Professional athletes are joining the trend of organizing book clubs for team bonding. In the NBA, San Antonio Spurs players Victor Wembanyama and Harrison Barnes are leading a book club to encourage more team members to participate. Similarly, the NHL’s San Jose Sharks players, including Will Smith, Macklin Celebrini, Tyler Toffoli, and Ty Dellandrea, have a secretive book club that has become a playful mystery among the players.
The initiative extends to athletes in the PWHL and the WNBA, with teams like the Toronto Sceptres, Montreal Victoire, Toronto Tempo, and New York Liberty engaging in book club activities to foster camaraderie off the field.
Toronto Sceptres forward Claire Dalton, who previously played for the Montreal Victoire, shared that the idea of a book club resonated well among her teammates. She and the team’s goalie, Raygan Kirk, initiated the book club to discuss various reads and unwind together. The Sceptres’ book selections have included titles like “Gone Before Goodbye” and “The Heir Apparent.”
In a similar vein, the Toronto Tempo in the WNBA embraced the concept of a book club as a means to strengthen the team’s chemistry. Guard Kia Nurse highlighted the importance of building connections off the court, emphasizing the power of friendship in team success. The Tempo’s first book club read was the thriller “It Should Have Been You” by Andrea Mara.
Reading serves as an escape for athletes like Nurse, offering a different identity apart from their sports achievements. The impact of these team book clubs goes beyond the players, with community engagement initiatives like the Sceptres Storytime event at The Children’s Book Bank, where players read to children and promote literacy.
These book clubs not only enrich the athletes’ lives through reading but also inspire young readers by showcasing diverse role models who enjoy books. The events have garnered significant fan interest and community support, emphasizing the positive influence of sports figures promoting reading and literacy.