Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.
Title details for Norwich by Karen Crouse - Available

Norwich

One Tiny Vermont Town's Secret to Happiness and Excellence

by Karen Crouse
Gabra Zackman
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
Borrow Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
1 of 1 copy available
The extraordinary story of the small Vermont town that has likely produced more Olympians per capita than any other place in the country, Norwich gives "parents of young athletes a great gift—a glimpse at another way to raise accomplished and joyous competitors" (The Washington Post).
In Norwich, Vermont—a charming town of organic farms and clapboard colonial buildings—a culture has taken root that's the opposite of the hypercompetitive schoolyard of today's tiger moms and eagle dads. In Norwich, kids aren't cut from teams. They don't specialize in a single sport, and they even root for their rivals. What's more, their hands-off parents encourage them to simply enjoy themselves. Yet this village of roughly three thousand residents has won three Olympic medals and sent an athlete to almost every Winter Olympics for the past thirty years.

Now, New York Times reporter and "gifted storyteller" (The Wall Street Journal) Karen Crouse spills Norwich's secret to raising not just better athletes than the rest of America but happier, healthier kids. And while these "counterintuitive" (Amy Chua, bestselling author of Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother) lessons were honed in the New England snow, parents across the country will find that "Crouse's message applies beyond a particular town or state" (The Wall Street Journal).

If you're looking for answers about how to raise joyful, resilient kids, let Norwich take you to a place that has figured it out.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    January 23, 2018

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781508251262
      • File size: 132853 KB
      • Duration: 04:36:46

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Award-winning sports writer Karen Crouse spent time doing research and interviewing folks to answer a puzzling question: How did the tiny town of Norwich, Vermont, produce a disproportionately high number of Olympic athletes? Gabra Zackman narrates the answers in six chapters, each of which is anchored by a featured athlete and a lesson. Each chapter begins with a themed insight such as "Grounded by Unconditional Support" or "Teach Your Parents Well." Zackman's reasonable-sounding voice enhances the audiobook's messages on the benefits of hands-off parenting, supportive communities, and encouraging grit and resilience in kids, making these practices sound appealing and digestible, especially to today's parents. Engaged, curious, and without a hint of lecturing, Zackman's reading style suits this book's purpose well. J.C.G. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      October 16, 2017
      Norwich, Vt., emerges as an enviable town out of time in New York Times sports reporter Crouse’s charming first book. The wealthy southern Vermont town has produced 11 Olympians since 1956, and Crouse reveals the town’s secret to raising successful athletes early on—“a deep aversion to pushing its children too hard too soon”—and offers a loose blueprint for other communities to follow. Norwich’s agrarian culture, Crouse writes, encourages parents to provide hands-off support for their children in a variety of athletic pursuits, and coaches consider themselves to be educators rather than “emissaries assigned to deliver children to the ranks of professional sports.” The kids, meanwhile, value participation, sportsmanship, and fun above winning. Crouse unpacks all this in chapters that read like individuals profiles of the town’s successful athletes, such as mogul skier Hannah Kearney, who credits her Olympic success to the small town, and distance runner Andrew Wheating, who didn’t even take up the sport until high school. Short and sweet, this important book highlights what’s wrong with youth sports by focusing on a community that gets it right.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

Loading