Rating: 
Summary: One of the most inspiring sports books ever
Review: A friend of mine was at a barber shop in Concord, CA, home of the De La Salle Spartans. He and the barber were discussing the team, and my friend remarked, "There's no way they don't recruit players from other schools."
A woman sitting in the shop overheard the remark. She said, "Let me tell you something. My son played football at De La Salle. I would be willing to die for Coach Lad [Bob Ladouceur]. I would do anything for that man, for what he did for my son."
The idea that De La Salle recruits is nonsense; they don't have to--players and parents are dying to get their kids into De La Salle. Not for football glory, but for what the values of that team do for the players.
All great teams share the expansive values that Coach Lad teaches. This is evident from reading other books about winning programs that are based on redefining team spirit and manhood. Jeffrey Marx's book, Season of Life, is an excellent example; another is former UCLA coach John Wooden's 2004 book, My Personal Best, Life Lessons from an All-American Journey.
Contractive people will always try to put down anything that's based on expansive values. As Mephistopheles, the Devil in Goethe's play, tells Faust, "I am the spirit of eternal negation."
Rating:
Summary: You are all right, somewhat........
Review: Although I do detect a bit of "Hater" in this Poy???, whatever his name is, review, he is somewhat correct. I went to Benicia High School and graduated in 93. We played in the coliseum (lost unfortunately) and I was also there the last time DLS lost (Pitt in 91'). My friends and I had been playing football together since we were 8 years old and beat Elk Grove for the state title. We always had good teams and stuck together. After our final game against Napa (Midgets 8th grade level) 6 or 7 of us were asked after the game to gather our parents and that someone had wanted to talk to us (keep in mind we were all in the 8th grade and would be highschool freshmen the next year). Once all our parents were down on the field, along with our head coach, a man approached (I will leave names out of this, although I don't remeber his name anyway, it was not Coach Lad) and said he was from DLS and wanted to talk to us about attending school there and playing football for the great DLS highschool. After much consideration we all decided that we grew up together playing in Benicia with all these other kids and that was where we would play football. This is a true story no BS. The thing is that this was in 89'. There was no streak, and although DLS was still a great team, they were no where near the 152 straight wins powerhouse that they are now.Moral of the story, DLS may have recruited at one time, as most private Christian schools do (Jesuit in Sacramento, Marin Catholic, St. Francis). These are small private schools and you can not rely on the local kids that live in the area to field your football team, especially when it costs lots of money to go to school there. But, I can guarantee you that DLS no longer has to recruit anybody. That program and their record will attract athletes that want to go there for as long as they remain a power house. Word................merry christmas to all..........
Rating:
Summary: A DLS Alum Speaks Out
Review: As a former student of coach Lad (not player) let me just say that you have to see it to believe it. He is a quiet, intelligent, polite, and compelling individual. Something about him makes you want to do your absolute best and never let him down. That is what he brings out in his players. He is the best type pf leader, one who doesn't need to threaten nor coddle, rather his presence alone does the job. In addition he also happens to be an offensive genius on the field. In terms of the "recruiting" comments, I must agree with the previous writers by simply saying that DLS doen't recruit nor will they ever need to recruit in the distant future. The fact of the matter is since DLS played mostly public schools in their division, and these schools could only have students who lived in their district attend the school, wheras DLS could bring in students from Walnut Creek, Pleasant Hill, Benicia, etc., in addition to Concord. While their talent pool may have been deeper, I would never go so far as to say that they recruited. All the HATERS are just jealous. This book really illustrates the respect Coach has from his players, his students, and the Bay Area athletic community, And I am happy to count myself among them. "St. Jean Baptist De La Salle - Pray for us!"
Rating:
Summary: I'm not even a football fan....
Review: As the mother of three former high school football players who remains largely indifferent to the sport even now, I found myself surprisingly captivated by this story. Powerfully and tightly written, it early on evoked strong emotions and a growing fascination with Head Coach Ladouceur's methodology. As one of the team members said, "If you think Coach (Ladouceur) is inspiring on the football field, you ought to be in his Religion class." The Coach is clearly unique among high school football coaches, This book is about a season of individual football games, the team players, the assistant coaches, and Coach Lad. I quickly grew to care deeply about every one of them. As one of the boys chided a boasting parent, "Dad, it's not about winning." Indeed, it's not, not really at all, and that's what is so intriguing about this coach and this team. It's not even about football. Corny as it may sound, it's about love.
Rating:
Summary: Yo Po Boy..
Review: Did you read the article today in the times about Cameron Colvin? Did he say anywhere that Lad or DLS people recruited him to the school? No. I thought it talked about how he wanted to go the the school. Read the book. Please, read the book and you will get a clue. Wake up...you can not begin to imagine the number of young men who want to go to DLS, football players or not, who can not be enrolled because there is no room. DLS DOES NOT have to recruit.
Rating:
Summary: po_boygeo is an idiot
Review: Dude you are an idiot. You know nothing of the dedication and teamwork that De La Salle players and coaches posses, and based off of your imbecilic comments and lack of respect for other's accomplishments, you never will. The book is great because it is a reflection on the dedication that this team has for one another and for the game of football. Buy it and you will see why De La Salle will go down in history as one of the most significant high school football teams ever.
Rating:
Summary: To the reviewer: A reader
Review: First, I would say to you and your condemnation of this book and its behind the scenes look at DLS: get out of the back corner of the library and push your taped up glasses back up your nose. This is what happens inside lockerrooms. It is not "demoralizing" as you say because at any moment in time, these kids, or any athlete, has the opportunity to get up and walk out. We as coaches could always give them cookies and kool-aid while we sing campfire songs at half-time, but then that wouldn't be helping to prepare that young man for the world that awaits him as adult, would it?
To the author and the entire DLS program, this book is what it is all about. As a young coach, when a player or anyone else asks me why I wanted to become a coach and why it means so much to me, I simply refer them to this book. It paints the picture of a man who has built a family of young men, focused not on wins, though they come, but on loving one another and being there for the guy beside them. He is the influence that those players will remember because they choose him as their leader and he responds with genuine concern for them as people, not football players. This causes the football success to happen. Great book. Great program.
Rating:
Summary: Read this book!
Review: I am not affiliated with DLS in any way, just a guy looking for a good story and good lessons on leadership. I found them both in this book. This is an inspirational and motivational read. As far as the comments about recruiting go, what I see is a team that has some stellar athletes but by no means a monopoly on them. Success breeds more success so of course they are going to attract stars. But there are lots to go around. Instead, great coaching, great preparation, superior conditioning, and yes, something intangible - call it karma, divine providence, whatever - is at work here. I don't care how good a team is - winning 150+ games is just crazy. I make it to the Bay area on business occasionally, and I am planning to see a DLS game next season.
Rating:
Summary: When The Game Stands Tall
Review: I can't believe how much of an idiot po_boygeo is. Plain jealous hater is how he was raised I guess. If you read the book you don't have to be a genius to realize that when you win from 50-151 games straight, the best come to you and you don't have to recruit. The book talkes about how coach Lad teaches the kids to set standards for themselves, respect there teamates like brothers and football will just fall into place under that. Those kids where taught to love the game and the game just loved them back. As father, football coach, and former player I can understand and respect that philosophy and would be honored to have my son become more of a man under coach Ladouceurs influence. THE BOOK IS POWERFUL!
Rating: 
Summary: Poor writting of a book written about treatment of our youth
Review: I could not get past the first 100 pages without reading so many explicit words, I gave up and am now returning the 2nd book I bought for a friend. I am very disappointed Hayes decided to quote word for word the shameful and embarrassing way the coaching staff treats our youth. As a public and private school educator, the words used to "motivate" (demoralize?) the students would never be permitted at many facilities. This book, is not "extremely useful to anybody who coaches young men or women" as Tony La Russa is quoted on the back as saying. Hey Tony, do you tell your kids "I'm going to rip you a new a**hole" when their performance needs improvement? Neil Hayes must think that's the way to go as that's what he reports from the coaching staff. De La Sal a religious school? Don't know if God approves of using "godd*mn" to really get those players fired up. Thanks for the details Hayes - but I think we can do without. So much for using this book in a public school! And what an embarrassment this staff and book are to private schools.
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