Soccer Dreams: Playing the Seattle Sounders FC Way by Clare Hodgson Meeker is in bookstores now. The fun, informative children's book joins other works by the Seattle author.
Photographers Chris Coulter and Marshall Hollis, both of whom are contributors to Seattle Soccer Examiner, are featured in the book.
I sent Meeker some questions about how the book came together. See our Q &A session below!
SSE: Have you been involved in soccer previously to the book?
Meeker: I’ve been a Sounders FC fan since their first season and a soccer mom when my kids played youth soccer.
How did the idea for the book come about?
Two years ago I was commissioned to write a children’s book about the San Diego Chargers football team called Charge Ahead for San Diego Public TV as part of a community outreach project. That gave me the idea of doing a book about a popular team in my own community. The fact that the Sounders FC players could accomplish so much in their first season, coming from around the world, speaking different languages and being used to different styles of play, was inspiring. What were their teamwork building strategies and how might kids learn from them? I came up with a fictional story about a young soccer player who moves from Kenya to Seattle and helps his coach build a winning team drawing on tips and strategies from the Sounders coach and players. The book includes profiles and photos of the Sounders FC players, along with black-and-white illustrations of the story.
Explain the process of bringing a book like this together and some of the people involved in helping you get it done.
Talk about teamwork! In order to interview the coach and players and use professional photos of the team in uniform, the book had to be licensed by the MLS. Fortunately, both the Sounders FC management and the MLS liked the idea of a multicultural book for kids about teamwork and helped me work through the red tape.
After writing the book, the next challenge was getting the book published in a timely fashion so that the players I interviewed would still be with the team when it came out. Knowing from my 9 previous books that trade publishers need a year at least to produce a photo/illustrated book like Soccer Dreams, I decided to form a publishing company to produce the book. I hired an editorial director, a proofreader, an illustrator, a book designer and a print production manager- all women I had worked with on previous books. I named the company Creating One and, together with these talented women, succeeded in publishing the book on budget and in time for the First Kick game!
What are a few of the messages you hope readers get from the book?
Being part of a team can be a great experience, if each person does their part.
When you practice hard, you inspire your teammates to work harder too. As Tyrone Marshall says, “Work hard...it’s contagious.”
When you talk to each other on the pitch, you create more chances to score and you’ll make friends in the process. As James Riley says, “Guys will work hard for each other on the field when they like each other off the field.”
When you show good sportsmanship, you help the team stay focused and play better. Osvaldo Alonso says, “Don’t get angry. Think of the team.”
Why are sports a good way to get messages, ideas and motivations across?
Playing a team sport is about being part of a community: learning to get along with people, working toward a common goal and doing something that will benefit the community, not just yourself. But whether or not we play sport, we can all enjoy a good sports story about meeting a challenge, overcoming obstacles and following your dream.
How did the Sounders assist in the process?
The Sounders FC coach and players generously shared their time and personal stories with me along with an exciting second season to watch and learn about the game. Despite their grueling season schedule, the Sounders FC Communications staff
helped me schedule interviews with the players and gather photographs for the book.
They are also helping me with promotion.
The book is available at the Pro Shop at Qwest Field and online at the Sounders FC website. Patrick Ianni is also going to be a special guest at the book launch celebration on March 27 from 1-2 pm at Elliott Bay Book Company in Seattle. http://www.elliottbaybook.com/node/events/mar11/meeker
A portion of the book sales will help support scholarships for area youth in need to attend Sounders FC Youth Soccer camps.
Will you approach the subject of soccer again in the future?
I’d love to write more on this subject if the opportunity presents itself.
What’s the most important thing you learned while creating the book?
Many of the issues that are raised in the story - working hard, learning to be patient, and to not give up - I had to wrestle with myself in creating this book. But it was worth the struggle. Through the research and writing, I became a more informed soccer fan. For instance, I know now what triangle formation is and I watch for it in every game.
I encourage people to go to a Sounders game and see for yourselves how much fun it is to watch and cheer along with 36,000 other fans for this young, determined, and inspiring team.
You can get more information about Clare Hodgson Meeker and her books at her website, www.claremeeker.com.
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