Audiobooks by George Dohrmann

Switching Fields: Inside the Fight to Remake Men's Soccer in the United States

A Pulitzer Prize-winning sports journalist unravels why the United States has failed to produce elite men's soccer players for so long-and shows why a golden era just might be coming. "George Dohrmann is one of our most perceptive chroniclers of youth sports in the United States, and here he brings his keen eye to the history and present of U.S. men's soccer development."-Grant Wahl, CBS Sports analyst and New York Times bestselling author of Masters of Modern Soccer The contrast is striking. As the United States Women's National soccer team has long dominated the sport-winners of four World Cups and four Olympic gold medals-the men's team has floundered. They failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup and three consecutive Olympics, and have long struggled when facing the world's best teams. How could a country so dominant in other men's team sports-and such a global powerhouse in women's soccer-be so far behind the rest of the world in men's soccer? In Switching Fields, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist George Dohrmann turns his investigative focus on the system that develops male soccer players in the United States, examining why the country has struggled for decades to produce first-class talent. But rather than just focus on the past, he looks forward, connecting with coaches and players who are changing the way talented prospects are unearthed and developed: an American living in Japan who devised a new way for kids under five to be introduced to the game; a coach in Los Angeles who traveled to Spain and Argentina and returned with coaching methods that he used to school a team of future pros; a startup in San Francisco that has increased access for Latino players; an Arizona real estate developer whose grand experiment changed the way pro teams in the United States nurture talent. Following these innovators' inspiring journeys, Dohrmann gives ever-hopeful U.S. soccer fans a reason to believe that a movement is underway to smash the developmental status quo-one that has put the United States on the verge of greatness.

George Dohrmann (Author), Brian Telestai (Narrator)

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Superfans: Into the Heart of Obsessive Sports Fandom

A Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist pulls back the curtain on the extraordinary inner lives of America’s most obsessive sports fans. There are fans, and then there are fanatics. In this wondrously immersive look at American sports fandom, George Dohrmann travels the country to find out what distinguishes an ordinary, everyday enthusiast from that special breed of supporter known as the superfan. In Minnesota, Dohrmann meets newly minted generals of the Viking World Order, a Minnesota Vikings affinity group organized along military lines. In Oregon, he shares a few beers with a determined soccer fan who amassed—almost singlehandedly—a four-thousand-strong cheering section for the fledgling Portland Timbers. In Illinois, he talks with the parents of a five-year-old boy whose intense hatred of Tom Brady went viral on YouTube. Through these and other intimate profiles, Dohrmann shows us the human faces behind the colored face paint, the real people inside the elaborate costumes who prowl the stands and parking lots at stadiums from coast to coast. In addition to the fans themselves, Dohrmann also talks with the experts who study them. He uses the latest thinking in sports psychology—some of it learned during a spirited round of miniature golf with a group of professors at the annual Sports Psychology Forum—to unravel the answers to such burning questions as: How does fandom begin? What are its effects on everyday life? When does it go too far? For everyone who’s ever body-painted their torso with the team colors of their alma mater before heading off to a sports bar—or even just screamed at their television during the NBA Finals, Superfans offers an entertaining and insightful exploration of the many ways human beings find meaning in something bigger than themselves. Advance praise for Superfans “A thought-provoking exploration of the weird, fascinating, and wonderful world of sports fans.”—Chris Ballard, senior writer at Sports Illustrated “Superfans is utterly hilarious, showing that sports have the power to turn PhD psychologists into superstitious obsessives, and young children into statistical savants. It’s also the definitive anthropological dive into a form of mania that affects someone you love, if not you yourself.”—David Epstein, New York Times bestselling author of The Sports Gene

George Dohrmann (Author), Chris Andrew Ciulla, Chris Ciulla (Narrator)

Audiobook

Play Their Hearts Out: A Coach, His Star Recruit, and the Youth Basketball Machine

The NBA has returned to prominence on the backs of phenoms like LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and Kevin Garnett. The media promotes them, the shoe companies pay them, and America applauds. But how exactly do such players reach the pros? What do they give up to get there? And what happens to those who fall short? Drawing on eight years of reporting and telling the very specific tale of one talented young recruit, his coach, and his teammates, George Dohrmann immerses listeners in the world of grassroots basketball, where men hunt for future NBA stars and young boys and their parents navigate a tumultuous course in pursuit of basketball glory. '[A] wonderful and immaculately reported first book'It's a brilliant and heart-wrenching journey, and a cautionary tale to any basketball player who thinks the path to the NBA is a slam dunk.''Publishers Weekly (starred review)

George Dohrmann (Author), Emily Rose Speer (Narrator)

Audiobook