-TOWARD THE MARK BOOKS-
Steven Pustay
THE BOOKS
There have been many 'muses' who have moved through my life. Sally Papadopolous, high school English teacher, who gave a Complete works of Shakespeare to a young writer. Jonathan Fry, professor of Literature, Nyack University, who helped me to understand something of the discipline, and craft of writing. John Donne, Ernest Hemingway, and John Steinbeck who have shown me over and over how the written word can move and inspire. Patti, my partner in love and life who has brought me joy, and laughter, and fire. My children Kelly and Steve, who now teach their father what it means to be passionate, caring, and principled. And the boys, James, Sam and William who have shown me that each season of life can be better and richer and fuller than those before. Whatever I write ... I hope something of each of you lies within it.
Inside The Game:
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ISBN-13-9880770074082
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With more than 3.1 million people playing the game and nearly 7,000 places to play, Pickleball counts itself as one of the fastest growing sports in the world. Active player numbers have grown by double digit percentages for the past five years and the ceiling for those numbers seems nowhere in sight. Casual and competitive players voraciously consume ESPN, NBC, and CBS Sports live and streaming coverage. Dozens of videos analyzing amateur and professional matches can be found on YouTube and other internet platforms. Clothing and equipment sales have grown exponentially, and the addictive demand for the latest paddle technology has given rise to dozens of online retailers boasting millions in sales. Yet until now its rabid fan base hasn't had access to the kinds of metrics and teaching tools available to most other popular sports.
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Inside the Game: The Madness, Metrics, and Methods of Winning Pickleball brings groundbreaking and game-changing insight to the sport, answering definitively for the first time how a match goes wrong and how players can fix it. Based on a yearlong study, the first of its kind for Pickleball, 200 professional and 100 amateur games were mapped for stroke errors, ball-strike accuracy, ball speed, court position advantage and dozens of additional metrics. The results of the data study provide a definitive picture of what fails when games are lost and establishes clear goals to be met for winning play. The study frames a statistically significant portrait of the game, and for the first time establishes a baseline for winning play. Interviews with professionals who participated in the study add perspective from their on-court experience and expand the narrative with practice tips and match strategies meant to help improve the level of any player's game.
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All sports played professionally benefit from a long history of statistical collection and record keeping, from baseball, football, and basketball to golf, swimming, and tennis. , The cutting-edge statistical models developed in this book bring compelling and innovational insights to pickleball, revealing the common match errors that plague everyday players and providing practice routines for eliminating them. Inside the Game is bound to be foundational in establishing standards of winning play for the pickleball fan base addicted to this amazing game.
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This book is a work driven by the passion I have for the game and desire to fill a gap missing from resources available to the amazing pickleball community. I've played pickleball since 1988 and have been hopelessly in love with this simple game with the silly name.
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Inside the Game is only the 2ndbook to receive an endorsement by the USAPA, Pickleball’s governing body.
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“Inside the Game is a fascinating read full of important and useful information designed to help those looking to improve their game.” – USAPA
Breath Stealer
ISBN-56-6784659396375
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There are places in this world we shouldn’t go, powers we’ll never understand, problems we couldn’t hope to solve. When 17 year old Aaron Hall, an ordinary high school athlete who never sought the spotlight, discovers an ancient warrior’s secret for stealing the breath of his enemies, he determines to use it only to shame a vicious bully. But the addictive powers of the breath-stealing recipe aren’t easily controlled and Aaron struggles to understand who he has become under the seductive influence of being for the first time in his life, the hero.
O-O-Dead
ISBN-9798600664593
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Now Available on Amazon!
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Marc Nixon manages the Moonlight Madness pickleball league for the peaceful, gated community of Harbor Hills. The most popular mixed-doubles league in the county has a waiting list a mile long and features matches battled under the lights with gentle breezes drifting in from the Gulf. Marc imagines the courts, the spirited competition, the pop of paddles in the night air to be, frankly, perfect.
Marc is perfectly wrong. A 3 am dog walk, following an evening of spirited play, exposes a horror that leads him to confront secrets never meant for the light of day.
Detective Thomas Fraiser and his partner, Fran Degardo, pass through the Harbor Hills security gates and into a space meant to be sheltered from the polluting influence of tourists, retail strips, and box stores outside. Detective Fraiser knows the metal lift-gates are no protection against greed and jealousy and evil. He knows, because his own demons have come along for the ride.
Mob Girls Genesis
ISBN-9798711440161
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Now Available on Amazon!
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Ayn Barese, eldest of identical triplets born to Nicolo and Mary Rose Barese, uncovers a secret threat to her family’s privileged lifestyle. Nicky Santino Barese has agreed with the Federal Prosecutor in Cleveland, Ohio to turn states’ evidence. He will abandon his wife and children, enter witness protection, and violate the blood-oath sworn to his Youngstown Mafia family. Ayn holds the truth close to her heart until she is certain that there is only one way forward.
Ayn must persuade sisters Aurora and Amelia to join a devil’s bargain to save her family and do the unthinkable. Nicky Barese must be stopped and the family business saved.