Coaching Books

The Lombardi Rules provides an insiders look at Lombardi's extroidinary methods and shows you how to adapt and adopt those methods for leadership success in your own career.
Pages 53 paperback

Exerpt Favorite chapter Page 1-2
"The Lombardi code is founded on the belief that you can only become a leader after developing your character-that is, after building integrity, honesty, and commitment. The way to develop these attributes is through self-knowledge. You can't improve what you don't understand.....The first steps on the road to self-knowledge involve asking ourselves the tough questions."

The employee handbook for enhancing corporate performace.
Table of contents
1. Ask yourself tough questions.
2. Look the straight truth on.
3. Play to your strengths.
4. Write your character.
5. Think big picture.
6. Be Completely committed.
7. Work harder than everybody.
8. Be prepared to sacrifice.
9. Be mentally tough.
10. Balance humility and pride.
11. Lead with Integrity.
12. Build team spirit.
13. Explain the whys.
14. Strike the balance.
15. Build confidence.
16. Use your mission.
17. Know your stuff.
18. Demand autonomy.
19. Respect legitimate authority.
20. Act, Don't React.
21. Keep it simple.
22. Chase perfection.
23. Tailor your motives.
24. Motivate by degrees.
25. Focus on fundamentals.
26. Run to win.

C. THE LOMBARDI RULES by Vince Lombardi Jr. is a
short but powerful book that has a lot of information in it that can be
used by coaches, business executives and just about anybody else
looking to succeed in today's world.

The author, whose father led the Green Bay Packers to five NFL
titles in seven years, compiled several of Lombardi's most
famous quotes; for example:

I would say that the quality of each man's life is the full measure
of that man's personal commitment to excellence and to victory--whether
it be football, whether it be business, whether it be politics or
government.

He then transformed the quote into a rule, such as: Be
Completely Committed . . . and after a brief discussion
of what it meant, Lombardi Jr. showed various techniques
to implement the rule in any organization.

In the case of how to up the "commitment quotient," he
suggested:

Start with yourself: Inspire those around you with your own level
of commitment. When leaders go the extra mile, their troops will
follow.

Talent only gets you so far: A person with 100 percent ability
and 50 percent commitment can throw a wrench into the whole
system through inattention, inconsistency and laziness.

Weed out the uncommitted: The organization that wins is
populated by winners. Weed out the uncommitted and get
the last 10 percent out of everyone.

A cute cartoon that accompanied each chapter also added
to my enjoyment of THE LOMBARDI RULES.

This is an excellent oral history about the art of baseball managing. In the 1970's author Donald Honig interviewed 15 former baseball managers (many long retired), including Joe McCarthy, Al Lopez, Walt Alston, Billy Herman, Dick Williams, etc. We hear them speak passionately about their days as team skipper, and often as player too. These men differ somewhat on their recipes for success, but nearly all agreed that good managers handle players effectively, get their respect, and get them to hustle. Eddie Sawyer insisted that catchers and outfielders take infield practice to increase their skills - a valuable idea he attributed to Joe McCarthy. Paul Richards and certain others emphasized practice and preparation on every aspect of the game. Others promoted not becoming buddies with your players, basic fundamentals, and watching opposing players practice to learn their tendencies. Many of these ex-managers were elderly (Joe McCarthy was nearly 90), but each spoke clearly and from the heart.

This book is valuable reading for today's coaches/managers at both the amateur and professional ranks - wish I'd read it before becoming assistant coach in high school. Readers should also consider BASEBALL WHEN THE GRASS WAS REAL (also by Honig) and GLORY OF THEIR TIMES (by Lawrence Ritter), two excellent oral histories of baseball from long ago.

This is one more Donald Honig masterpiece that you should add to your baseball library. In this edition, Honig interviews player-managers Ossie Bluege, Roger Peckinpaugh, and Hall of Famers Burleigh Grimes and Al Lopez, among others. This time, you read the stories of a manager's point of view as well, which is very interesting.

This book is about a rookie third baseman coming up the line to tag out a lumbering Ty Cobb. About Early Wynn just walking into a tryout camp and announcing himself. About how the Chicago White Sox didn't always play to win in 1919-20.

One of the more memorable parts is Roger Peckinpaugh reflecting on how the illiterate Shoeless Joe Jackson had to listen to what his teammates ordered for dinner first because he could not read the menu. Jackson, by the way, was one of the greatest natural hitters of all time, showing how things were in those days and how they have changed so much.

Michael Ross' book is a comprehensive and well thought out book with practical applications to real issues encountered in training. This book is a must-have for any competetive or committed cyclist, runner or skater. The subjects are also applicable for other athletes, providing useful information regarding common medical problems and situations encountered with physical activity.

Dr. Ross' witty prose makes this book easy to read as well as helpful...He is well versed and knowledgeable about this very important subject.

I look forward to Dr. Ross' next installment!

Maximum performance by Michael Ross is one of the best books on the topic of sports medicine for endurance athletes, especially cyclists. What makes the book an invaluable resource for athletes is its foundation in evidence-based medical research. (Dr. Ross lists complete references with every chapter.) Dr. Ross has a way of synthesizing the research into a practical format which non-medical readers can easily digest, comprehend, and apply to their exercise routines. The cycling world should welcome this book to their libraries as a standard essential text and await further work from Dr. Ross.

I watched Dr. Michael Hall, Phd. deliver a 70 minute presentation on the Axis of Change Model and am a true believer. This book, and its sequel in volume II will provide hard copy backup to the incredibly 'bright' and simple approach that Dr. Hall lends to this topic.

I can say with certainty that buying this book will change and enhance my relationships with other human beings and allow me to achieve a greater sphere of influence in my personal and avocational lives.

Don't think about buying this book, just do it! Come on, I dare you...

You have evaluated all you need to at this point, so TAKE ACTION and
open up grand new avenues for your spheres of influence and persuasive
abilities.

Imagine yourself reading this book in just two days and take action now.

Satisfaction is virtually assured. Enjoy!

There are not many excellent books on Coaching in the marketplace.

This one shares with us the HOW TO, how to excel at coaching, getting to a deeper level and finding the big WHY that holds a person back, and how to coach a person to overcome it up to and including transformation.

Meta-Coaching V.1 is a "canned" course on coaching. If it is not possible to attend a Meta-Coaching course and learn all about the amazing models tried, tested, proved and presented, this is the answer. For those people that have attended a course, this helps to solidify the learnings.

If you were to read just one chapter, it would make a difference to your perspective. This is a book that you would refer to again and again - it would become your bible of coaching!

As far as I am concerned, it is an indictment for a serious coach NOT to own this book!

This is a very important concept, to put kids sports into perspective because this is supposed to be a fun thing and often is unitl parents become too involved. Also recommended: Everything You Never Wanted To Know About Your Nonprofit Corporation by Ms. Cellaneous, The Unknown Attorney--about what happened in on kids nonprofit booster club, and tel1s how to recognize a child molester in your midst s well as how to form a nonprofit organization, etc. Both of these books have a similar purpose and both an do a good job, in my opinion in educating people about what to expect and what to happen and how to just keep things cool.

Ably written by a certified volunteer coach of 10 years' experience, Darrell Erickson's Molding Young Athletes is a practical guide for parents and coaches about balancing fun in youth sports with promoting positive team dynamics, fostering competitive spirit, and helping each team member become motivated and reach his or her full potential. A "user-friendly" guide that warns against modern over-emphasis on winning, and embraces the importance of helping kids learn and grow through sports, Molding Young Athletes should be mandatory reading for anyone who parents or coaches a boy or girl in any form of sports or athletic activity.

Bravo! Finally, a sales manual that has pulled us out of the dark ages and into the new millennium. This is a must-read for individuals currently working within any given sales field who truly desire to evolve from their conditioned patterns of thought regarding archaic selling techniques.

I highly recommend this refreshing and innovative new book for anyone wanting to achieve mastery as a sales person within this highly competitive market. Gaining new insight from a unique viewpoint by the individual authors sheds important light on how to bring effective change to all sales aspects.

By utilizing the alternative approaches presented in this book, preconceived barriers are broken down replacing old beliefs with new concepts allowing the flow of unlimited success within the new parameters.

This book provides a great method to improve leadership skills. It has plain spoken midwestern common sense tools to help anyone who wants to be a better business person. I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in improving productivity and focus. Do the exercises and you'll improve.

Buy this set before you waste any money on a voice instructor.

My girlfriend has the alto edition of this--it sounded good but the keys were all wrong for me. This one fits my voice, and the information is good: not overly detailed information, but very straightforward and clear. I sing through about a half of the CD before I go to band practise and it works, my voice is warmed up for singing and I don't strain. From the book I've learned a lot more about how my voice operates. Thumbs up from me.

I loved Coach Gagliardi's methods. Although, I don't agree with everything he believes in that it can be transferred to the workplace; I do think he has a outlook that more businesses should look at. Simple quick read.

I manage a large staff in a financial services firm. Since I started the position a year ago, I've had problems dealing with the various personalities on staff and keeping productivity at an acceptable level. After reading this book a few weeks ago, I immediately started implementing the suggestions in "No How Coaching." Now, I can tell everyone that I've already seen results, which shocks even me because nothing else has worked. Productivity has increased. My staff is working better together. This book is amazing! If you are a company president or the lowliest peon, read this book and your business WILL IMPROVE!

I can't write a review of this since I wrote the book itself. But I'll also mention, adding to the above description, that there is much food for thought for singers, conductors, directors, and chorus masters. "Techniques" may refer to ways an opera coach rehearses, but "Considerations" delves into the stylistic aspects of each composer or composition group and what makes one group different from another. There is a rather complete list of vocal Fachs at the end, including many roles omitted in similar lists elsewhere. A "Preferred Edition" section is also part of the Appendix.
As to the number of stars - you think I'm going to give it less than that?

I highly recommend this book to anyone who works with professional opera singers on a regular basis. I have a degree in accompanying and have been working in the opera/musical theater world for over 12 years but still this little book covered essential information that I have not encountered anywhere else. It is also a great assurance to the coach who may feel overwhelmed by this unwieldy profession. Immediately after reading this book, I found my coaching techniques to be refined and I was more confident about exactly what I should (and should not) be saying to singers in my coachings with them. I'm also in the position of hiring pianists for staging rehearsals and I wish that all aspiring "repetiteurs" would read this book as well. It thouroughly examines what is expected of the pianist in this unique and sometimes frustrating role. Kudos to Mr. Montgomery for taking some of the mystery out of this mysterious career path. The book is heavier on considerations than on techniques, so perhaps some day a follow-up book could be written (that of course would be a much larger tome) with more specific ideas on how to guide singers to their goals. In the mean time, no book I know will serve the coach/accompanist better in dealing with the challanges of this wonky gig. Mr. Montgomery deserves praise for turning many a gladdening and humorous phrase in a book that could have otherwise been drier than Grout!

This is a great book for teaching a hard-nosed, common-sense approach when digging in at the plate. No one knew the situation at the plate than Charlie Hustle. Pete Rose thought going 2-4 was an off day. Now THAT's a tough mental approach that I can respect.

The chapters dealing with the mechanics of a solid swing are great. Perhaps even better are the numerous mental tips on how to approach an at-bat for all situations and hitting styles. My wife and I are expecting a son in February and this will be his first book I buy him...right after the Bible, of course.

Excellent job of explaining the most important fundamentals succintly with inspiring mental approach to the game. Great large format pictures accompany the text. Advanced topics include details on the two strike stroke, practical reasons for a hitchless compact swing, and other useful "insider" tips. Text should be easy to read by any player 12+.