Brad Herzog - Remarkable Stories of Teamwork in Sports

As shown by the wonderful stories in Count on Me: Sports, athletics can not only reveal character, but also inspire it.

Shannon Miller, two-time Olympic gold medalist in gymnastics

The true tales in Brad Herzogs books show how the games we play can teach seriously important life lessons.

Jake Delhomme, former Super Bowl quarterback for the Carolina Panthers

Copyright 2014 by Brad Herzog

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Unless otherwise noted, no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher, except for brief quotations or critical reviews. For more information, go to www.freespirit.com/company/permissions.cfm.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Herzog, Brad.

Remarkable stories of teamwork in sports / by Brad Herzog.

pages cm. (Count on me: Sports)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Audience: Age: 813.

ISBN 978-1-57542-479-8 ISBN 1-57542-479-7 1. Teamwork (Sports)Juvenile literature. I. Title.

GV706.8.H47 2014

796dc23

ePub ISBN: 978-1-57542-504-7

Free Spirit Publishing does not have control over or assume responsibility for author or third-party websites and their content.

Reading Level Grade 5; Interest Level Ages 813;
Fountas & Pinnell Guided Reading Level V

Edited by Alison Behnke
Cover and interior design by Michelle Lee Lagerroos

Cover photo credits: background Bruxov|Dreamstime.com; clockwise from top left: AP Photo/Rob Stapleton; AP Photo/Lisa Poole; AP Photo/Julie Oliver, Ottawa Citizen; AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill; Bettmann/Corbis/AP Images; AP Photo/Jim Mone.
For interior photo credits, see .

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(612) 338-2068
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DEDICATION

For the Taorminas (Michael, Romy, Coleman, and Nathan) and the Marshalls (Greg, Dana, Connor, Cameron, and Ava). We all make a good team.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Thank you to Judy Galbraith, Margie Lisovskis, and the rest of the crew at Free Spirit Publishing for having the courage to pursue a series of books celebrating stories of character in sports. I found Alison Behnke to be both insightful and inclusive as an editor, an authors dream combination, and Michelle Lee Lagerroos put in overtime making sure the designs were just right. Finally, I am grateful to Aimee Jackson for bringing me to Free Spirit in the first place and for her unwavering support and friendship.

At a tragic Boston Marathon, a father and son provide a reminder of good in the world.

After the sudden loss of a star player, a team and community rally around his memory.

A teammate silences the haters with a simple act of support for a baseball pioneer.

At Middlebury College, helping a lifelong fan is the athletes greatest feat.

An unknown amateur golfer and his 10-year-old caddie become a team for the ages.

Michael Phelps may not have succeeded in the pool if his mother hadnt taken the lead at home.

A soccer team decides that standing up for a teammate is more important than playing a game.

Two teams help one boy with muscular dystrophy live his football dream.

A no-hitter is usually a rare individual achievement. But sometimes its a team effort.

One musher and a team of dogs race through Alaska in record time.

Even while the opposing teams band rushes onto the field, a handful of teammates drum up a miracle.

A singer forgets the words to the National Anthem, but gets all the help she needs.

Two men work together to become the first humans to conquer the unconquerable.

Instead of trouncing their inexperienced opponents, softball players decide to teach them.

Born two minutes apart, twin tennis players team up to be second to none.

A girl joins a high school football team, and the boys on the team step up in support.

With barely two seconds left in a game, two teammates attempt a nearly impossible play.

A boy tries to win a world championship, with the memory of his sister there to guide him.

By teaming up with a very special horse, a rider overcomes polio and inspires the world.

When a young baseball players father is ill, his teammates rally around their friend.

At the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, the odds were stacked against the U.S. hockey team. Most people figured they had no chance of winning. But then they surprised everyone by winning four games.

Still, even as the U.S. players moved on to the first medal round, most people didnt think they could win. After all, their next opponent was a team from the Soviet Union. (The Soviet Union split apart in 1991. The former Soviet Union is now many countries, including Russia and Ukraine.) The Soviets had dominated Olympic ice hockey for decades. A year earlier, they had defeated a team of National Hockey League all-stars in a 60 rout. Meanwhile, the U.S. squad was a bunch of unknown college and minor league players. Some would go on to have great professional careers. But at the time, they were young and inexperienced. In an exhibition game before the Olympics, the Soviets beat the Americans 103.

Yet something magical happened that February in Lake Placid. It was one of the most stunning upsets in sports history. In the third period, U.S. team captain Mike Eruzione scored a goal. That put the Americans ahead 43. For the last 10 minutes, the U.S. players managed to keep the Soviets from scoring. The crowd cheered wildly the whole time. Do you believe in miracles? TV sportscaster Al Michaels famously asked, as the clock ticked down to zero. Yes! The fans went wild.

The U.S. team went on to defeat Finland in the final game. With that victory, they stunned the world and took home a gold medal.

The moment will forever be known as the Miracle on Ice. But was it a miracle? Or was it a great example of preparation and teamwork? Before his team took on the Soviets, U.S. coach Herb Brooks had talked to the players honestly. Gentlemen, he said, you dont have enough talent to win on talent alone.

But teamwork was even more important than talent. Thats what this book is all about.

This is a collection of tales about what it means to be a good teammate, in every sense of the word. Some people in this book will inspire you, like the Brooklyn Dodger who stood by a teammate when few others did, and the girls softball team that traded an easy victory for a chance to aid a rival team. Some performances will amaze you, like the father who helped his paralyzed son be an endurance racing legend, and the 10-year-old caddie who played a central role in golfs greatest upset.

Teamwork can show up in many different ways. Teammates can overcome obstacles or light up someones life. They can support a struggling friend or stranger. They can even achieve something that seems impossible. Many people have said that the letters in TEAM could stand for Together Everyone Achieves More. The stories in these pages certainly prove that.