11 Game Changing Books Every Good Coach Needs to Read

If you’ve ever tried to coach, you know the experience can mean frustration, anxiety, and sheer helplessness. The fact of the matter is not everyone is cut out to lead young athletes. Coaching college kids can be especially challenging, because players’ egos have been stoked by months or even years of recruiting, but they have yet to reach the maturity level of (most) professional athletes. Good coaches know how to lead their players to victory on the field, but great coaches can inspire them to reach new heights when they’ve removed the jersey. These 11 books will help you become one of the greats.

1. Wooden on Leadership: How to Create a Winning Organization by John Wooden

   Few books by sports coaches can claim to have insights that have been utilized by CEOs. John Wooden was the embodiment of the great coach, beloved by players and fans. He won 10 NCAA championships as the head basketball coach at UCLA, including seven in a row. This book explains his winning coaching style he called the "Pyramid of Success," which involved simple messages for motivating his players in sports and in life, like "Failing to prepare is preparing to fail." If you read one book on this list, make it this one.

2. Finding the Winning Edge by Bill Walsh

   Few players, let alone coaches, have left such a lasting impact on a sport as Bill Walsh had on football. The man who created the West Coast offense also revolutionized coaching by proving struggling teams could be turned into championship teams. Walsh found the way to win by building a game plan, creating an excellent staff, and giving opportunities to players many said were no good (the name Joe Montana ring a bell?). This is the rare book that can go into minute detail about football and still please readers who’ve never held a pigskin.

3. Sacred Hoops: Spiritual Lessons of a Hardwood Warrior by Phil Jackson

   If your coaching style of throwing chairs and foaming at the mouth isn’t doing the trick, try being more Zen. As one of the 10 best coaches in NBA history, Phil Jackson knows a thing or 11 (his number of championships) about winning. Instead of trying to "win through intimidation," Jackson preaches an enlightened message of team cooperation to his players. You’ll almost never catch him screaming from the sidelines, or even out of his seat, for that matter. In Sacred Hoops, Jackson proves how he earned the nickname "the Zen Master."

4. Joe Torre’s Ground Rules for Winners: 12 Keys to Managing Team Players, Tough Bosses, Setbacks, and Success by Joe Torre

   The journeyman Yankees coach brings you his 12 patented principles for success as a coach or manager with Ground Rules for Winners. In his time in New York, Torre brought home two World Series trophies and led the Bronx Bombers to the best single-season record ever, all while dealing with some of the game’s biggest egos and media stars. Torre’s unique style seeks to create a sense of family among the players. You’d be wise to mimic his approach.

5. Quiet Strength: The Principles, Practices, and Priorities of a Winning Life by Tony Dungy

   Football attracts tough guys because of the violent nature of the game. Tony Dungy found success with the Indianapolis Colts despite hardships like losing his son in 2005 and being a black man in a predominantly white role. Dungy disagreed with the traditional belief that to command men’s respect you have to swear and scream at them. He made his Christian faith his top priority and used it as the foundation of his teaching style. Quiet Strength is the game-changing story of how to use coaching to make people better.

6. Coaching the Mental Game: Leadership Philosophies and Strategies for Peak Performance in Sports and Everyday Life by H. A. Dorfman

   Sports psychology is a groundbreaking field of study that deals with a part of sports no one ever thought to pay much attention to: the mental game. Coaches have traditionally been concerned with how fast, strong, and tough athletes are. But Dorfman and others have shown the powerful effect the mind can have on physical performance. This is an essential book to teach coaches of any sport how to improve their players’ concentration, focus, and attitude.

7. The Art of Learning: An Inner Journey to Optimal Performance by Josh Waitzkin

   Movie buffs and chess aficionados will recall the name of child phenom Josh Waitzkin, whose story was immortalized in the movie "Searching for Bobby Fischer." In later life, Waitzkin went on to become a martial arts world champ. After dominating two sports, he realized his best skill is knowing how to learn. Discover the importance of proper training for athletic achievement as Waitzkin takes you through his system of learning from mistakes, embracing defeat, mastering the mental side of competition, and more.

8. Never Give In! The Best of Winston Churchill’s Speeches by Winston S. Churchill

   After enough time on the job, eventually every coach finds his team behind in a crucial game looking for a way to rally his troops. Who better to use for inspiration than the most eloquent troops-rallier of all time, Mr. Winston Churchill. This compilation of speeches exemplifies the legendary Prime Minister’s ability to stir the soul. Read this book and tell your team, "As long as we have faith in our own cause and an unconquerable will to win, victory will not be denied us."

9. Stretching Scientifically: A Guide to Flexibility Training (4th Revision Ed.) by Thomas Kurz

   It’s not a sexy aspect of coaching, but a strong knowledge of stretching is a weapon every good coach needs. As far as being a game-changer, having the team that is more limber, flexible, and injury-averse is an obvious way to rise above the rest. People who demand maximum flexibility like martial artists have been turning to Kurz’s Stretching Scientifically since its first edition came out in 1994. Now in its fourth version, Kurz delivers expert info about the physiology of stretching, as well as the best methods for you and your team to get loose before game time.

10. Play Their Hearts Out: A Coach, His Star Recruit, and the Youth Basketball Machine by George Dohrmann

    Coaches with young players would be well-served to pick up a copy of this book by award-winning sportswriter George Dohrmann. The story is a cautionary tale of the insane, cutthroat world of youth basketball. Dohrmann details the way children as young as 8 are targeted by greedy coaches in the hopes of cashing in on "the next LeBron." It should be a sobering wake-up call to remind coaches that sports are games, and there is much more to life.

11. Faith in the Game: Lessons on Football, Work, and Life by Tom Osborne

    Before Tony Dungy there was Tom Osborne. As the football coach at Nebraska, Osborne coached the Huskers to three national championships and retired with an incredible 87% win-loss record. Like Dungy, Osborne relied on a slow-and-steady system of building players’ character by displaying his own through faith, hard work, and dedication. If you’ve been looking for a quick fix, look elsewhere. This book is for coaches who are in it for the long haul.

Taken From Accredited Online Colleges