Book Review - “The Hard Hat”   by Jon Gordon

The sub title of this book is “21 Ways to be a Great Teammate”, and the strongest of its content focuses on these processes.  The book narrates the story of George Boiardi, a Lacrosse player at Cornell University, tragically killed in a playing accident.  His legacy to the team and the club is clearly considerable.

Alongside the story, there is an attempt to describe the environment of Cornell, and the ways in which its Lacrosse club built a culture captured in the symbol of the hard hat.  This represents blue collar values of loyalty, work ethic and selflessness.  There is some interesting analysis of the characteristics which make a team great, and the activities of the players who contribute to this.  As such, it will be of interest to coaches and teachers who are concerned about building selflessness into their players.  Away from the story of George, there is a list of 21 behaviours which characterise a positive team environment, which provide an interesting foundation for those engaged in attempting to build this.

The qualities of the protagonist are sometimes over-emphasised, and heavily glorified.  The tragedy of his premature death is indisputable, but the emphasis on repetition can grate at times.

This is short book (c 100 pages), in which the teamship material is the strongest dimension. It’s a quick read for those with an interest in this, which broadens its appeal beyond the fraternity of Cornell University.

Reviewed by Neil Rollings, May 2020