Written by Dru Joyce II, Beyond Championships: A Playbook for Winning at Life could be overlooked as a title by a wanna-be celeb. In fact, in today's publishing industry (*sigh*) it's possible the reason the manuscript was given serious attention by Harper-Collins is because Joyce coached a kid from Akron named LeBron James.
Well, let that go. In fact, the book is worth reading and the teen edition is the printed version of a trusted (read: non-parent) advisor for kids who are at all sports-minded.
Good Guidance, Influence on LeBron
Released in 2015, Beyond Championships surely got a boost from the forward by Akron's favorite son and Cleveland's adopted hero, LeBron James. But if it's possible to take off the star-struck glasses when you read, you can see the kid behind the big name (and endorsements) - the kid from Akron who, without a lot of support, could have turned out differently.Love him or hate him (I find it astonishing that there are haters, but ... there are) James is an undeniable force on and off the court - and especially in Northeast Ohio.
Surely his athletic prowess would've taken him far, even if he had not had the benefit of good guidance and good people in his life, like Coach Joyce. But I suspect Joyce's influence on James reached a little deeper than some others. I think it's possible that some of Joyce's principles - and coaching, preaching if you want to call it that - might have planted the seeds that became the LeBron James Family Foundation. And for that, I am grateful.
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| Image: https://www.facebook.com/lebronjamesfamilyfoundation |
Stop the haters:
The LeBron James
Family Foundation was
formed before James entered
the NBA draft.
Now back to the book.
Yay, a Book for My Birthday
Have you given a kid a book for Christmas or a birthday lately? Has the child reacted with about as much excitement as they usually use to greet underwear? I'll be honest, my then-11yo was not exactly jumping up and down when we were browsing in a bookstore and I said, "do you want this?"Fortunately, nagging paid off in this case and he actually read it. He admitted he liked the book (teen edition) and even though he was a little disappointed (and Joyce says right up front) that the book had little to do with basketball, almost every page hinges on a basketball analogy.
Because buying my kid a book for his birthday and making him read it wasn't enough, I asked him to review it, too. Here's what he had to say.
What would you tell someone about the book?
It's not all about LeBron, which is really good. (My kid isn't a hater, but he's got a chip on his shoulder when it comes to recognizing individuals over team.) It wasn't all about basketball either. It was like 'life lessons from a coach.' He used a lot of examples from LeBron and his friends and teammates at St. Vincent/St. Mary.
What was the theme?
Work hard, have faith in your beliefs.
Was it preachy?
Coach Joyce is a Christian, but he's not preachy.
Translation: the bible verses come in one-sentence quotations, not paragraphs.
Advice for Players, Parents, People
To his brief review, I would add that while the book draws largely on Joyce's experience coaching, he is also a player, a parent, and a person - and his advice comes from all of those experiences. More often than not the advice and 'life lessons' are delivered using sports analogies. And let's face it, those work for a lot of us. (Hello, NBA ratings.)
Recommended?
Yes. OK, for a birthday present, maybe not so much. Back-to-school read? Sure. Before basketball team tryouts? Great idea.
Original Text or Teen edition?
The teen edition is simply a lighter, shorter version of the full-length book. While it's written on about a 3rd grade reading level, its message is the same as the one in the complete text. If you're a time-crunched adult, you won't feel silly reading it yourself.
