Coach: 25 Writers Reflect on People Who Made a Difference.

COACH: 25 WRITERS REFLECT ON PEOPLE WHO MADE A DIFFERENCE.

Edited by Andrew Blauner * Pp. 288

New York: Warner Books * $25.95

If you ever had any reservations about what you do for a living, Andrew Blauner and 25 of the best writers in America have dispelled them.

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Blauner has assembled an incredible cast, including novelists, sportswriters, broadcasters, and commentators, who look back at their lives and identify coaches who've influenced their lives. They make a powerful impact.

The New York Times' gifted columnist George Vecsey salutes Casey Stengel, not for his incredible success with the New York Yankees but for his grandfatherly wisdom with the pathetic New York Mets from 1962-65. "I think of him every day," writes Vecsey and, if you ever met him (as this reviewer did), it's not hard to figure out why. Pulitzer Prize-winner Buzz Bissinger (Friday Night Lights) would still like to impress his elementary school coach--40 years after the fact. Novelist John McPhee discusses former Princeton hoop coach Butch van Breda Kolff and his relationship with his star player, Bill Bradley (who wrote the book's introduction).

The coaches who are the objects of the writers' (mostly) affections range from household names to total unknowns, from football to basketball to wrestling and more. The book contains older essays as well as material specially created for this book and lovingly selected by Blauner. Each piece is paean to someone special, some for their kindness, others for near cruelty, but each unforgettable in his or her own right.

For legendary broadcaster Bob Wolff, his high school coach Pop LaRue and college coach Jack Coombs, were major life influencers. For author Jonathan Ames, it was a fencing coach. For columnist Christine Brennan, it was a high school basketball coach named Miss O.

For coaches, despite the lack of a single X or O, there's something to take out of every essay. It's a terrific read.