Games Girls Play: Understanding and Guiding Young Female Athletes

A Reviving Ophelia for soccer moms: Games Girls Play gives parents advice for encouraging their daughters to participate in sports and making sure their experiences as athletes are empowering. Sports psychologist and former nationally ranked figure skater Caroline Silby teaches parents how to find the right sport for their young daughters and helps them tackle hurdles that affect older atletes. Using real-life examples, Silby prepares parents for the obstacles that female athletes face and offers solutions for handling everything from the stresses of competition, to motivation problems, to self-esteem issues, to difficult coaches, to eating disorders, to sexual harassment.

In Games Girls Play, Caroline Silby, Ph.D., gives readers advice about encouraging girls to participate in sports and making sure their experiences are enriching. An expert in sports psychology and former nationally ranked figure skater, Silby teaches parents how to initiate a healthy involvement in sport and helps them clear the hurdles their daughters will face as they advance. Games Girls Play is a tremendous resource for any parent or coach of young girls.

Caroline Silby, Ph.D., M.Ed., holds a doctorate and master's degree in sports psychology. She specializes in performance enhancement with adolescent athletes and has worked with Olympic champions in gymnastics and figure skating. She serves on the United States Olympic Committee and with the United States Figure Skating Association. She consults and teaches at the University of Delaware and the University of Virginia. She lives in Washington, D.C.

Shelley Smith is an award-winning journalist and formerly a contributor to Sports Illustrated. She now covers a range of subjects for ESPN, including the NBA, the NFL, Major League Baseball, and the NCAA Final Four. She lives in San Pedro, California with her daughter.