Play Big

When Jen Welter became a linebackers coach for the Arizona Cardinals in 2015, she was the first woman to ever break the glass sideline of the NFL, but it wasn't her first time pioneering as a woman in football: Welter was also the first woman to play running back in a men's professional football league. In Play Big, Welter reveals the grit and determination that it took to be a trailblazer in one of the country's toughest boys' clubs.

With reliability and encouragement, Play Big lays out how she handled the unique pressure of being the only woman in a notoriously sexist environment. By detailing her own strategies for succeeding despite the odds, Welter gives readers the tools they need to do the same, whatever their own obstacles might be.

Drawing on a move that garnered attention during her time with the Cardinals--writing personal motivational notes for each of her linebackers the night before a game--Welter translates simple but effective tips for perseverance and toughness in Play Big.

Dr. Jen Welter is the first female to coach in the NFL. In summer 2015, she served as a linebackers' coach for the Arizona Cardinals. She appears regularly as an NFL and sports analyst on NBC, ESPN, and the NFL Network and in national newspapers and other publications. Welter has become a regular empowerment and sports speaker, asked to stump for Hillary Clinton on the election trail in 2016, and sharing the stage at events with sports and political giants like Serena Williams and Condoleeza Rice at events across the country. ESPNW just named her one of the 25 most influential women in sport in 2015. Welter holds a doctorate degree in Psychology, a Master's in Sport Psychology, and a bachelor's degree from Boston College. She has 18 years of experience in fitness and as a professional athlete. Welter is a native of Vero Beach, Florida.