Mike Lupica
Apart from his work as a sports columnist and televison journalist, Mike has co-written autobiographies with Reggie Jackson and Bill Parcells, collaborated on screen plays and written numerous books for both adult and children. His extensive experience and insider sports knowledge, enable him to write stories that reflect the drama, issues and challenges of sporting competition.
Mike Lupica also describes himself as a "serial Little League coach," a youth basketball coach, and a soccer coach for his four children. He and his family live in Connecticut.
Author's Comment: Q:You are obviously a big supporter of youth sports, having coached basketball and Little League games. What do you think are the most important things that team sports can teach kids?
Sports teaches kids about being on a team, being part of something greater than themselves if they play hard and well and unselfishly. If they can learn that, they can apply it to anything they do, in or out of sports, for the rest of their lives. The great coaches in Little League are the same as the great coaches in the big leagues, or managers: Get a bunch of different kids, every one with different talents and backgrounds and attitudes, and get them on the same page, get them to be better in the end than they thought they could be. When it works, it's a wonderful thing.
I still use the first coaching plan I ever got, when my middle son first started playing YMCA basketball, from my best friend Paul Westphal, a great NBA player and coach, now coaching Pepperdine University:
1. If you're open, shoot.
2. If somebody else is more open, pass him the ball and let him shoot.
3. Have fun.
I tell the kids all the time, this ain't a job, this is playing ball with your buddies, and if you can't do it with a smile on your face, we're all wasting our time.
Nationality: American