, as the book progresses, the author passes on information about research that is being conducted and prevention programs that are being adopted for the prevention of these serious, debilitating, and purposely ignored injuries to our teen-aged daughters! My daughter's surgeon told us it is very unlikely that she will tear her ACL again. However, after reading this book, I've learned that my daughter my have a pre-disposition to knee injuries and without some sort of training and prevention program, she may likely do it again! More parents and coaches should be aware of the terrible risks to our daughters' health and sports careers and insist that schools and clubs institute an injury prevention program. A must-read for parents, coaches and club-directors!
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