Coaching Books

Great chronicle of the 49ers' dynasty of the 80s. I have an original hard copy available. E-mail me if you want to bid on it.

This is a great book by Bill Walsh on how he sculpted the 49ers in the 80's and why ultimately since then,he's so emulated today by other coaches. There really wasn't a so called "west coast offense"...it was simply the Bill Walsh offense plain and simple.
Apparently,no one wanted to call it that but we all know where that offense was derived from. This book shows you how inteligent and articulate the man was and why he's recognized as one of the best ever. Here's some handy advice in regards to this book,if you don't understand football that well,there's no point in reading this because you probably won't know what he's talking about.

Coach Walsh walks you through year-by-year his perspective on the 49ers magnificent decade. He also discusses his experiences with the Bengals and Chargers as an assistant as well as Stanford's leader. There is an appendix with some famous plays.

Being a fan of American pro football in general and the Niners in particular, I decided to give Bill Walsh's 'Building a Champion' a read. With the help of bay area sports scribe Glenn D!ckey, Walsh's famous calm and analytical style is faithfully translated to the written page. Throughout the course of this paperback, Walsh discusses his career of coaching in the NFL, from his initial assisting gig with the Raiders to his developing what would become known as the West Coast Offense as the QBs coach of the Bengals and Chargers in the 70s.

Then there's his biggest challenge and achievement- the turnaround of the San Francisco 49ers from league doormats to the team to beat in the 80s. From season to season, Walsh discusses the many highs and lows of coaching the Niners. He also goes into his philosophy and methods that helped keep the team successful over the years he coached them, and helped to maintain their success for several years following his departure. Sadly, many of his thoughts on how to improve and maintain a championship-form team would likely be considered outdated today, what with the added difficulties of less restricted free agency and the
salary cap, which he covers this in his follow-up, 'Finding The Winning Edge'.

Walsh also goes over the many trials and tribulations that he endured, such as learning the effects of drug abuse on players (lowlighted by a disastrous tryout by the infamous 'Hollywood' Henderson), and his coming close to quitting following the team's horrific showing in the strike-shortened 1982 season. I found his memories of dealing with the media somewhat absorbing, the high point- or low point, rather- being a confrontation with legendary Monday Night Football commentator Howard Cosell. Then there's the aspect of coaching that no sideline leader enjoys: the cutting of a beloved past-his-prime veteran. Walsh admits that this, out of all his duties, is the one he dreaded the most when he was running the show.

The last few pages are a small index of some of the most famous plays in 49er lore. Included is 'Brown Left Slot- Sprint Right Option' (Dwight Clark's Catch against Dallas), 'Red Right Tight- F Left- 20 HB Curl- X Up' (Montana's TD pass to Taylor to win Super Bowl XXIII), and a few other notable offensive formations.

Whether you're a Niner fan or a football follower in general, this is definitely one for your must-read list!

'Late

Jane Creswell has years of coaching and teaching coaches under her belt. She has done a great job of sharing some of the most basic and most important information on coaching in this great book. This book is also very helpful for those of us who want to do coaching in a Christian context. If you are considering coaching or being coached, this book is a must-read.

Christ-Centered Coaching: 7 Benefits for Ministry Leaders is a excellent introduction for Christian leaders to what coaching is and how it can help. The author, Jane Creswell, is no hack when it comes to coaching. She's the founder of the IBM Coaches Network and a Master Certified Coach, she's also a Christian with a passion to bring coaching to ministry leaders.

The strength of the book lies in Creswell's ability to dig into seven coaching approaches, which also serve as seven mental models or attitudes of a coach. Each chapter is illustrated with useful case studies of coaching situations that take the book from theory to real life. The seven are:

1. Leveraging strengths
2. Provide clarity and focus
3. Instill confidence
4. Catapult learning
5. Foster intentional progress
6. Coach others
7. Encourage God-sized goals

These seven may not sound particularly unique, they are not, what is unique is the way Creswell illustrates how coaching accomplishing these things in a non-directive way and integrates these with Scriptures. As such, this book is helpful to learn the mindset and approaches of a good coach. Both potential coaches and clients would benefit from reading it.

Christ-Centered Coaching adds to a growing library of coaching books for Christians.

I believe "Christ-centered Coaching" is a great book both for those who coach and those are coached. It gives clarity as to what coaching is and is not and what it can strive to attain. The book is easily understood, even by the novice to coaching. I would recommend this book as one to be read first by those who are just beginning to explore coaching.

A well-written book which appears to be targeted towards men and women who serve on the staffs of churches, it also provides valuable insights into how coaching works and how it can benefit everyone. It is organized in a manner that makes it easy to read, easy to understand, and easy to refer back to. I recommend it for everyone's library.

I bought this for a project in college and it turned out to be a lot better use. Have given it reads a few times just to remind myself of different aspects of the game. Helps in building a program and controlling your life as coaches sometimes get lost in coaching. Worth a read.

This is the one book I have constantly pushed around my high school to fellow coaches- in any sport- to read. The leadership and guidance is both thorough, entertaining and most of all, right on the money. Any new (or not so new) varsity coach would be very wise to read this and keep this book in their library to refer to it at least annually. However, you will find it difficult to reacquisition the book after loaning it to somebody. Perhaps the Athletic Director could buy one for each coach. It would saved me the ordeal buying now another one .

In Coaching and Control Bill Warren examines many key components that are often overlooked in books for coaches. From relationships between individual players, whole teams, school staff and communities to practice and game preparation, Warren gives coaches of every sport and level an excellent framework from which to develop your own philosophy on coaching. Additionally, this is one of the few coaching books that I have encountered where the writer isn't afraid to address situations in a non-politically correct way. It was nice to finally read someone who has coached and isn't afraid to tell it like it is. I highly recommend this book for the "new" and "old" coach. There is something for everyone here.

This book is the ONLY book that can help all coaches in every sport. Bill Warren has been through it all and presents tons of valuable information to help any coach navigate the "shark infested waters" of coaching. I wish I had this book 20 years ago. Coach Warren, thanks for all the help you have given me. This book is your best! Thanks!

Philippe Rosinski's book is essential reading not only for global coaches but also for corporate leaders and business professionals who interact with diverse customers, clients and colleagues. The book provides a comprehensive overview of the diversity of cultural orientations, as well as specific tools and recommendations for broadening and leveraging different cultural orientations in the workplace.

The centerpiece of the book is a comprehensive model, The Cultural Orientations Framework, which provides a structured format for identifying, assessing, developing and leveraging cultural differences. This model can readily be implemented in the workplace, serving as an objective tool for raising an executive's awareness regarding his/her cultural orientation blind spots. As an executive coach working primarily with American executives who are focused on increasing the breadth and flexibility of their cultural orientations, I have found this book to be a valuable resource for enhancing the cross-cultural capabilities of global executives.

Let me be clear, I don't finish reading books these days unless they are good and I certainly don't bother writing reviews unless I think the book is top notch. So it is a pretty safe bet that if you like any of the other books that I have reviewed, you will like this one.

Coaching Across Cultures is another one of those - must have books - for any serious coach working with professionals. Even if you are not interested in an international practice, (and who isn't) this book still is required reading. The book is really about understanding and integrating our differences. Rosinski who lives currently in Belgium, is an Engineer and a MCC by training who has worked in Silicon Valley.

The book is a bit of a smorgasbord. However, it is well designed and packaged so that each section can be considered a self contained component on cultural issues. Part One makes the case for a cultural framework when coaching and points out the dangers of our assumptions and belief systems when working with others of any origin or background. Part Two provides a high level overview of the key components of developing a cross cultural mindset. Although generalized in content, it also provides concrete examples and practical applications of how this plays out in our interactions with others. Part Three is a bit more conceptual and is well suited to those who come from an organizational development perspective. Roskinski has created his own Global Scorecard approach that is tied into his Cultural Orientations Framework. For my reading, it seems thorough, usable and comprehensive.

Coaching Across Cultures is well documented with references, a glossary and some interesting appendixes. There is little to find fault. Perhaps that is because, Rosinski himself is careful never to find fault. He is a great diplomat and finds a place for all styles and approaches whether it is the transactional techniques of some North American coaching styles to the transformational style of others.

If there is one area that I find a little weak, it is his discussion of self-assessment as a precursor the organizational assessment through his Global Scorecard. Now I am the first to admit that assessments are not only my area of interest, it is my business - so I have a bias. That said, I found Rosinski focus on the tools he prefers (the MBTI specifically) left me with the impression that this is THE tool. I also believe that this was not Roskinki's intention - as he does mention a few others but not some that I would have expected. Now don't get me wrong, I love the MBTI and the others he includes but I thought that at least a few more should have been mentioned or acknowledged.

This is a solid, well-written and great new contribution to the field of coaching and working within the global setting. Don't just get this book - read it. I can almost guarantee it will have a positive affect on how you will interact in the future with your clients.

This is the first, and currently only, book on coaching cross-culturally. The author brings the multifaceted perspective of culture into the coaching equation. The book starts with an introduction to coaching and culture and then goes in depth in cultural perspectives. The author wraps up the book with a couple chapters integrating all this into coaching practice.

Coaching is defined as "the art of facilitating the unleashing of people's potential to reach meaningful, important objectives" (page 4). Surprisingly there is nothing distinctly cross-cultural in the definition. Such as "the art of facilitating in culturally relevant ways the unleashing of people's potential..." This definition could come from any book on coaching. Culture is defined broadly to include not just nations and peoples, but corporate culture as well.

The real meat of the book is the second section, nearly half the text. The author presents a series of Cultural Orientations each with tools for how to assess them through coaching. Orientations such as a sense of power and responsibility, time, identity and purpose, organization and communication each have a chapter devoted to them. The author begins each chapter with a presentation of the various cultural perspectives on the Orientation, for example, concerning time there are grids of scarce or plentiful; one activity at a time or multiple tasks; and past, present or future orientation. The author presents a tool for the coach to understand the client's orientation, and for the client (and teammates) to understand himself or herself. The final section is a synthesis of the theory into practice. The author illustrates how he uses his detailed Cultural Orientation grid during coaching sessions.

This book is helpful for those interested in the cross-cultural issues. The book gets a bit lost in trying to reach a wide audience by focusing on at least three audience needs: skills for coaching people of other cultures, cross-cultural team awareness, and personal cultural awareness. The niche this book best fits would be a multicultural team trying to understand each other and how a team leader might coach them through that process of understanding.

The book is not solely dedicated to the international arena but for everyone who works with people from different organizations and backgrounds. The author's aim is to raise the level of awareness of cultural orientations and suggests how to use differences constructively. The book breaks out of the usual confines of cultural assumptions to find creative solutions. It introduces coaching and cross-cultural concepts, provides a framework for integrating coaching and cultural perspectives, and examines numerous cultural orientations. Rosinski presents a Culture Orientations Framework to assess and profile culture, and a Global Scorecard to help set targets at all levels. Chapters discuss how to leverage power and responsibility, time management, identity and purpose, organizational arrangements, notions of territory and boundaries, communication patterns, and modes of thinking. This is a very thoughtful treatment of an unusual and highly important subject.

Probably the best, easy-to-read book regarding coaching and mentoring for self-taught, busy managers.

This is a great "how to" book. It has plenty of "laundry lists" that all coaches must keep in mind at all times. It is one of the most comprehensive coaching books that I've seen for a long time. This "on my desk" book is guarranted to have plenty of high-liteing and dog-ears within a short period of time. This is a must for new or seasoned coaches and coaches-of-coaches.

First, let me disclose that I am a client of the author. So perhaps I should be upset with Mr. Brounstein for putting out a book that has the same information I paid him thousands of dollars to teach me. Buy the book.

Remember the first time you dealt with a difficult employee - the knot in your stomach as you called them into your office. Learn about giving constructive feedback instead of criticism, and you may just turn a problem employee into a model employee - it happened to me. The knot may not go away completely, but with this technique it will definitely be more manageable. Buy the book.

Work smarter not harder. Learn about Results-based Performance Management, and get results, not just busy employees. Teach your employees to manage themselves by holding them accountable for results, not just activities that you give them to do. Buy the book.

Learn about coaching techniques such as Tutoring With Questions that will get your employees to start answering their own questions - and getting the right answers. Buy the book.

About a year ago I suddenly found myself in charge of 100 employees that had been thrown together from different cultures as the result of mergers and corporate realignment. Through the techniques I learned from Marty that are revealed in this book, I have been able to build an effective team of managers who in turn have helped me turn the organization around. A year ago, we were missing committed deadlines one after another. Now, we consistently meet and often beat our commitments. I often refer to my copy of the book for a refresher on Marty's techniques and regularly refer my managers to the book when they run into difficult situations. Buy the book.

Just in case I forgot to mention it: Buy the book.

This would be an informational book for people who are coaching or mentoring others. There are lots of helpful tips on how to get others to work for you, not against you. These tips can be helpful when you want people to try their best.

This is an excellent tool for getting a better understanding on how to support and help my daughter improve in lacrosse. I wanted to play an active role by getting the book as well as equipment for both of us. Now we toss the ball to each other and practice what we've read in the book. She's definitely getting better.

Whether you're a lacrosse player, parent of a player, or a coach, this guide will teach you some important concepts. Games and drills to improve ability are included.

Don't let the title fool you, anyone with an interest in girl's lacrosse will benefit from reading this. Players, Parents, Coaches, etc. It does a really nice job of going over the basics and emphasizing what is important for a female lacrosse player. She offers some fun games and drills that can be used at any level.

This book is perfect for coaches and players who are new to the game of girls'/women's Lacrosse. Several years ago, when I was recruited to coach my daughter's youth league team, I searched high and low for a book, such as this one, covering the girls' game. I found plenty of books for boy's Lacrosse and a few that had a chapter or two covering girls' Lacrosse. Often, these books covered very outdated techniques and methods. Bottom line, there was no comprehensive guide for teaching and developing young girls into well-rounded Lacrosse players. Coach Tucker's book is a great guide for dad's like me who have men's Lacrosse experience, beginning coaches, new players, and, of course, baffled parents. My favorite section covers the suggested drills. Each drill is clearly defined and well diagramed. She also provides great advice for managing practice and keeping the girls involved and excited about playing lacrosse. I plan to implement many of her suggestions into my practices. A must read for coaches and parents who are interested in developing technically sound players who love the game of girls' Lacrosse.

If you are into detail coaching, preparation and being meticulous this is a great read. Van Gaal is a perfectionist in getting his team to compete, attention to detail is the Ajax motto.

During the late 1960's and early 1970's Rinus Michels and Ajax took flowing, attacking soccer and turned it into a science. This science has become widely known as 'Total Football.'

The fortunes of Ajax and the Dutch national team have always been inexorably linked. As it was in the 70's, 80's, and 90's Ajax's stars of today are the Dutch international stars of tomorrow: Cruyff, Van Basten, Kluivert etc.

In the early 1990's Louis Van Gaal and his staff took over at Ajax, reshaping the team, and in less than six years conquered Europe with what was essentially a youth team. Many of these former Ajax stars have gone on to become the backbone of the Dutch national team, and are among the world's best players.

Kormelink and Seeverens,' 'The Coaching Philosophies of Louis van Gaal and the Ajax Coaches,' is a wonderful book, that details Louis van Gaal's time at Ajax, including system/tactics, drills/training, youth development, goalkeeping and general philosophy. This book takes you behind the scenes of one Europe's most influential and respected clubs, allowing the reader the unique experience of critically observing Ajax through eyes of one of football's greatest minds. Van Gaal and his staff meticulously dissect all aspects of the Ajax system from the ground up, providing coaches, players and fans with an indispensable guide to attacking football.

Litmanen, Kluivert, Davids, Overmars, Kanu, Seedorf, the De Boers, Rijkaard, Van der Sar, Blind etc, all make an appearance, and Van Gaal's comments on their abilities, strengths and roles within the system make for some excellent reading. One of the most fascinating parts of the book from a fan's perspective, is Van Gaal's incredibly detailed account of Ajax's preparations for the Champions League final against AC Milan. He takes you through drills, training, tactics, even the warm up --not to mention the game itself, with the thoroughness one would expect from one of football's perfectionists.

Ultimately this is a book of philosophy and ideas, and is among the very best (of the many) football books I've read. Interestingly enough, it's also extremely accessible. While coaches at all levels will find it an extremely valuable resource, players and fans will find it equally informative. I highly recommend it to all fans of Dutch soccer and attacking football.

This a Bibel for all people, that likes Ajax Amsterdams 4-3-3 soccer. You simply become glad for Van Gaals`, and the others Ajax coaches way to think about the greatest sport, soccer !!

great subject,lot's of jari,and no adze's at all. makes me feel melancholic considering the lame results of ajax nowadays. But it remains to be the best club in the world so we have rank this book in importance above (for example) the work shakespierre or goethe

Covers all the basics with a personal touch. Well done!

As a first year Coach I found this book Excellent. It taught me tennis from the Coach's perspective, rather then the players.

I had played both High School Tennis, as well as College Tennis for a Southeastern Conference school. This book helped me to understand the mental part of the game that had top be imparted to the players, as well as the refresher for the physical part. Passing on the mental toughness required for the players was critical for their future in Tennis.

Iam a coach of a high school tennis team. I found your book right on the money. Thank you for writting it

As a beginning tennis coach, this book helped me immensely

This book introduces the new-ish discipline of Ontological Coaching, which might be described as the fascinating and grey area where Coaching begins to interact with Therapy. In other words, it is about coaching the 'Way of Being' as a route to the traditional coaching goals of improved performance and behaviour.

Sieler characterises the Way of Being as the interaction between Language, Emotions and Body, with the 'Soul' residing at the deep interface where all three meet together.

This book is the first of a trilogy (others yet to be published?), and it focuses in particular on Language. The importance of language to our way of being, the basic linguistic tools, and the hidden power of conversations are covered in some depth.

Clearly written, with much use of 'ontological coaching in action' narrative examples/case studies, the book is easy to read even if the concepts are harder to grasp! I would recommend it to anyone who is involved in coaching at any level and who wants to think about 'going deeper' in order to affect meaningful change.

As I reflect on my life (I am 50), I see that I have been blessed with some of the most talented teachers of the century. Almost every day I find myself thinking about what I learned twenty years ago from Dr. Fernando Flores. This book is based on the thinking that was introduced by Dr. Flores and is a new way of understanding the nature of being human. This learning has helped me to more effectively communicate, generate action in others, suffer less and open new possibilities. I never had an interest in philosophy and had no idea what ontology meant when I took my first course. I certainly did not have a clue as to the extent it would help me in my life. Alan's book is an excellent introduction and explanation of what we learned from Dr. Flores. While I am not a professional coach, I use what I have learned in my conversations with employees, co-workers, friends, and family on a daily basis.

To give you an idea of what the book and ontology is about, I quote Alan:

"As a discipline it is rigorously grounded in recent developments in existential philosophy, the philosophy of language, and biology of cognition.

While in Chile, Flores had many conversations with the biologist Humberto Maturana, whose novel, yet biologically grounded ideas on perception, cognition, language and communication greatly influenced him. These conversations were a key inspiration for his research, in which he particularly focused on the existential philosophy of Martin Heidegger and John Searle's Theory of Speech Acts. Flores was able to integrate the ideas of language and communication, and the formation of a new discipline.

It was Flores who invented the term Ontological Coaching. He wanted to produce more than a theoretical discipline. He was keen to ensure that the knowledge of a new discipline would be relevant and applicable to everyday living. In short, Flores developed a powerful and practical new approach to living, learning and working.

Creating his own company, Flores pursued the commercial applications of this new understanding of language and communication in organizational settings. As his company expanded he took on course developers, writers and facilitators, including two other Chileans, Julio Olalla and Rafael Echeverrria. While Flores' ideas were central to their program, they also added their own interpretations and extended the discipline, predominantly in the ontological domains of emotions and body."

Over the years, I have found many other excellent teachers that have used and benefited from the work of Dr. Flores. In addition to Julio, some of those teachers include Werner Erhard, Dr. Fred Kofman, James Flagherty, Dr. Matthew Budd, Tom Hanson & Birgit Zacher Hanson, Chalmers Brothers, and more. If you have read any of their books or taken one of their courses, you can see the imprint that Dr. Flores has had on their work.

Alan Seiler introduces us to this work in an easy to understand way that provides a foundation for learning from this master teacher. I applaud Alan on his outstanding job of putting into words these great teachings.

This book is my coaching bible. It is by far the best coaching book I've ever read. Interesting enough, it is about `being' not about `doing'. So many coaches these days believe coaching is about doing something to their clients; getting them to be more productive, motivated, etc. The focus on behavior or `first order change' as Seiler calls it, is the temporary fix of continuous process improvement. This approach to coaching is from an old paradigm, alive and well in many companies today. What often happens is that organizations and/or clients revert back to old familiar ways of being once the newness has worn off. Laying the groundwork for lasting change has to go deeper than behavior and into the way of being. A shift in the way of being creates a new foundation; there is no going back, except by conscious choice.

Coaching on way of being is not therapy. For those not skilled in psychology or therapy, it can appear that ontological coaching is therapy. Therapy however is focused on healing old wounds. Ontological coaching is focused in the present and how a shift in language (beliefs), emotions or somatic responses can create a new way of being and potentially a brighter and more fulfilling future.

This book is for coaches who want to be better coaches. It doesn't give you a fish, it teaches you how to fish. It is theoretical in its approach yet provides good practical examples.

This is an excellent book for learning how to take your listening and your coaching to deep and profound levels. I find that the insights I've gained through reading this book have greatly enhanced my own level of presence with clients, enabling me to assist clients to make lasting and transformational changes that I feel honored to witness.

I played high school volleyball for one of these authors, so I grew up playing all of the drills and games in this book. I am now a college coach myself & I STILL use this book as a reference guide when I go to plan out a practice. Your athletes will love the different games included in the book that put a different spin on the regular game of volleyball.

McGowan is a master teacher. When you implement his ideas and theories you can't help but become an awesome coach and your athletes will improve their physical and mental skills at an incredible rate.

As the subtitle "Building a Winning Team" implies, the book touches on the various aspects required to building a team. The authors do an admirable job of providing a wealth of information across a broad spectrum of topics. If you're interested in a general guide with the basics this is the book for you.

If you buy ONE book on how to coach volleyball, make it this one. Carl McGown is the "guru" of volleyball and if you read this book, implement what it says, your team will be better RIGHT NOW!

A book which goes beyond the x and o's to provide the coach with the correct skills and attitudes necessary to compete at a high level.