From Booklist
When Pulitzer-winning investigative reporter Marx was a kid in the 1970s, he was a ballboy for the Baltimore Colts. One of the team captains was Joe Ehrmann, a larger-than-life party guy and star defensive lineman. After the death of his younger brother, Ehrmann changed his life, working in Baltimore's inner city and eventually becoming an ordained minister. Prompted by an article about the demolition of the Colt's legendary Memorial Stadium, Marx reconnected with Ehrmann and became fascinated both with his ministry and his work as a volunteer football coach at a Baltimore private school. This account of Ehrmann's career--and his effect on Marx's life--is inspirational without being preachy. Most amazing are the stories of the team Ehrmann coaches--a football team on which life lessons are more important than tackling fundamentals. The lessons extend to Marx himself, who describes how he was moved by Ehrmann's example to work on his relationship with his father. A sports story, yes, but much more, too. Wes Lukowsky
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Review
Frank Deford, Sports Illustrated Jeffrey Marx has used the most violent of American games to show how men and boys should dare not be afraid to look for love. I was tremendously touched by Season of Life.

Christine Brennan, USA Today In a warm, passionate story, Jeffrey Marx finds a boyhood hero who ends up leading him on a fascinating personal journey. This is a book that every father and son will enjoy.

Carl Lewis, Olympic champion Season of Life should be required reading for every high school student in America and every parent as well.


Review
Steve Moulton, ESPN Radio This is a life-changing book. You'd have to be a slug on a rock not to be impacted by the messages in this book.


Book Description
Joe Ehrmann, a former NFL football star and volunteer coach for the Gilman high school football team, teaches his players the keys to successful defense: penetrate, pursue, punish, love. Love? A former captain of the Baltimore Colts and now an ordained minister, Ehrmann is serious about the game of football but even more serious about the purpose of life. Season of Life is his inspirational story as told by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jeffrey Marx, who was a ballboy for the Colts when he first met Ehrmann. Ehrmann now devotes his life to teaching young men a whole new meaning of masculinity. He teaches the boys at Gilman the precepts of his Building Men for Others program: Being a man means emphasizing relationships and having a cause bigger than yourself. It means accepting responsibility and leading courageously. It means that empathy, integrity, and living a life of service to others are more important than points on a scoreboard. Decades after he first met Ehrmann, Jeffrey Marx renewed their friendship and watched his childhood hero putting his principles into action. While chronicling a season with the Gilman Greyhounds, Marx witnessed the most extraordinary sports program he'd ever seen, where players say "I love you" to each other and coaches profess their love for their players. Off the field Marx sat with Ehrmann and absorbed life lessons that led him to reexamine his own unresolved relationship with his father. Season of Life is a book about what it means to be a man of substance and impact. It is a moving story that will resonate with athletes, coaches, parents -- anyone struggling to make the right choices in life.


From the Inside Flap
"Jeffrey Marx has used the most violent of American games to show how men and boys should dare not be afraid to look for love. I was tremendously touched by Season of Life." -- Frank Deford, Sports Illustrated "In a warm, passionate story, Jeffrey Marx finds a boyhood hero who ends up leading him on a fascinating personal journey. This is a book that every father and son will enjoy." -- Christine Brennan, USA Today "Season of Life should be required reading for every high school student in America and every parent as well." -- Carl Lewis, Olympic champion "This is not a book you are just going to read and then forget about. You're probably going to read it again sometime. And you'll definitely want to tell family and friends about it. By sharing Season of Life with others, you will be helping to make this a better world." -- Ronnie Lott, NFL Hall of Famer "This is a life-changing book. You'd have to be a slug on a rock not to be impacted by the messages in this book." -- Steve Moulton, ESPN Radio

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Joe Ehrmann, a former NFL football star and volunteer coach for the Gilman High School football team, teaches his players the keys to successful defense: penetrate, pursue, punish, love. Love? A former captain of the Baltimore Colts and now an ordained minister, Ehrmann is serious about the game of football but even more serious about the purpose of life. Season of Life is his inspirational story as told by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jeffrey Marx, who was a ballboy for the Colts when he first met Ehrmann.

Ehrmann now devotes his life to teaching young men a whole new meaning of masculinity. He teaches the boys at Gilman the precepts of his Building Men for Others program: Being a man means emphasizing relationships and having a cause bigger than yourself. It means accepting responsibility and leading courageously. It means that empathy, integrity, and living a life of service to others are more important than points on a scoreboard.

Decades after he first met Ehrmann, Jeffrey Marx renewed their friendship and watched his childhood hero putting his principles into action. While chronicling a season with the Gilman Greyhounds, Marx witnessed the most extraordinary sports program he'd ever seen, where players say "I love you" to each other and coaches profess their love for their players. Off the field Marx sat with Ehrmann and absorbed life lessons that led him to reexamine his own unresolved relationship with his father.

Season of Life is a book about what it means to be a man of substance and impact. It is a moving story that will resonate with athletes, coaches, parents -- anyone struggling to make the right choices in life.

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

Jeffrey Marx has used the most violent of American games to show how men and boys should dare not be afraid to look for love. I was tremendously touched by Season of Life. — Frank Deford

Season of Life should be required reading for every high school student in America and every parent as well. — Carl Lewis

This is not a book you are just going to read and then forget about. You're probably going to read it again sometime. And you'll definitely want to tell family and friends about it. By sharing Season of Life with others, you will be helping to make this a better world. — Ronnie Lott

In a warm, passionate story, Jeffrey Marx finds a boyhood hero who ends up leading him on a fascinating personal journey. This is a book that every father and son will enjoy. — Christine Brennan