The Winners Manual: For the Game of Life

This book provides much insite into not only Coach Tressels' program and philosophy, but also illuminates many reasons why OSU is able to attract so many quality recruits to their school. With pressure to win year after year in major college sports programs, it is easy to see why a prospective student-athlete and parents would see value at OSU compared to other programs that are more football-only oriented. I did not attend Ohio State so I don't believe I have some of the more fervent bias held by actual Buckeyes. In fact, my son, a current Florida Gator, also read the book and is using the 'Block O of life' guide for his own personal development [even though he doesn't dare refer to it by name while in Gainesville]. I congratulate and thank Coach Tressel in his effort to share part of his program and am sure it will be of some degree of benefit to anyone who reads it.

I almost stopped reading this book after the first hour because I was afraid I would have to rethink my perspective. I might have to change my ways. I'm going to set some life changing goals and its all because of Jim Tressel. I thought this was going to be a "Book of quotes", but its not, its deep. I actually feel like a better person. To be a championship team, you must first become a group of individual champions. It has a religious feel to it, but in a broad and general "Be a good person, find inner peace, be the best you can be in whatever you do, go do good things in your community" type of way. I already knew Jim Tressel was some kind of super human, i just had no idea how super he was.

I am so impressed with this book - and so surprised. Here you have a book by one of America's top football coaches and, most impressively, he writes about his mother's gratitude at being given the opportunity to be of service to her community, and how this specifically impacted his approach to football and the coaching of young people. He describes her approach to life as 'Attitude' - being grateful for the opportunity to be of service to others, to look outward at how you can be of service rather than inward at how you are doing, as the basis for excellence as an athlete (or in your work and life). He also talks about excellence as an approach that pertains to your life as a whole - how do you show up at home after work, how do you treat people in stressful situations, how do you bring out the best in a player, a child, a passing acquaintance. I would recommend this book highly to anyone interested in having a great life - it is not just about football! If you enjoy this book, I also highly recommend: Being Here: Modern Day Tales of Enlightenment and How to Create a Magical Relationship both by Ariel and Shya Kane. They also write about excellence and suggest, like Tressel's mother, being of service to others, especially in the little challenges that show up moment to moment, rather than having your attention on yourself. It is so nice to see so many authors writing about how to have success, and successful lives, based on what Tressel describes as gratitude, taking care of others, and going for excellence in everything you do.

One Moment Changes Everything: The All-America Tragedy of Don Rogers I'm West Coast born and raised. Too often we fans, and sportswriters, get caught up in regionalism and bias. We may call it "loyalty", but that's a nice word for what often comes across as petty whining because our coach, team or region isn't constantly praised by the media. It's nothing terminal, that is, until we take those perceived slights personally. In the writing of my book about former Cleveland Browns' star safety, Don Rogers, I had the opportunity to gain an insight into what I will admit was a foreign people: football fans of Ohio. So it was with a slightly more enlightened perspective than, say, I would have had some years ago, that I read "The Winners Manual" by Ohio State head coach, Jim Tressel. Never mind that the proceeds from the book go to the school's already amazing library. That's just the icing on the cake. The book is a how-to manual for organization, and road map into the mind of Tressel, a man who excels in one of the toughest jobs--including being in the highest levels of politics--that a person could ever have. I believe we bend ourselves toward our goals, and it isn't any one thing that gets us there. If you're looking for insight into the great Jim Tressel, this book will help. But if you're looking for a guide in which to help you live a better, more organized life, The Winners Manual is a must-read, along the lines of some of John Wooden's best books, and books by the best and brightest CEOs this country has produced. Learn from, and surround yourself with winners, and success will follow. Ohio is the country's center in so many ways, but I've come to know it's football fan base as, by far, the most loyal and informed in the country. And in every sense, Tressel is the CEO of a multi-million dollar corporation that insists on excellence performed under a powerful and exacting microscope. I think he succeeds admirably. And this book can both help you understand how he does it, and how you too might get the most out of your life, as well.

This excellent game plan for the gridiron of life was 23 years in the making. Over that time period, coach Jim Tressel has utilized such a manual for his Youngstown State and Ohio State teams. And this book is the guide presented to players at the start of each season. The main source that inspired Tressel came from the home; his father, Lee, was a long-time head football coach and athletics director at Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, Ohio. Lee was nationally-renowned in the coaching community for his work with young people. But Lee also had a "head coach" in reaching out to others. "She (Lee's wife, Eloise) typed the practice schedules for my dad's teams, because at a small school the athletic department didn't have money for a secretary. She sewed the players' names on the back of their jerseys at Baldwin-Wallace College for many years," writes Tressel, in a section on living with an attitude of gratitude. "And her service was always motivated by a perspective of gratitude," he continues. "She was grateful that her husband had a chance to coach and to have an impact on all those young men. Because of her service and her involvement in the community, she was selected as an outstanding citizen in the city of Berea long before my dad was." Each day will bring additional challenges, which may lead someone to tackle new avenues and goals. "(I)f a player says, 'I really want to excel at football, but I feel that medicine is my life's calling,' we help that player map out a plan to make it to medical school. It might be medical school, law school, or some other career path, but we want to help every player achieve his goals," writes Tressel. "Executing a plan to reach our full potential takes a lot of preparation. We must first uncover all the hidden things that can help or hinder our putting that plan into action. Excellent preparation takes tremendous commitment, focus, and discipline," he adds. "The willingness to do what it takes to execute that plan will yield excellence, but it doesn't just happen. Achieving excellence requires a great deal of hard work." With proceeds from the book to benefit the renovation of The Ohio State University main library, Tressel is making sure that a foundation in books will be available to every OSU student and researcher using the college's vast library system. Tressel is a successful coach who has led teams to five national titles. But the book is an inspirational guide to strive to be the best in any situation, on and off the field.