(Part 2) Best sports coaching books according to redditors
We found 367 Reddit comments discussing the best sports coaching books. We ranked the 127 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the products ranked 21-40. You can also go back to the previous section.
> Why doesn't the o-line power- instead of zone-block? I think they're more physically suited for it but must be missing something.
Our OL coach is Rick Trickett and zone-blocking is his thing. See his book on OL blocking
Inverting the Pyramid - Jonathan Wilson
A pioneering book that chronicles the evolution of soccer tactics and the lives of the itinerant coaching geniuses who have spread their distinctive styles across the globe.
Teambuilding: the road to success - Rinus Michels
The late Rinus Michels, FIFA's Coach of the Century, offers his unique insight into the process of "teambuilding".
The Coaching Philosophies of Louis Van Gaal and the Ajax Coaches - Henny Kormelink and Tjeu Seeverens
Louis van Gaal, Frans Hoek, Co Adriaanse and fitness coach Bobby Haarms discuss their training methods and philosophies in this book full of creative ideas for soccer coaches at any level.
Dutch Soccer Secrets - Peter Hyballa & Hans-Dieter te Poel
This book is a first attempt to present expert knowledge of internationally proven useful and effective Dutch soccer coaching in theory and practice, based on qualitative data collection.
Attacking Soccer: a tactical analysis - Massimo Lucchesi
This book examines match strategies for creating goal scoring opportunities out of various systems of play.
Outliers: The Story of Success - Malcolm Gladwell
Gladwell takes us on an intellectual journey through the world of "outliers"--the best and the brightest, the most famous and the most successful. He asks the question: what makes high-achievers different?
The Numbers Game: Why Everything You Know About Soccer Is Wrong - Chris Anderson, David Sally
Innovation is coming to soccer, and at the centre of it all are the numbers—a way of thinking about the game that ignores the obvious in favour of how things actually are.
Football Against the Enemy - Simon Kuper
Kuper travelled to 22 countries from South Africa to Italy, from Russia to the USA, to examine the way football has shaped them.
Easiest place to find all-22 and end zone angles is the coach's film from NFL Gamepass, but it costs a lot of money for the amount of usage you'd get out of it at this point. You can watch the coach's film for any game going back, but it's definitely worth more at the start of the season when you can watch the games after they happen instead of going back and trying to watch all the games at once.
Once you get the coach's film, I think that a good place to start for defensive strategies is Matt Bowen's NFL 101 series on Bleacher Report. Here's his breakdown of how cover 2 man works as an example. Once you go through those, you can start seeing what defensive players are doing and trying to figure out what the general defensive playcall was. You still can't be sure what the playcall was (especially with some hybrid defenses that Zimmer runs or when someone blows a zone), but you can get much more of a feel for what's going on. Coach interviews in season on team websites are also cool. As an example, before Lombardi was fired from the Lions he pointed out in a video on their website that sometimes our blitzer in the double A-gap pressure look is not predetermined. We have a pressure play where both LBs will take a step toward the A gap and read where the center is turning; if the center turns to his left, the LB on his left will drop into coverage and the LB on his right will blitz. If he turns to his right, the LB on his right will drop into cover and the LB on his left will blitz. It's a really cool wrinkle to our defense that I wouldn't have known about otherwise.
On offense, especially for the run game, I like old NFL offensive playbooks. Some, like a few of Norv's actually, will give some good detail on the blocking assignments for the offensive line and the keys the HB is supposed to read. You may have to Google some of the terminology for the types of blocks, but that stuff should be out there.
Can also get the Complete Offensive Line by Rick Trickett if you're really crazy, but it adds limited value. Goes more in depth for what he and his system expect for offensive linemen's footwork and hand placement for various types of blocks, but not all techniques are ubiquitous. The book is aimed more to help learn how to coach offensive line and goes through drills to use in practice, so if you just want to watch tape you can probably skip that book.
For pass offense there's lots of stuff online about various route concepts and what they beat (e.g. how the pin route combination beats cover 4) Once you start watching lots of tapes and get a feel for what defensive schemes are trying to do, why the offense is doing what it is doing becomes more obvious (e.g. read man coverage, motion outside receiver to inside the numbers, CB in man plays with inside leverage, WR runs a quick out with the extra space after the motion for a fairly easy completion).
Another great tool is that Belichick will break down important plays for the Patriots every week and explain the important bits. Probably one of the coolest sources you can get on what's going on in a play right there.
There's lots of stuff out there, but I'm personally hesitant to trust anything that isn't coming from an ex-NFL player or coach. There's a lot of people (myself included) that think they know what is going on but are at best spouting educated guesses or parroting things more informed people have said previously.
Hope that was helpful.
Got to play minor hockey my whole life but if you don't have that luxury, play the NHL series on xbox. Also, reading this book helped my Dutch fiend
I would start here for a high level organizational start and understanding offensive schemes and adjustments.
https://www.amazon.com/Defensive-Coordinators-Football-Handbook-Hand/dp/1606793306
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Best defensive book I have read
https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Linebacking-Lou-Tepper/dp/1450466451/ref=sr_1_1?qid=1562856723&refinements=p_27%3ALou+A+Tepper&s=books&sr=1-1&text=Lou+A+Tepper
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If your team has been a sht show for a while, don't worry so much about attempting to do a lot of schematic things. Pick one front (4-2, 3-3 etc) learn a single zone coverage (C2,C3,C4 etc) and a man coverage (C1) add in only a very few blitzes. From there you can practice scheme specific drills with your guys. Spend more time on tackling and block destruction than anything else. Get comfortable with what you do and make sure you know how to formation adjust against everything you see. Get through one season doing it really simply and then review for additions and subtractions.
Key words: Simple, fundamentals, adjustments.
Soccer Modern Tactics: Italy's Top Coaches Analyze Game Formations Through 180 Situations
Concept Passing: Teaching the Modern Passing Game
The Bunch Attack: Using Compressed Formations in the Passing Game
Run-And-Shoot Football: The Now Attack
Lavell: Airing It Out
Bought all these when I wanted to learn more about the passing game.
If you have time, you'll want to check out at least these two books:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FC2RT0/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
https://www.amazon.com/Education-Coach-David-Halberstam-ebook/dp/B007SO33MI/ref=pd_sim_351_3/142-2988695-0727455?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B007SO33MI&pd_rd_r=e097729a-76f2-45ab-b22e-0057b35e8fe9&pd_rd_w=lKbTg&pd_rd_wg=wo5v8&pf_rd_p=5abf8658-0b5f-405c-b880-a6d1b558d4ea&pf_rd_r=DEKC3848V0PX0B9DA953&psc=1&refRID=DEKC3848V0PX0B9DA953
These two I know are worth your time. This third one I haven't read but it came up when I was looking for those two and it sounds like it's right up the alley of this topic: https://www.amazon.com/Strategy-Concepts-Bill-Belichick-Leadership-ebook/dp/B013WCW31G/ref=pd_sim_351_4/142-2988695-0727455?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B013WCW31G&pd_rd_r=e097729a-76f2-45ab-b22e-0057b35e8fe9&pd_rd_w=lKbTg&pd_rd_wg=wo5v8&pf_rd_p=5abf8658-0b5f-405c-b880-a6d1b558d4ea&pf_rd_r=DEKC3848V0PX0B9DA953&psc=1&refRID=DEKC3848V0PX0B9DA953
Sounds like you’re ready. It’s going to be fun!
Work on that week side stopping and stopping from top speed.
As far as positioning and stuff, checkout this book- it’s worth it.
https://www.amazon.com/Hockey-Plays-Strategies-Mike-Johnston/dp/149256253X/
Double comment, but Robert Peters is a good person to look at for football strategy stuff.
This is a breakdown of the ram's third down offense from last year, and he's got a bunch of other stuff getting into the bones of how offenses run.
What if you tried a book about the Hockey Strategies? Maybe this helps.
Yeah there a couple simple factors behind what the Rams do with their personnel
While most NFL coaches talk about how they want to keep defenses guessing by making every play look the same, McVay actually does so by giving defenses run action on more than 95 percent of under center looks, no matter if it's a tailback handoff, an end around to a motion man or a play action pass."
Get a copy of Robert Trent Jones Jr's "Golf by Design." Course management explained by one of the best course designers out there.
https://www.amazon.com/Golf-Design-Reading-Features-Course/dp/B003P2VBT4
I just finished Ben Hogan's Five Fundamentals and Clive Scarff's "Why you suck at golf".
I'm thinking of downloading Darrell Klassen's books now. He's got some videos on youtube also. Haven't determined if he really has a different approach to the golf swing, or he's just a shyster.
Sure!
Football-related:
Non-football-related:
Check out this book: https://www.amazon.com/Game-Plan-Approach-Decision-National/dp/1475233353
It discusses the ages and such in which coaches decision making peaks.
The Rock Warrior's Way by Arno Ilgner is pretty popular.
Espresso Lessons From the Rock Warrior's Way is also by Arno Ilgner.
Vertical Mind by Don McGrath and Jeff Elison is a newer option.
Also read a portion of "The Games That Changed The Game: The Evolution of the NFL in Seven Sundays". Talks about Sid Gillman's Chargers, the 70s Steelers, the '85 Bears, Bill Belichick's Super Bowl gameplan, etc.
It's interesting. Not so much history of the teams as much as it is history of concepts, like Sid Gillman's vertical passing concepts, the 70s Steelers' uses of Cover-2, Buddy Ryan's 46, etc. Very fascinating book.
Would also recommend.
There's a whole book of these:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Climbing-Games-Paul-Smith/dp/1906095167
Bought it, but haven't really read it yet, mostly flipped through it.
If you haven't heard of it yet, I think you'd really enjoy the rock warrior's way. It's a wonderful book about how to focus and engage with fear in a methodical way. There's a follow-up of practical exercises in Espresso Lessons. Both these books put the whole thought process into the clearest words I've ever read or heard.
I'm a kinesthetic learner so nothing opened by eyes to that stuff until I went on a coaching course and had to do practical sessions.
'How to coach a soccer team' by Tony Carr (former West Ham academy manager) was decent. It's mostly diagrams accompanied by instructions to explain whats going on.
Zauli had a book where he interviewed top Italian managers on tactics and formations, I haven't read it but it seems interesting -
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1591640253/ref=cm_sw_r_other_taa_ZrxQzbZWFBWZ9
The Pep Guardiola books (Confidential, and Evolution) by Marti Perarneu have some theoretical and philosophical musings in that may help.
I'd add Jason Robillard's book. It's got a lot of practical advice for people wanting to give it a go.
Here are a few books I would recommend.
Concept Passing
Quick Passing Game
Offensive Line
R4 Passing System
That sounds like waiting until you get stronger before you start lifting weights.
Get The Barefoot Running Book, fix your form, and your weak feet/legs.
With the exception of people who have torn or broken body parts nobody need to wait until something happens before they go barefoot (which will fix your form faster and easier than minimalist shoes). Support is the problem, not the solution.
PS: Use your brain, don't go crazy and try to run a marathon barefoot or anything. We have all spent lots of years trying to get it wrong. It will take a year or two to get it right.
reddit.com/r/footballstrategy/wiki
The Games that Changed the Game
Take your eyes off the ball
Blood Sweat and Chalk
are all great if you want to get into detail
You may want this:
https://www.amazon.com/Strategy-Concepts-Bill-Belichick-Leadership-ebook/dp/B013WCW31G
I agree with the others, joining a club team or getting a coach is going to be very beneficial. If you never compete against others in a real game situation, it will be near impossible to make it to the next level.
As far as technical skills go, I would start off with getting a good first touch. This will give you more control over the ball, and will help you keep it when you do receive it. You can work on your touch by playing wall ball with yourself, working on one and two touches/ground and air balls, or just passing with a friend. For getting more comfortable with the ball on your foot, play keep-ups while alternating feet, trying to reach at least 200 in a row before you start using other surfaces of the foot and doing other tricks. Once you can keep the ball up, your control and comfort in the ball will increase. The final evolution I would do would be dribbling with both feet through a field of random cones, trying to cut around them and turn.
As far as flashy moves go, they are okay to spend time on but shouldn’t be your main focus. All you need to beat a defender 99% of the time is a change of direction and speed. Teaching yourself to do fancy moves might make you more confident but more than likely you will never do those moves in a game. To work on turning, I would recommend learning a pullback, Cruyff, inside and outside chop. You can practice these with a Coerver Square. Finally, don’t worry if you can’t do the flashy moves that your friends can do or all the juggling tricks. what is more important is your touch, speed, and agility.
A great book for learning more about the mental aspect/decision making part of the game is a book called Soccer IQ by Dan Blank. Finally, watch soccer in person or on tv. The World Cup this summer will be a great chance to do this. Try to pick out a player in your position and watch how they move in the formation, what responsibilities they have, and who they typically play the ball to. Good luck!
http://www.amazon.com/Why-You-Suck-Golf-ebook/dp/B005O58SQO
Great article. Jason Robillard is an excellent runner as well as great writer.
Ideally, the left back would be about 6-8 yards behind and to the left of the center back. This might leave space on the wing, so when the cross comes in make sure it is man to man marking in the box. If you have trouble dealing with crosses, you could try calling the midfield/winger back, or stretching out a little bit so that the left and right backs are closer to the opponent's wingers.
The best book that I have read that explains this is - Soccer: Modern Tactics
It has been translated from Italian, so the English isn't perfect, but it goes into a lot more depth than I have. Also, there is a kindle version so you can read it online.
I read this book: http://www.amazon.com/Golf-Design-Reading-Features-Course/dp/B003P2VBT4
You might like it.
http://www.amazon.com/Espresso-Lessons-Rock-Warrior%1As-Way/dp/0974011231/
Direct Amazon Link
Skip all the factory crap. They exist to sell clubs, not lower scores.
Find a clubfitter and get a set made to your swing.
http://www.amazon.com/Search-Perfect-Golf-Club-Wishon/dp/1587261855
read this book before you spend any money.
I'll do you one better - here's the link:
http://www.amazon.com/Game-Plan-Approach-Decision-National/dp/1475233353/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1411489952&sr=8-3-fkmr1&keywords=gameplan+nfl+decision+making
Finding the Winning Edge - Bill Walsh
Football Scouting Methods - Steve Belichick
Gameplan
I personally haven't read either of these books but they each have a few good reviews and might be what you're looking for.
1 2
This one is a bit dry but worth it.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1552090507/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1418420351&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SY200_QL40
2 books come to mind, coaching climbing and climbing games
Coaching climbing is just what it sounds like, a book about coaching. It's got a lot of information you may or may not need, but it's a great resource for drills and activities, some of which take the form of games. Bonus points for pictures of Tommy Caldwell and Chris Sharma in their early teens.
Climbing games is a tiny little book with 50 or so "games" in it. Some of them are great, some of them are useless, and some of them don't even make sense, but it only costs $11 and it's easy to flip through right before a class if you need quick ideas.
See if you can convince your climbing gym to buy both of those books. It's a pretty paltry investment for a gym, and they're worth it to help new instructors come up with fun and useful classes.
Long story short: with the advent of launch monitors and high speed video, we finally have a good idea of "why flight happens." However, it seems that many people, and even well intended instructors, have yet to review the math and the science.
Stiff shafts are a trivial component on the math of slicing. Without doing the math, the reason you slice is because you hit the ball with an open club face relative to instantaneous path of the club head immediately at impact. See here for a nice explanation.
The solution is simply learning how to release through the ball, or turn your hands over.
Still doubtful? Find somebody on the driving range that is crushing the ball. Then take your driver up to him and say "would you mind testing out my driver?" If they have skill, they will not slice the ball any more or less than a stiff shaft. If they are really good, they will be able to slice, fade, straight, draw and hook the ball. All with the same club.
If you have a bit of a scientific bent, I would suggest buying this book for some of the physics of the golf swing. One of the earliest, but holds up well over time. They were also the first ones to point out that the traditional "golf flight rules" were simply wrong, regardless of how many pros insisted they were right!
You may want to buy a new driver, or try a new shaft. However, you will find yourself very disappointed in that it does not fix your slice. By the way, both Jamie Sadlowski, VJ Singh, and (ahem) myself will use the Whippy tempomaster to train. You have not seen a flexible shaft like this training aid. Nobody slices this club if they have the right release.
http://www.amazon.com/Search-Perfect-Swing-Scientific-Fundamentally/dp/1572437294#reader_1572437294
I don't know where I got 145mph. But this is where I got the information.
This is a good one too:
"Dutch Soccer Secrets"
https://www.amazon.com/Dutch-Soccer-Secrets-Peter-Hyballa/dp/1841263273
This had some good reading besides the instruction.
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You will need at some point to really break it down to a base level, eg: how do you kick a ball?
This is not a brilliant book, but it outlines the absolutee basics and so it has value.
https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Football_Skills.html?id=3RZKAAAACAAJ
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Soccer IQ
This is well worth the read :
https://www.amazon.com/Soccer-IQ-Things-Smart-Players/dp/1469982471
Any advise on where to start if I want to get into coaching? Football has always been in my life, playing since I was of age to and played only my senior year unfortunately.
I recently purchased this defensive coordinators book because I figured I'd start learning more on the defensive side because I played LB in HS. Is there any books you recommend? I really just want to take in as much as I can so it can be about offense/defense or just coaching in general.
I'm trying to volunteer with coaching at a low level to get my feet wet but it's a little difficult while overseas and only having the option of one DoD high school.
I bet you have the wrong driver
"standard length" 10 or 9 degrees loft? Regular or perhaps stiff flex?
Throw it in the lake, and use your three
ironwood from now until you regularly hit 16/16 fairwaysThen buy this book
https://www.amazon.com/Search-Perfect-Golf-Club/dp/1587261855
Then thank me
I feel like someone should just send 30 copies of this to Mike Petke.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ITD6L3A/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1