Best Coaching Psychology Books
Whether you coach a high school, college, or professional team, understanding and knowing how to motivate your team, and individual players, is of utmost importance. And while there are a slew of practical steps you can take to motivate your team and players, there is also a wide-breadth of information available to help you hone your skills.
That is why, below, we are going to discuss and review the best coaching psychology books currently available on the market. These books will not only help you to better motivate your team but will also give you deeper insight into specific areas to focus on to more efficiently do so.
Coaching Champions for Life
Recommended by Collegiate Baseball News as “A must read for any coach!” and endorsed by the American Baseball Coaches Association. Coaching Champions for Life is recommended by youth, high school and college coaches across the country as an invaluable aid in planning for the season, practices, and games.
The book persuasively describes how to get the most out of players by first connecting with, validating, and supporting the person. Next, it demonstrates how and why training the athlete is essential to maximizing the development of the player.
Once the foundation of the person and athlete are established, the book describes the process to prepare and develop the players and team to be the best they can be for sport, careers, and life. The book includes chapters on preparing for and developing championship practices, developing championship mental conditioning, leaders and team chemistry, coaching championship games, and guiding players in choosing a career and a college. Dozens of tips and drills are included to support the teaching process along with 42 appendices with ready-to-go program pieces.
Think Like a Warrior: The Five Inner Beliefs That Make You Unstoppable
Think Like a Warrior is not your typical sports coaching book. Written from the perspective of a college football coach who is at the end of his rope after a hard-and-fast fall from the top of his profession. Now bankrupt and on the verge of losing his job, he has no idea what he’s doing wrong or how to get back on track.
Angry, worried, and desperate for help, he receives mysterious visits from five of history’s greatest coaches: John Wooden, Buck O’Neil, Herb Brooks, Paul “Bear” Bryant, and Vince Lombardi.
Together, these five legendary leaders teach him how to “think like a warrior” and take control of his life. The “warrior mindset” he develops changes his life forever—and it will change yours as well.
The Brave Athlete
While written for athletes, The Brave Athlete is a great resource for coaches looking to motivate and uplift their athletes. In The Brave Athlete, Dr. Simon Marshall and Lesley Paterson teach how to take control of your brain so you can help your athletes train harder, race faster, and better enjoy your sport.
Dr. Marshall is a sport psychology expert who trains the brains of elite professional athletes. Paterson is a three-time world champion triathlete and coach. Together, they offer this innovative, brain training guide that is the first to draw from both clinical science and real-world experience with athletes.
That means you won’t find outdated “positive self-talk” or visualization gimmicks here. Rather, the set of cutting-edge mental skills revealed in The Brave Athlete actually work because they challenge the source of the thoughts and feelings your athletes don’t want. The Brave Athlete is packed with practical, evidence-based solutions to the most common mental challenges athletes face.
The Champion’s Mind: How Great Athletes Think, Train, and Thrive
Even among the most elite performers, certain athletes stand out as a cut above the rest, able to outperform in clutch, game-deciding moments. These athletes prove that raw athletic ability doesn’t necessarily translate to a superior on-field experience—its the mental game that matters most.
Sports participation—from the recreational to the collegiate Division I level—is at an all-time high. While the caliber of their games may differ, athletes at every level have one thing in common: the desire to excel. In The Champion’s Mind, sports psychologist Jim Afremow, PhD, offers the same advice he uses with Olympians, Heisman Trophy winners, and professional athletes, including:
• How to get in a “zone,” thrive on a team, and stay humble
• How to progress within a sport and sustain long-term excellence
• Customizable pre-performance routines to hit full power when the gun goes off or the puck is dropped
With hundreds of useful tips, breakthrough science, and cutting-edge workouts from the world’s top trainers, The Champion’s Mind will help you shape your body to ensure a longer, healthier, happier lifetime. And for coaches looking to help their athletes, this invaluable advice will help you to help them rise to the challenge and remain in the “zone”.
Playing in the Box: A Practical Guide for Helping Athletes Develop Their Mental Game
Athletes work hard in practice, putting in the time and the grind, but when it comes to game time, sometimes they miss the mark. They know they’re capable of more—and their coaches and trainers know it, too—but when the lights are on them, and the pressure rises, they often underperform.
The truth is, physical training is only one part of any athlete’s game. The mental game is just as important, yet in young athletes, mindset is almost never a focus in development and practice—and it’s costing them results.
In Playing in the Box, renowned sports psychologist Dr. Pete Temple describes how young athletes can use simple mental exercises to relax, improve, and achieve their goals on and off the field or court. If you’ve ever struggled in competition, Dr. Temple’s practical approach will help you develop confidence, drive, and resilience, so you can bounce back from setbacks, relax when the game gets tense, and reach your full potential.