Pt. 1. Early experiences: being introduced to sports. 1. Young children's social constructions of physicality and gender / Cynthia A. Hasbrook. 2. Through the eyes of youth: "deep play" in PeeWee ice hockey / Alan G. Ingham and Alison Dewar. 3. Playing sports and social acceptance: the experiences of immigrant and refugee students in Garden City, Kansas / Mark A. Grey. 4. Late to the line: starting sport competition as an adult / Kitty Porterfield. 5. Little League mothers and the reproduction of gender / Janet Saltzman Chafetz and Joseph A. Kotarba -- Pt. 2. Experience and identity: becoming an athlete. 6. Rock climbers and rugby players: identity construction and confirmation / Peter Donnelly and Kevin Young. 7. Making decisions: how young people become involved and stay involved in sports / Jay Coakley and Anita White. 8. Becoming an international athlete: making decisions about identity / Christopher Stevenson. 9. Coming of age in North America: socialization of Dominican baseball players / Alan M. Klein. 10. Becoming 100 percent straight / Michael A. Messner. 11. The game begins at home: women's labor in the service of sport / Shona Thompson -- Pt. 3. Deep in the experience: doing sports. 12. High school football: deep in the heart of South Tejas / Douglas E. Foley. 13. Skateboarding: an alternative to mainstream sports / Becky Beal. 14. Being physical: sources of pleasure and satisfaction in women's ice hockey / Nancy Theberge. 15. Jay White Hawk: Mesquaki athlete, AIM hellraiser, and anthropological informant / Douglas E. Foley. 16. College athletes in high-profile media sports: the consequences of glory / Patricia A. Adler and Peter Adler. 17. Fans, status, and the gift of golf / Todd Crosset. 18. Wives incorporated: marital relationships in professional ice hockey / Wendy Thompson -- Pt. 4. Transition experiences: facing life beyond the playing field. 19. Threats to sport careers: elite athletes talk about injury and pain / Kevin Young and Philip White. 20. When the balance is gone: the sport and retirement experiences of elite female gymnasts / Anna Dacyshyn. 21. Moving on: leaving pro sports / Derek A. Swain. 22. Retiring from the sideline: becoming more than "hockey's daughter" and "football's wife" / Bette McKenzie