Sociology of Sports, Women - United States, Discrimination in Sports, Women's Hockey, Sex Discrimination

Crashing the Net

Name: Crashing the Net
Author: Mary Turco
ISBN: 9780060192648

by Turco, Mary

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Overview

In Crashing the Net Mary Turco tells the remarkable story of the first U.S. Women's Olympic Ice Hockey Team and their unforgettable journey to becoming gold medal winners at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. Turco followed this dream team for many months as they trained in practice arenas and tournaments across the United States and Canada in anticipation of Nagano. In a lively narrative filled with intimate details of pregame locker room tensions, the Olympic team selection process, the drama of the battles on ice, and the personal friendships that were made along the way, Turco provides an inspirational behind-the-scenes look at how this team came to glory. We meet a wonderful cast of characters: twenty high-achieving, defiant female athletes, both seasoned players and enthusiastic rookies; their coach, a mythical figure in men's ice hockey who treated his players as world-class athletes; and the players' families and friends, who encouraged these girls to follow their dreams, challenge prejudice against contact sports for women, and risk everything in crashing the net.

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Editorials

Anita DeFrantz

This book about the inaugural voyage of an Olympic women's ice hockey team is not to be missed!

Billie Jean King

The story of a world-class team with a pioneering spirit, a team that challenged the conventions of a sport dominated by men, a team that represents hope for our future.

Donna de Varona

In Nagano, our women hockey players exemplified all that is inspirational about the Olympics.

Jim Nantz

These heroes embodied the Olympic Spirit more than any athletes I've ever seen. . . . A warm reminder of what sports and teamwork are truly all about.
—CBS Sports

Mike Eruzione

A great read for young athletes.

Carolyn T. Hughes

Turco wants her book "to inspire young people, especially young women, to believe that dreams can be fulfilled.
— The New York Times Book Review

Kirkus Reviews

An unapologetically feel-good human-interest look at the 1998 American winners of the first Olympic gold medal ever awarded in women's ice hockey. Turco, a teacher in the Women's Studies Program at Dartmouth College, accompanied the team as they trained for and competed in the Olympic games at Nagano, Japan. Her account of events is intermingled with the coach's and players' thoughts; particularly affecting are the days leading to the final cuts of the player roster and the account of the gold-medal final against the team's arch rival, Canada. Team camaraderie and the ideal of sportsmanship are discussed more than actual hockey play. Even though there are entries from one player's journal and personal details are given about each woman, no individual voice stands out. Nearly all the players are portrayed as attractive, intelligent girls-next-door, who played nobly for the love of the sport, team, country, and with a sense of history. These women were beneficiaries of Title IX legislation, enacted in 1972, which called for sex equity in educational programs or activities receiving federal financial assistance. They had unqualified support from family, boyfriends, and coaches. They were born believing that "girls can do anything, "and were far enough beyond the pioneering years of women's sports that, while training, they learned more from the experiences of Muhammad Ali than Wilma Rudolph or Billie Jean King. But in her preface, Turco stresses that although the number of girls playing high school sports has grown (from 294,000 in 1971 to 2,472,043 in 1996–97), the cultural and financial battles for opportunities for females on the playing fields remain, particularly in the collegiate andprofessional realms. The epilogue's recap of the team's recognition and honors after the Olympics gives hope that their memorable gold-winning achievement will help advance women's sports at all levels. Crashing the Net is best not for hockey diehards, but for the female reader or general sports fan looking for modern models of inspiration.