“A powerful, disturbing, yet exhilarating investigation into how we simultaneously empower and exploit our young. Reads like a thriller and will be the Silent Spring of sports—the book that launches a grassroots movement to protect and honor a natural resource. In this case, our children.”
—Robert Lipsyte, New York Times contributing writer

“A must-read for anyone who cares about children, this richly researched, compellingly written book has a powerful message: That we have made sports less accessible to the poor and late bloomers and those kids who simply want to play sports for fun.”  
—Steven Mintz, author of Huck’s Raft: A History of American Childhood

“Game On debunks the myths of child-rearing and shows the lengths we go to and methods we use to build our children into athlete-entertainers at almost any cost.”
—Former U.S. Senator Bill Bradley, author of Values of the Game

“Illuminating, penetrating, sobering, Game On is dead-on: A fiercely intelligent, must-read portrait of athletic ideals gone horribly wrong, while at the same time offering a smart way out of a deep, dark, national obsession.”
—Armen Keteyian, Chief Investigative Correspondent, CBS News

“From parents with kids in T-ball to travel-team coaches, from NFL owners to Olympic administrators, from 'journalists' who rank 10-year-old basketball players to agents who garner 3 percent of multi-million dollar deals, all these people should pledge to become part of the solution to this mounting crisis so artfully exposed by Tom Farrey.”
—Mark Fainaru-Wada, coauthor of Game of Shadows

“This book is an eye-opener. Using children and sports as a focal point, Farrey provides an insightful analysis of American society today and a provocative look at its future. He pulls together research findings and weaves them into stories that take us into the lives of young people today and expose what needs to be changed in youth sports. I’ll refer to his analysis of sports in society for a long time to come.”
—Jay Coakley, author of Sports in Society: Issues and Controversies, a widely used academic text in the sociology of sport

“Sports development isn’t just about nature vs. nurture; it’s about inspiration and drive. Tom Farrey takes an honest look at how sports have evolved in today’s society and what motivating factors drive parents and children to pursue excellence in sport.”
—Nick Bollettieri, U.S. tennis coach, founder of the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy

“An enlightening, informative and challenging read for parents with children in sport.”
—Robert Malina, former chair of the Institute for the Study of Youth Sport and one of the nation’s leading researchers on children and physical activity

“Tom Farrey has pinned the tail on the donkey that we as a society have created that approaches youth sports in unreasonable and unrealistic ways. This book should be a wake-up call and should help us view the youth sports experience much differently.”
—Paul Stricker, MD, Olympic physician, and author of the American Academy of Pediatrics publication, Sports Success Rx! —Your Child's Prescription for the Best Experience

“The classic images of kids at play are innocent and blissful. But modern youth sports has become hyper-organized and deadly serious. In Game On, Tom Farrey identifies the problem and, more importantly, points us toward some solutions.”
—Bob Costas, NBC sports analyst and author of Fair Ball: A Fan's Case for Baseball