Product Description
Coaching the Mental Game is a bible for coaches who strive to make their athletes the most complete performers possible. Not only a wonderful asset to athletic coaches, this book is a motivational resource for workers in all industries as well as in the game of life. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Could not put it down
I purchased this book for two male friends who are high level athletic coaches.They both stated that they could not put it down.They also recommended the book to their wives to read.The wives loved it also.I just ordered one for myself.

Best book on this topic
For amateur "weekend warrior" coaches such as myself this is a topic that is far to often barely touched on if talked about at all. Telling kids to concentrate, focus and be mentally tough without teaching it like any other skill is like giving them a bat with no instruction and telling them to hit. Some will pick it up better than others due to their own make-up but all can get much better with a coach teaching them. The mental game can be taught as a skill the same as any physical skill we teach them.

This book is one that has the authentic "been-there-done-that" feel to it. It's well organized with great real world examples and has multiple lists at the end of each topic on how to make our athletes aware of the mental game and how to practice getting better at it.

This is a book you will read and re-read if you're truly interested in being the best coach you can be.It's one of those books where you can just open to any page and pick up a great idea or tip.

Must have
This is the 4th time I bought this book. I have given three away and the last one is worn out. Trying to make the most out of a player's ability is not complete until the mental aspect is addressed and this book helps with that approach. If you coach baseball, you need to have a copy.

Best book on the mental game, period
The most useful book you will find on the mental game, and was very easy to ready. Great organization. A must read for any coach.

Graetest Coaching Book in Existance.
361 Pages Hardcover

ExerptPage 70 Coaching is teaching. The best coaches have something else. They have the good sense to instruct, then get out of the way. They are pedagogues not demagogues.

Table of contents
Section 1 The Coach as leader, Communicator, Teacher
Chapters:
1. Leadership & Power(s)
2. Leadership style
3. You, the leader-the coach
4. The substance of leadership
5. The coach communicates, one way or another
6. Communication: Considering the process Itself
7. Communication: The when, where, how, why-and who!
8. Coaching is teaching.
9. Learners: the Coach and athlete
Section 2 The mental game alphabet: Impact terms for the coach.
Section 3 The mental Game, A to Z: Athletes' impact terms.
Appendix A Leaders list
Appendix B "The guy in the glass"
Appendix C we learn what we've lived
Appendix D A winning way
Appendix E The final word on the mental game ... Read more

Product Description

As participation in youth soccer continues to grow, so does the need for youth soccer coaches. Whether you're a parent new to coaching or an experienced youth soccer coach, Coaching Youth Soccer is your handbook for a successful season. Through the expertise of coach Sam Snow and US Youth Soccer, you'll gain field-tested tips on how to run your team, communicate with players, provide basic first aid, plan and conduct practices, and keep it all fun.

Now in its fourth edition, Coaching Youth Soccer uses gamelike activities to teach offensive and defensive skills, which sets it apart from other soccer coaching books. Ideal for coaches of players ages 14 and under, this book contains 13 new activities and more than 30 age-specific coaching tips that are sure to jump-start your practices.

Coaching Youth Soccer is a valuable component of any coaching education program. With this book, you will create an environment that promotes learning, enjoyment, and motivation for players to come out for the team year after year.

American Sport Education Program (ASEP) is the leading provider of youth, high school, and elite-level sport education programs in the United States. Through its high-quality and easy-to-use programs, ASEP has educated more than one million coaches, officials, sport administrators, parents, and athletes. For more than 25 years, local, state, and national sport organizations have partnered with ASEP to lead the way in making sport a safe, successful, and enjoyable experience for all involved.

Customer Reviews (2)

Cover the ENTIRE field with this resource
This book has it all.Skills, drills, tactics, safety, how to organize the team and deal with parents as well as fitness and psychology goals.This is a professional publication, but written with the average youth coach in mind so there are many practical tips and trick that can be immediately implemented with a team.I'll be using this book for YEARS!

Pretty good on the basics
A good start for a new coach. Covers all aspects but is very general. ... Read more

Product Description
Coaching young players, developing their skills, and cultivating a love for the sport may be the most rewarding experience baseball can offer. Cal and Bill Ripken understand this like few others.

From their father, Cal Sr., a legend in the Baltimore Orioles organization for 37 years, they learned to play the game the right way. Those lessons, paired with their combined 33 years of big league experience, helped develop the Ripken Way, a method of teaching the game through simple instruction, solid explanations, encouragement, and a positive atmosphere. In Coaching Youth Baseball the Ripken Way, Cal and Bill share this approach to coaching and development.

Whether you’re teaching your children at home, managing the local travel team, or working with high school-level players, Coaching Youth Baseball the Ripken Way will help you make a difference both on and off the field, with these features:

• More than 50 drills covering defense, hitting, pitching, and baserunning
• Age-specific practice plans for players ranging from 4 to 15+
• Strategies for setting goals and reasonable expectations for your players and team
• Advice on communicating with parents, players, and staff
• Methods for creating a positive and fun environment in which kids can learn the skills and strategies of the game

Customer Reviews (9)

One of the best books for coaching little league baseball

Lays out the plan to train, manage and teach young players the right way. For less than $20, you get the basic training you need to help your team be their best. Outstanding tool for any baseball coach.

A Good Book For Youth Baseball!
You come away after reading this book that both Ripken brothers
love the game of baseball to no end. And they want to share their
love of the game with everyone.
The drills are good but needed a little more detail.
Worth the purchase price.





This person also reviewed these popular baseball instructional products:
Youth Baseball Drills
The 59 Minute Baseball Practice
Schupak's Baseball Super 8 DVD Set
"The 59 Minute Baseball Practice"Mem-cards

Great Book!
I've already coached one kid from tee-ball thru the 11-12 group.Just about to start again with a 4 year old next season so figured I'd buy a few books to do a better job.Got some personal validation when I found out that I have much of the same philosophy as the Ripkens, and also got some great new drills and coaching advice to go along with that.I bought two books, Play Baseball The Ripken Way, and Coaching the Ripken Way, and both have great tips from dealing with parents and then going on to cover just about every aspect of youth baseball coaching and playing that you will need to know, including illustrated drills.I'm a slow reader, these books are interesting and very easy to read, I had no trouble at all getting through them and will definitely continue to use them once the practices start up again.And for the price, way worth it!In my opinion paying ten or eleven bucks for even just a good really good drills would be money well spent, but these books have way more than that.

Great Coaching Tool - HIghly Recommended
We think anyone who coaches young baseball players should read and use this book.One of Cal and Bill Ripken's biggest goals is to get young players to LOVE THE GAME and have fun!We originally picked this book because it is written by the Ripkens (and we think Cal Ripken is one of the best ballplayers of all time!)

The book is not just a list of drills but they also take time to discuss coaching responsibilities and philosophies and reasonable expectations.They include great ideas for practices and how to run games at the younger levels - we wish this book was required reading for ALL volunteer youth baseball coaches.Drills included are several for Hitting and Baserunning, Throwing and Pitching, and Fielding.

The best part of the book is the Practice Planner, where they go over Practice Particulars for each age group (4-6, 7-9, 10-12, etc.)They also tell you what skills you should be teaching kids at what age level.I was amazed at the "basics" that my 8 year old son hasn't learned yet.The Ripkens want kids to learn and have fun doing it so they love the game.

We found ourselves agreeing with everything the Ripkens had to say and we will be using the rest of the spring/summer to "backyard coach" our 5 year old, 8 year old and 10 year old daughter now that baseball is over for the year - keeping it fun, of course!We would love for our children to go to one of the Ripkens' baseball camps, but this book will have to suffice.

Perfect for any Baseball Coach
This is a fantastic book. I'm a first time Tee-Ball coach and this book gave me a great start. I now plan to look into other Ripken Way products. ... Read more

Product Description
Positive Coaching is jam packed with information for coaches in any sport. The book includes over 200 coaching recommendations on specific psychological, motivational, and behavioral situations. There is a special focus on the coach as storyteller -- 50 motivational stories can be used to develop strong communication with athletes. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

Contents Overview
This book is helpful for human interaction in general.Whether parenting, sitting at a bar, meeting in social clubs, working with customers, employees or employers the perspectives in this book can be helpful. I have outlined a review of every chapter in the book and what is covered.

Chapter 1 explains why coaching is difficult.
Talks about the worst in parents, coach's self-portrait, conflict of interest and hang-ups.
Describes inappropriate role models and commitment frustrations.

Chapter 2 presents the idea of watching for teachable moments.
Describes how to keep track of positive developments for each team member and communicating observations.
Describes how to deliver constructive critism during teachable moments with a track record of positive developments
Endores a high ratio of positive comments to few constructive criticisms.

Chapter 3 shows ways in using teachable moments to maximize benefits.
Encourages use of inspirational stories, metaphors, vision and using emotion to motivate.

Chapter 4 discusses engaging the minds of team members during teachable moments.
Helping team members to think for themselves, having team members coach each other and setting nurturing goals.

Chapter 5 describes a coach's role in building self-esteem.
Relates self-esteem to performance, competence, self-worth and self-endorsement.

Chapter 6 talks about character building.
Describes what the coach's most important character trait is.
Gives an overview about positive character traits to be reinforced.
Encourages character building during off-season activities.

Chapter 7 asserts that mistakes are forgivable and are valuable learning experiences.

Chapter 8 shows how to make practice time productive and fun.
Covers topics such as overlearning, recognizing challenges, making a commitment to learn, being prepared and building around a core.

Chapter 9 depicts the best coaching practices during competitions.
It is best to coach as a cheerleader, help them deal with pressure, emphasize character and preparing them well for the game.

Chapter 10 is about handling parents.
Documents incidents of improper parenting and how to help the team member and parent.
Presents the things that parents need from the person coaching their child.
Sets guidelines on how parents can best help the child and the coach.
Describes a parents impact on character development and how to intervene if necessary.

Chapter 11 puts "winning" into healthy perspective.
Asserts that winning is not the only thing that matters in competitions.
Warns against setting standards that are too high and worrying too much about other people's opinions.

Chapter 12 outlines the valuable lessons that come with losing a competition.
Explains how to handle the disappointment of losing and what to do when things go wrong.
Losing provides an opportunity to assess the competition and getting on the comeback trail.
There is a certain amount of freedom and appreciation that comes with losing.

Chapter 13 talks about nurturing outstanding individual competitors.
Defines the characteristics of an outstanding competitor and self-efficacy.
Coaches are told what they can and cannot do when coaching an outstanding competitor.

Chapter 14 wants coaches to make sure individuals can perform in the context of a team.
Describes awards that can undermine team spirit and how coaching can work to neutralize negative attitudes among team players.
Many ways of encouraging a team effort are discussed.

Chapter 15 recognizes the need to coach the many special team members.
The superstar, the large body type, the weak athlete, antagonistic members, unlikeable members, loners, handicapped, younger siblings, scapegoats, the uncoachable, the coach's (your own) child are examples of special cases that a coach might have to help.

Chapter 16 proposes how the end of a coaching season should be handled.

Chapter 17 encourages the coach to move the league in a positive direction.
Describes three kinds of adults that might be encountered in a supporting sports organization.
The positive impact of the parents and coach working together is discussed.

Chapter 18 approaches touchy topics in the "dark side of coaching"
Basically it explains that much like parents, coaches can unhelpfully project feelings of their own inadaquacy toward their team members.
This chapter helps work through some of the potential pitfalls.

Chapter 19 encourages coaches to teach team members to be positive coaches.
Emphasis is placed on making "unspecial" team members feel special.
Effective coaching will pass the torch of positive coaching onto future coaches.
A key to this is being the kind of coach you would have wanted to have helping your development process.

The book ends with references to sports organizations.
[..]

Life Changing
This book has completely changed my viewpoint on coaching youth athletes. It is an absolute must-read, in my opinion, for all coaches and parents.

Positive Coaching
This was recommended by our baseball coach. My husband read it and said it will be very helpful!

Terrific Information for both Teachers & Coaches !!
The Author has a background that provided him with examples for each of his methods. He has Coached at many different Sports & Physical Abilities.
The book is all about BEING POSITIVE in all your contacts with Athletes & Parents. Nearly 400 pages long, it covers most of the situations Coaches face in their Career. The one I broke a smile on was describing how to deal with NEGATIVE PATENTS. He advises that you stay positive; continue to demand that they be positive & sooner or later, they will leave for another team. A negative person is just NOT HAPPY unless they can be negative. I bought 5 used books & handed them out to my fellow High School Coaches & my neighbor who coaches 12 year old Boy Basketballers.
This book is one you can keep on the top shelf & refer to it as the need arises.

Great for the thinking Coach
I got this book just as I was about to coach a new teeball team and found its insight very helpful. Not a book about what drills to use but about motivation, handling people and protecting peoples love of the sport.More cerebral than I would expect in a coaching book. I used much of the material in my business career.Now I am starting his next book, "Shooting in the Dark". ... Read more

Product Description

Successful sports coaching is as dependent on utilising good teaching and social practices as it is about expertise in sport skills and tactics. Understanding Sports Coaching offers an innovative introduction to the theory and practice of sports coaching, highlighting the social, cultural and pedagogical concepts underpinning good coaching practice. Now in a fully revised and updated new edition, the book explores the complex interplay between coach, athlete, coaching programme and social context, and encourages coaches to develop an open and reflective approach to their own coaching practice. It addresses key issues such as:

• athlete motivation and long term development 
• viewing the athlete as a learner
• instructional methods and reflection
• working with different athletic and learning abilities
• coaching philosophy and ethics

Understanding Sports Coaching also includes a full range of practical exercises and case studies designed to encourage coaches to reflect critically upon their own coaching strategies, their interpersonal skills and upon important issues in contemporary sports coaching. This book is essential reading for all students of sports coaching and for any professional coach looking to develop their coaching expertise.

Product Description

Whether you’re a parent new to coaching or an experienced youth coach, Coaching Youth Football is your handbook for a successful season. Through the expertise of former NFL coach and current AYF president Joe Galat and American Youth Football, you’ll gain field-tested tips on running your team, communicating with and handling players, providing basic first aid, planning and conducting practices, drawing up plays, and keeping it all fun.

Product Description
Coaching Youth Baseball, Fourth Edition, stresses fun, safety, and effective instruction, helping you create an environment that promotes learning, encourages a love of the game, and motivates your athletes to come out year after year.

Numerous coaching books present the skills and drills of baseball. But here's a book that teaches you how to convey these skills to your athletes in an engaging and positive manner. Coaching Youth Baseball's focus on teaching offensive and defensive skills through gamelike drills sets it apart from the current lineup of baseball coaching books.

Sporting a reorganized format geared for sequential learning and quick reference, the fourth edition features a line-up of 11 new drills and 40 age-specific coaching tips that are sure to jump-start your planning and practices. The expertise of Coach Tom O'Connell and essential coaching skills--communicating with parents and officials, motivating players, and preparing for games and practices--make this book a must-read as you prepare to meet the challenges and enjoy the rewards of coaching young athletes. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

More On Non-Technical Ideas
This book does cover more of the non-technical aspects of being a youth coach, but it does a good job at covering those. Many of these items are not covered in other books, so it is very helpful. Perhaps not as good as a "... for Dummies" guide might be, which are much better than their titles indicate, but it comes close. Certainly worth checking out.

coaching youth baseball
The author does not know the actual fundamentals of baseball, incorrect hitting an bunting techniques. concentrates on the politics of youth baseball and not drills and skills. ... Read more

Product Description

You volunteered to coach the football team, but are you ready? How will you teach the fundamental skills, run effective practices, and harness the energy of your young team? Fear not: Survival Guide for Coaching Youth Football has the answers.

Customer Reviews (2)

Great resource for coaches!
This book is an excellent resource for both beginner and veteran coaches. It is accessible and applicable to many different situations and is a great resource for all youth football coaches.

Helpful (and realistic) advice for first time coaches!
As a longtime youth football coach, I invariably get a call from someone every July who has suddenly found themselves in the daunting position of coaching a team for the first time. Be it a willing parent or an enthused college kid, I've always done my best to give a little advice and to recommend a decent book. This year I've been pleased to find this new book by Dougherty and Castel on the market. It's a great resource for new coaches of young teams from pee wees to lightweights (ages 6-12).

These authors do a great job of relaying the nuts and bolts of what a new coach needs in a lighthearted tone without a lot of extra stuff that first-timers really don't need to manage that first season. This book will get readers through with realistic advice, plays and drills for young kids.

Rookie coaches seeking a more comprehensive book which addresses outside issues (like fundraising) and offers more breadth for older youth players (ages 8-14) will find a great resource in Coaching Youth Football - 5th Edition (Coaching Youth Sports) by Joe Galat, the President of American Youth Football. Both books are top notch depending on which age group you're coaching. ... Read more

Product Description

Revised and updated with new information, drills, diagrams, and photos, this friendly, easy-to-use, fully illustrated guide shows coaches how to run a successful soccer team -- no matter how much experience they have or what level of soccer they coach. From building a roster to making sure everyone has a ride home at the end of the game and everything in between:

Emphasizing that kids should have fun, stay active, and learn about team spirit and competition, win or lose, the authors detail every step of building a soccer team that plays well and plays healthy, while having a great time.

Whether you're a seasoned professional or new to the game, Coaching Kids to Play Soccer has the answers to every coach's questions. Don't start the season without it!

... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The Best
In seeking out aides to learning to become a successful soccer coach for my kids, this book has proven to be far and away the best resource I've found to date. ... Read more

Product Description

Successful sports coaching is as dependent on utilising good teaching and social practices as it is about expertise in sport skills and tactics. Understanding Sports Coaching offers an innovative introduction to the theory and practice of sports coaching, highlighting the social, cultural and pedagogical concepts underpinning good coaching practice. Now in a fully revised and updated second edition, the book explores the complex interplay between coach, athlete, coaching programme and social context, and encourages coaches to develop an open and reflective approach to their own coaching practice. It addresses key issues such as:

• power and the coach-athlete relationship
• viewing the athlete as a learner
• instructional methods and reflection
• how our view of ability informs assessment
• coaching philosophy and ethics.

Understanding Sports Coaching also includes a full range of practical exercises and case studies designed to encourage coaches to reflect critically upon their own coaching strategies, their interpersonal skills and upon important issues in contemporary sports coaching. This book is essential reading for all students of sports coaching and for any professional coach looking to develop their coaching expertise.

Product Description
The modern game of football is filled with plays and formations with names like the Counter Trey, the Wildcat, the Zone Blitz and the Cover Two. They have become part of the sport's vernacular, and yet for many fans they remain just names, often confusing ones. To rectify that, Tim Layden has drilled deep into the core of the game to reveal not only how these chalkboard X's and O's really work on the field, but also where they came from and who dreamed them up.

These playbook schemes, many of them illuminated by diagrams, bear the insignia of some of the game's great innovators, men like Vince Lombardi, Don Coryell, Tom Osborne, Bill Walsh, Tony Dungy and Buddy Ryan. But football has also been radically altered by the ingenious work of men with more obscure names, like Tiger Ellison, Emory Bellard and Mouse Davis.

In Blood, Sweat and Chalk, Layden takes readers into the meeting rooms-and in some cases the living rooms-where the game's most significant ideas were hatched. He goes to the coaches and to the players who inspired them, and lets them tell their stories. In candid conversations with some of football's most intriguing characters, Layden provides a fascinating guide to the game, helpingfans to better see the subtleties of America's favorite sport.

The game of football is cyclical. Coaches today are getting too much credit for formations and offenses that were dreamed up years ago. Tim Layden does a wonderful job of tracing the origin of those ideas in Blood, Sweat and Chalk.
- Urban Meyer, Head Football Coach, University of Florida

Tim Layden explores the minds and ambitions of the game's formative thinkers. Serious students of football must have this on their bookshelves!
- Steve Sabol, President, NFL Films

Blood, Sweat and Chalk is a must-read for all football aficionados. I, of course, especially enjoyed reading about the great Don Coryell, a true innovator in the game we all love. His ideas changed football-and this book shows you how.
- Dan Fouts, Hall of Fame Quarterback, San Diego Chargers

Tim has created a playbook that's instructional, a history book that's fascinating and a football bible that's a must-read for anybody who loves the game. All in one.
- Dan Patrick, Host, NBC's Football Night in America

Tim Layden does a great job telling the story of the people and the ideas that had a major impact on the game of football as we know it.
- Mack Brown, Head Football Coach, University of Texas

This is one of the most important sports books of our generation-and a lot of fun too. The formations and philosophies that win Super Bowls and national titles are made crystal clear. If you live for fall weekends, this is your book.
- Peter King, Author, Monday Morning Quarterback ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

This is a History Book and not a Playbook
I saw a chalkboard on the cover photo and the words "Ultimate Playbook" in the title so I was expecting a book about play design.Instead, I found this book to be about the providence of important football plays.Each chapter is focused on a particular football play or formation but the book is light on play design and heavy on names and places.If the publisher were to take the words "The Ultimate Football Playbook" out of the title then it would be pretty much as advertised.I am fascinated by football and read through the book regardless.It was interesting but definitely a bait and switch situation.

Disappointed
I purchased this book after Peter King plugged it in his weekly MMQB column.King also works for SI and he said something to the affect that this book greatly improved his knowledge of the NFL.This coming from a guy who has been paid to cover football for nearly 30 years.I figured if Peter King could learn some newthings, it must be a worthwhile read.I think Peter King must have been throwing bones to his fellow writer.This makes me distrust Peter King's opinions.
The book does give some fair biographical information on some of the coaches who pioneered or re-discovered some of the formations and plays in football history.Some of the personal connections are explored, such as Bill Walsh's connection to Paul Brown.But the descriptions of the formation's and philosophies of the various offenses and defenses are cursory at best.Usually a single play is diagrammed from each formation.... the signature play I suppose.But I wanted to know more about the other plays run from each formation and how the opposing defense (or offense) is kept off-balance.
I also wanted to know more about the blocking assignments from the various formations.For example, I noticed from watching Florida's games the last few years that on almost every play the offensive lineman never fire out of their blocks and attempt to drive their defender backwards on running plays.Rather, they would get into a pass-blocking stance without forming a pocket.They would remain at the line of scrimmage and attempt to cut off the defender in front of them whichever way he wanted to go.It is almost a zone-blocking scheme without the movement.Then the QB makes the decision to run, pitch or throw depending on what the defenders do.It really appears to be quite a different blocking scheme for the offensive line and I was really hoping to get a better explanation of what their thinking was.But it was not to be.The spread offense was made to sound almost the same as the run and shoot.But I believe the spread is vastly different in many ways.
If you've watched pre-game shows or listened closely to analysts such as Ron Jaworski or Chris Collinsworth you won't learn anything new from this book.T

Great Book--Needs and Index
"Blood, Sweat, and Chalk" is an excellent book for anyone who wants to learn the history of football formations, plays, and defenses. The coaching network and idea sharing by coaches conducted through the years is also an enjoyable read. The dustcover of the book plots the network of coaches who have influenced others along the way. My only complaint: no index, so it is impossible to find all of the references to a particular person in the book.

The Whole is Less than the Sum of the Parts
Tim Leyden is a good story teller or, more accurately, a good anecdote teller.Each anecdote on its own serves to illuminate a part of the story.But in the end, a long compilation of anecdotes is not a story and the book is choppy and tedious.It is not the "Ultimate Football Playbook" that Sports Illustrated claims it to be.

What is particularly annoying is that the book is bogged down by a compilation of minutia or trivia.It's chock full of names -- quarterbacks, running backs, and assistant coaches who are mere bit players or stage hands in the history of the game.My own theory is that if everyone whose name is in the book buys a copy for himself, his children, his parents, and his best friends then Leyden's a rich man.But if you're not part of that crowd, then I don't think you will be engaged by it.(And, if you are in that crowd, you've probably already been given a copy.)Read a chapter of it and you're fine.But read three chapters in succession and you're confused.The actual book would be more effective if it served as the end notes to the real "Ultimate Football Playbook" that waits to be written.

In 2010 the book should not have been released without an accompanying website or a DVD.Football is dynamic but the cute chalk board that begins each chapter is static and adds nothing.We're all used to seeing highlights, and the most effective way to elaborate the differences in the strategies and formations would be with video.

Great Read
Full disclosure: I was interviewed by Tim Layden and I am mentioned in the book.

Tim Layden really knows his football to begin with. To that knowledge he has added exhaustive research and his artistry with the written word, andhas produced an outstanding book.He manages successfully to achieve a delicate balance between entertaining and enlightening reading for the average football fan and a deep enough survey of major football innovations to interest more serious followers of the game.He has a unique ability to make the technical both understandable and interesting, without having to dumb things down.

I have been coaching since 1970, and following football since I was a little kid in the 1940s. I am a historian of the game with a rather extensive personal library of football books, and"Blood, Sweat and Chalk"will occupy a proud spot in it. ... Read more

Product Description
This second edition features the games approach to coaching hockey, which makes practice more fun for the kids and teaching more effective for you, the coach. Also included are chapters on communicating with athletes and parents, planning and conducting practice, and coaching during games.

Developed by the American Sport Education Program (ASEP), the nation’s number one coaching education program, Coaching Youth Hockey provides volunteer coaches with both an explanation of their role and concrete instructions on how to fulfill that role. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Coaching Youth Hockey
Excellent condition when received.This book offers detailed insight for those coaches that want to immerse themselves in the next level of coaching.Certainly not for the beginner coach.

Good for beginners
I was taking a coaching class in college and used this book to supplement my class text books.Had some very good tips for new coaches and how to get the players involved.Introduced good concepts.Would recommend.

Useless
Clearly not written by hockey people.

I could give numerous examples like pg 40 "Get Your Players' Attention""Make sure they aren't looking into the sun or at some distracting activity."

Practic plans are a joke.No way someone could run a 50 min practice based on these practice plans.

Hockey review
I needed to understand how to teach children under 10 the game of Hockey and start towards gaining a coaching award in this age group. This book gives me a greater understanding of what turns on a childs interest and haw to maintain this interest.

A Must for the Hockey Coach's Toolkit
This book offers a comprehensive set of introductory materials needed for the first time or experienced hockey coach. It is useful for either ice or roller hockey.I particularly appreciated the author's including thesocial, communication, and motivational aspects of coaching youth sports. Full of handy checklists and drills to emphasize the needed skills, thisbook provides a solid foundation for developing "your own" hockeyteaching and coaching program.The drills and progressions are excellent. The book would be better with more technical emphasis on skating skills andtechniques.But overall, I would recommend it for any coach or parent whois close to this fast-growing sport! ... Read more

Product Description
Coaching is a central issue in sport at all levels.The insightful analysis presented within the book is practice-orientated, exploring the language of the coaching process in order to define the role of the coach and to better understand the relationship between the coach and the sports performer.Covering key issues of the coaching process and presenting new material on topics such as, the historical and international context of the development of sports coaching, participation and performance coaching modes, modeling the coaching process, and coaching 'style' and 'philosophy'.The book draws together the existing sports coaching literature for the first time, setting it against important new conceptual developments, and promises to have a profound influence on the nature of our coach education programs. ... Read more

Product Description
We've got spirit--how 'bout you? As a newly anointed youth cheerleading coach, you've demonstrated that you have the spirit to coach, but what about the know-how? Coaching Youth Cheerleading will help you sort out the herkies from the handsprings and provide you with the tools and knowledge to run your squad with confidence, engage and inspire your cheerleaders, and keep it all fun.

Cowritten by cheerleading heavyweight Varsity Spirit and the American Sport Education Program (ASEP), Coaching Youth Cheerleading includes techniques for performing cheers and sidelines during games and information on a squad's responsibilities before, during, and after games. Dozens of partner stunts, pyramids, jumps, and tumbling skills are supplemented by photos or illustrations depicting correct form and position.

In addition, you will gain valuable insight on coaching concepts such as coaching philosophy, communicating with squad members and parents, and preparing for the season.

The only resource aimed exclusively at youth cheerleading coaches, Coaching Youth Cheerleading is essential reading for coaches who demand the same level of enthusiasm of themselves as they do of their squad members. ... Read more

Product Description
You volunteered to coach the soccer team, but are you really ready? How will you teach the fundamental skills, run effective practices, and harness the energy of your young team? Fear not: Survival Guide for Coaching Youth Soccer has the answers.

In Survival Guide for Coaching Youth Soccer, longtime coaches Lindsey and Tim Blom share their experience and provide advice you can rely on from first practice to final game.

Develop your players' dribbling, passing, shooting, and goalkeeping skills with the Survival Guide's collection of the game's best youth drills. From basic plays to game-day coaching tips, it's all here--the drills, the plays, the fun.

Survival Guide for Coaching Youth Soccer has everything you need for a rewarding and productive season. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the experience. It will be one that you won't forget. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Excellent for those sceaming, "Help!"
This is a great guide for parents who didn't take a step backwards when everyone was asked who would volunteer to coach the youth soccer team!I worked with youth and high school soccer teams for over 25 years and bought this guide for my daughter in law to help with her U-8 team in another state. It contains useful info in an easy to understand format and has excellent beginning drills for youth soccer players.

OUtstanding Book and an easy read
This was a really good book. Well written and full or good practical detail. I have coached soccer for about 5 years and the book highlighted all the important things that I have been told to do as a coach. It also gave me some really good tips on how to keep the kids engaged and excited about practice and the game.

The only thing that may be missing is some more info on game strategy. Not a big deal because at the level of 5 to 10 year olds strategy is basic and building individual skills is much more critical.

Get this book - if you are a beginner to intermediate coach. If you are just looking for drills there are other books that are a bit better. For drills I got "Great Soccer Drills : The Baffled Parent's Guide (Paperback)" which I like quite a bit too because it is well organized.

Good but Basic Information
The truth is, I returned this book after I bought it. So why do I still give it 3 stars???

As you can see from my other reviews, I spend a good deal of money on soccer coaching books. Perhaps as a result, I was already familiar with pretty much all the information contained in the book. This is not to say that the books is bad. The information contained in the book is actually very good. It's just that I am personally at a more advanced level.

I highly recommend this book to new coaches and coaches of teams U10 or lower (or perhaps even recreational U12 teams). It does a great job of compiling loads of useful information on many topics and a handful of good practice games in one place. Big print and simple graphics make it easily readable. However, if you already have a coaching foundation and are looking for "new" information, this is probably not the book for you.

Coming from a Baseball Guy
Not being a soccer guy, I was encouraged to check out this book.It does a great job of showing a new soccer coach the ropes by providing relevant drills for all positions, breaking down footwork so that one can better explain it to young learners, and providing organization for practice and game play.I would highly recommend this to any parent or new coach to the game.

Exactly what every new coach needs!!!
Survival Guide for Coaching Youth Soccer is an excellent book for any new coach at all levels of play. This book takes you step by step through the essential technical concepts associated with the basic youth players as well as tactical components of some higher levels of play. Every new coach will benefit from this book. Go Eagles!!! ... Read more

Product Description
This book has arisen out of a need for a text which tackles the special issues relating to coaching children (from 6 - 16) in sport. Academics (many with coaching experience) and practitioners have been commissioned to write on their specialist areas. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Excelent book on the subject
Every one that, being in sport, coaches children and wants to do this job having always in mind the interests and the needs of children and youth that is near him, must read this book because it provides him with different kind of informations, from physiology to pedagogy, but mainly because the book will give him the fundamentals to built a philosophy for his work with young people. ... Read more

Product Description
Written by the American Sport Education Program (ASEP) in conjunction with Kirk Anderson, director of recreational coaches and programs at the United States Tennis Association (USTA), this fourth edition of Coaching Youth Tennis offers you baseline information every coach needs on coaching philosophy, communication, and safety. It also provides you with step-by-step instructions for executing and teaching the basic technical skills and the tactical aspects of singles and doubles tennis.

The book begins with a baseline introduction to coaching philosophy, communication, and safety. It then turns to sport-specific skills, such as racket and ball-handling skills and stroke skills based on the area of the court each is played. Information on coaching matches and developing season and practice plans for tennis players is provided, as well as an activity finder that brings over 30 activities contained in the book into one section with page numbers for easy reference. Also included are 30 coaching tips, as well as an expanded chapter on rules and equipment presents new youth modifications adopted by the USTA in September 2007. The official handbook of USTA Jr. Team Tennis, Coaching Youth Tennis serves up coaching know-how that's sure to be a winner with you and your players.

The book is an ideal resource for new and inexperienced coaches as well as for parents of youth tennis players. In addition, sport administrators and staff at park districts and other youth tennis organizations and facilities will find it a valuable resource to use and share with their youth coaches. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Light on coaching technique
This book was adequate for explaining the rules of the game and providing a structure to frame a new league tennis coach's plan for the season, but contained very limited information on "how to teach tennis to kids."I am a father teaching tennis to my three children (ages 10, 8 and 6).I was looking for a resource to provide me ideas, games and concepts to teach the game correctly to my kids in fun environment.This book didn't give me anything I can use.

A Good Start...
This book is a good start for beginner coaches getting into the industry. Pros interested in rearing more competitive youngsters need to consider more that are not in this book. If you are starting to coach, this is a good book to start with. If you have some experience already with coaching children and adolescents, this book may be a little elementary with mostly review pointers.

A good baseline...
I was interested in a book to learn tennis basics to help my daughter the love of the game that my wife and I both have. This is the one! Not only were the tips helpful to my daughter but we also learned a few things aswell. This book should be in any tennis parents library. ... Read more

Product Description
The USA Track & Field Coaching Manual is the official coaching guide of the sport’s national governing body. The manual covers every major event and includes comprehensive, ready-to-apply information from 33 world-class coaches and experts.

Included among the valuable materials are

• proven predictive testing procedures,

• detailed event-specific technique instruction,

• carefully crafted training programs, and

• preparation and performance tactics for success in competition.

Contributing authors to the USA Track & Field Coaching Manual have worked with national, world, and Olympic champions. Each is an event-specific expert who has demonstrated the effective use of coaching art and science to train and inspire their athletes to achieve maximum performance.

The USA Track & Field Coaching Manual is an essential part of any serious track and field coach’s library. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

USA Track & Field Coaching Manual
The manual provides information that will help the beginning coach understand the duties and responsibilities of a coach and how to organize and run a track and field program. However, some of the training concepts, particularly those related to sprint and hurdle events are somewhat outdated, though the coverage of fundamentals related to teaching sprint starts and hurdling technique are well worth the read.The manual needs to be updated to reflect what research shows limits speed in sprinting. The "Spring-Mass Model" should be discussed. The concepts of "Mass-specific Force" and "Ground Force Support" as they relate to top-end running speed should be included. The manual should include up-to-date "minimalist" training protocols that target speed improvement for sprinters without using "old school" drills which have been shown not to improve speed, and sub-maximum speed over-distance runs that have no bearing on speed improvement or "speed-endurance", and in most instances inhibit faster running in sprinters.

USA Track. This was for a grandson that is on the track team
My grandson wanted to poll vault and run track. This book is old, but as great on for the beginner. Thanks

Excellent text
This book provides great insight to a variety of training methods and should be a must for any coach, at any level. There is a level of specificity and clarity to each of the different chapters, and I am particularly caught with the ease of reading even the most technical terms. One could argue that the sprinter training developed is much more specific than the distance running, but the effort, energy and research put into this book's development is solid.

Great book
Great book for beginning coaches.Supplement it with a book that includes more info on drills and training routines.

USA Track & Field Coaching Manual
The book arrived in PERFECT new condition.One of the best coaching resourses available in print.Highly recomend to coaches experienced and novice. ... Read more

Product Description
The world of adapted physical education and sport continues to undergo both legislative and practical changes. Those who want to stay abreast of those changes and provide people with disabilities the best physical education and sport experiences possible will benefit from Adapted Physical Education and Sport, Fourth Edition.

Specifically, the book helps teachers fulfill these requirements:• Provide education compatible with the definition of special education• Identify the unique needs of each person within the program • Offer personalized education specific to each participant’s needs • Provide the most included, integrated setting possible for each individual with disabilities

Adapted Physical Education and Sport, Fourth Edition prepares readers to provide services in the most included setting for each individual. The following are among the new features in this edition:• Chapter updates to incorporate current legislation•Expanded coverage of inclusion • Greater focus on adapted sport, exploring the opportunities in various sports • Major revisions to the measurement and assessment chapter to reflect advances, particularly in alternative assessment• DVD version of the Brockport Physical Fitness Test Video bound into the textbook• Greater attention on behavioral disabilities, with practical applications consistent with IDEA provided for youngsters with behavioral disabilities • New chapter on pervasive developmental disabilities• More emphasis on working with individuals with visual impairments, hearing impairments, or both• Expanded and updated instructor guide and test package, plus a new presentation package

Part I introduces foundational topics in adapted physical education and sport, including program organization and management, adapted sport, individualized programs, and instructional strategies. It helps teachers and leaders to plan, assess, prescribe, teach, and evaluate adapted physical education. Part II explores the unique physical education needs of students with various disabilities.

Part III examines developmental considerations, including motor development, perceptual motor development, and considerations for infants and toddlers as well as for early childhood. In part IV the focus is on physical activities and sports for people with disabilities. It includes chapters on rhythmic movement and dance, aquatics, team sports, individual and adventure sports, and enhancing wheelchair sport performance. Each chapter identifies skills, lead-up activities, modifications, and variations to make the experience meaningful, motivating, and fun for the participants.

Chapter-opening vignettes and numerous real-life problems that must be solved help readers learn and apply the material.Adapted Physical Education and Sport, Fourth Edition, will help practitioners bring out the capabilities of each individual. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

book was not in good condition
the book was not in good condition. very dissappointed, cover was torn in different spots as well as multiple pages inside the book. ... Read more