Chris Bosh’s Letters to a Young Athlete is a different kind of memoir

Chris Bosh’s new book, Letters to a Young Athlete, is an unconventional memoir with something for every basketball fan, young and old.

For young athletes, there is no shortage of places they can turn for advice. Parents, coaches, friends are all available to either praise or criticize them depending on the day. There are also innumerable online sources one can beseech, each of them eager to offer advice about one’s diet, mindset, or training. Yet rarely ever will any of these people have quite the resume of Chris Bosh — an 11 time NBA All-Star, two-time champion, and future Hall-of-Famer — whose new book, Letters to a Young Athlete, consists of a series of dispatches to those trying to carve out an athletic legacy as he did himself.

Letters to a Young Athlete is a book about helping readers reach their peak as an athlete, though it is not one that offers a step-by-step guide on how to succeed on the floor; there are no drills or training regimens included. Instead, Bosh focuses on ensuring that the prospective athlete becomes their best self so that they can handle the rigors of their sport with equanimity. He writes of the importance of communication and leadership, of working hard and being a good teammate, of cultivating one’s mind while also taking care of oneself.

Throughout the book there is a focus on finding your motivation, that thing that keeps you going and pursuing greatness when obstacles arise. He asks, “Beneath all the outward signs of success, what’s the motivating force that pushes you to give your all?” This motivation has to be able to “endure through the ups and downs of life,” something that can endure no matter what. He also goes on to connect all of this to the idea of becoming something more than an athlete. All the letters he writes are preparations that are meant to set readers up for something greater and he wants them to embrace that responsibility, wherever it may lead.

There is no predetermined goal that Bosh wishes for his readers to reach — there are only so many world-class athletes, after all. Instead, he emphasizes the process, the striving and work that may equip one for success in spheres outside of sports as well. For him, more important than being great at any sport is knowing why one is pursuing their goals and being able to find solace and contentment in the pursuit itself. As he writes, “if the only thing you’re taking from your sport is stronger muscles or better conditioning, you’re missing out on so much of what it has to offer you.” The lessons one learns from committing oneself to something remain regardless of one’s on-court triumphs: “I get to keep them whether or not I’m on the court,” he attests. No matter what else happens, “we all have that capacity to stop and experience the joy of what we’re doing.”

You can’t help but be a Chris Bosh fan, especially after reading this book

Bosh is an engaging writer, coming across as thoughtful, intelligent, and compassionate. For anyone who followed his career or has listened to interviews with him, this will not be surprising. He makes for pleasant company throughout. Littered throughout the book are stories from his own playing career, and for many readers, those tales of his own struggles and triumphs, along with anecdotes about his teammates may be the most interesting parts of the book. While the unique format of this book fills a particular need, Letters to a Young Athlete makes it clear that a more traditional memoir by Bosh would be one of the genre’s better entries. Readers of this book are sure to hope his first book is not also his only one.

Bosh’s book is, of course, targeted towards the young athletes named in the title, but it will provide guidance and encouragement to everyone who is devoted to following their dreams, regardless of how long it’s been since they’ve taken the court or field. Letters to a Young Athlete does occasionally traffic in cliches though that is more likely to be a problem for curious adult readers than the book’s target audience. Nevertheless, Bosh’s likable voice will make this book an enjoyable read for all but the most jaded of readers.

I am not so young anymore and I have not played a game of pick-up in an embarrassingly long time, though I still found myself appreciating the time I spent with Bosh while reading this book. The empathy Bosh has towards the athletes he is writing for is apparent and this sense of care, as much as any of the concrete advice offered, makes Letters to a Young Athlete resonate. For any teenager who is trying to find a way to go pro or just earn some minutes on the high school’s junior varsity squad, Bosh’s book has much to offer. His goal throughout is not only to help readers find more success on the floor but off of it as well: if read with an open heart and mind, there is a good chance that’s exactly what will happen.