Sum It Up: A Thousand and Ninety-Eight Victories, a Couple of Irrelevant Losses, and a Life in Perspective

Pat Head Summitt · Sally Jenkins

Mar 2013 · Sold by Crown Archetype

About this ebook

Pat Summitt, the all-time winningest coach in NCAA basketball history and bestselling author of Reach for the Summitt and Raise The Roof, tells for the first time her remarkable story of victory and resilience as well as facing down her greatest challenge: early-onset Alzheimer's disease.

Pat Summitt was only 21 when she became head coach of the Tennessee Vols women's basketball team. For 38 years, she broke records, winning more games than any NCAA team in basketball history. She coached an undefeated season, co-captained the first women's Olympic team, was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame, and was named Sports Illustrated 'Sportswoman of the Year'.
She owed her coaching success to her personal struggles and triumphs. She learned to be tough from her strict, demanding father. Motherhood taught her to balance that rigidity with communication and kindness. She was a role model for the many women she coached; 74 of her players have become coaches.
Pat's life took a shocking turn in 2011, when she was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease, an irreversible brain condition that affects 5 million Americans. Despite her devastating diagnosis, she led the Vols to win their sixteenth SEC championship in March 2012. Pat continued to be a fighter, facing this new challenge the way she's faced every other--with hard work, perseverance, and a sense of humor.

Ratings and reviews

Simply Excellent! An honest, heart-warming, and direct look into the life of a monumental icon. Pat Summit is that unique, one-of-a-kind individual whose impact on her profession and everyone that comes in contact with her is profound. I have no doubts that the same determination and fighting spirit that has carried her throughout her life thus far will see her through this crisis.

A must-read for any female athlete, former or present... Coach Summit was a true pioneer, putting women's sports on a stage that could no longer be ignored!

I thought it was well written and very sincere. Easy reading and kept things positive.

About the author

PAT SUMMITT became head coach of the Tennessee Lady Volunteers in 1974; since then she achieved an astounding .843 average and won 8 national championships. She was the first coach in NCAA history to reach 1,000 wins. She lived in Tennessee with her son, Tyler. SALLY JENKINS is the author of #1 New York Times bestseller It's Not About the Bike. Her other 8 books include The Real All-Americans: The Team That Changed a Game, a People, a Nation, and The State of Jones. Her work has been featured in Vanity Fair, GQ, and Sports Illustrated. A native of Texas, Jenkins graduated from Stanford and lives in New York City.