Publicity

From The Nyack Villager, January 2008

BOOK TALK

by Joan Reid

Overachiever's Diary by Louis Tharp with Laurie Ferguson

Overachiever's Diary chronicles the emails that swim coach Louis Tharp sent the 2006-07 West Point Triathlon team.

The book is brimming with enthusiasm, positive thinking, as well as stories of the extensive training these athletes endured to eventually win the Collegiate National. A generous helping of candid black and white photographs scattered throughout the book, make their athletic triumph a more personal experience for the reader.

Louis Tharp, a Hudson Valley resident, writes openly about his experience as a gay athlete, his acceptance, and eventual appointment as swim coach to this elite group of athletes. The co-author, Dr. Ferguson, contributes several insightful chapters. In "Stalking the Elusive Thought Pattern," she instructs the cadets to utilize the same thought process that they have when thinking about going to a swim and getting dressed, for their actual strokes. She writes, "...you dissect your stroke, taking it apart moment to moment in order to see what you do and then correct it..."

The book is divided into three sections: mechanic, math and motivation, and includes an index for quick reference. The foreword is by Terry Laughlin, founder of Total Immersion Swimming, Inc. If you want to feel good and be inspired, this book will do it -- and have you cheering for the cadets. A portion of the sales of this book will be donated to the West Point Tri Team to benefit future cadets.

Overachiever's Diary, by Louis Tharp with Laurie Ferguson, Ph.D. Total Immersion, Inc. New Paltz, NY paperback, $14.95; 216 pp. with index

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