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Best Football Coaching

Win Forever: Live, Work, and Play Like a Champion
As the head coach at USC, he brought the Trojans back to national prominence, amassing a 97-19 record over nine seasons. This same mind-set and culture will shape his program as he returns to the NFL to coach the Seattle Seahawks. He reveals how his recruiting strategies, training routines, and game-day rituals preserve a team's culture year after year, during championship seasons and disappointing seasons alike. He has helped troubled kids on the streets of Los Angeles through his foundation A Better LA. Given the tough sanctions recently imposed on the USC football program for rules violations in 2004–05, when Carroll was the program’s highly successful head coach, it’s understandable if fans consider this book as much about damage control for Carroll, now the new head coach of the Seattle Seahawks, as a primer on how to win forever. Such as it is, Carroll and Roth’s book explains how, through decades of coaching in the college and pro ranks, he developed his successful philosophy of winning, which, in a nutshell, is Do things better than they have ever been done before. "During his time at USC Pete Carroll raised the bar in college football coaching with 7 straight BCS appearances, but as you'll read in Win Forever, his ultra competitive spirit and infectious energetic attitude have been the foundation to his many successes both on and off the field." Reading his book, it's evident that he has a clear understanding that his job is more about creating an environment and foundation for young men that can better who they are every day on and off the field." "What impressed me about Pete is his contagious, positive approach and that his talents go far beyond what makes a great football coach. This will help everyone in our organization and will play a big part in defining the Seahawks' mindset and philosophy as we move forward."
Reviews
"I bought Win Forever to understand what Carroll is about... and I was pleasantly surprised to read about the thoughtfulness of his philosophy towards his players. I also found it off-putting how many football people he mentions in the book - you may find yourself checking Wikipedia to find out who "Rocky Seto" is, only to find that there may not be a value to knowing that outside of the context of one or two sentences in this book."
"Many members of the print and electronic media would do well to read this so that they won't ask so many of the same questions over and over, allowing them to get on to more interesting things."
"More importantly, it's inspired me by reminding me my early success in life was about being a competitor in everything I do, and ultimately that we're competing against ourselves. I'd tell my teenagers this is one of the most important books they should read for future success, but that would just mean they wouldn't read it."
"Great book."
"While Pete Carroll might get mixed reviews due to the Reggie Bush scandal, he was the man responsible for the glory days of the early 2000's at USC."
"This book should be read by anyone in a leadership role, I figured this out in coaching years ago, that in order to be successful, you had to change your approach, it is a new era where just demanding respect no longer works you have to earn it."
"Win Forever is an inspiring book written by an author with a long-term streak of wins behind him."
"This is a great book to read regardless if you are a USC or Seahawks fan or even if you are not a football fan it's worth the read."
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The Essential Smart Football
Brilliantly written and eschewing unnecessary jargon and technicality, it makes a major contribution to our understanding of football to help all of us -- coaches, players, and fans -- appreciate the game we love all the more. - Urban Meyer's spread offense. - Tom Brady's no-huddle attack. - Bill Belichick's hybrid defense. - Mike Leach's pass-happy "Air Raid" offense. - The most popular scheme for running the ball in the NFL. - Nick Saban's school of defense. "[Chris Brown] has put together a book that you need to buy if you're a football fan with a pulse." "Advanced stats are great, but they mean a lot more when you understand where the players are moving on the field and why. Brown writes and edits Smartfootball.com and is a featured contributor to Grantland/ESPN.
Reviews
"The author writes a lot about some of the offensive and defensive formations used in the past and how current coaches have modified them."
"Great read for all football coaches who want to learn the why in football."
"The work was very insightful on the historical trace of both various defensive and offensive operational tactics utilized at both the collegiate and professional level of football."
"I am an avid football fan trying to get more into the tactics and plays teams use and why."
"I had read only two of the older articles, but even there I found new insights after re-reading them."
"The book brought to me a new perspective on the sport with a focus at times on the coaches who have made innovations earlier in their careers and then carried those inovations with them from team to team as they progressed in their careers."
"Brown explains mechanics, but also the concepts and philosophies behind modern offenses, as well as how they borrow from and reinvent past ideas."
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A Civil War: Army vs. Navy Tag - A Year Inside College Football's Purest Rivalry
Feinstein follows the Army and Navy football teams through the 1994 season, culminating with an account of the dramatic December face-off, and brings to life one of the oldest and most heated rivalries in American sport. Fans of Yale-Harvard--or, for that matter, of Tennessee State-Grambling--may disagree with sports author John Feinstein's subtitle, but this look inside the Cadet-Midshipmen wars backs up the idea of the annual Army-Navy game as a purer expression of the ideal of college athletics than your basic Poulan Weed-Eater Bowl. Given almost unlimited access to the players and coaches, Feinstein does a superb job of capturing the emotional and physical impact the long season has on the team members of both sides, while also giving a taste of what life is like at Annapolis and West Point.
Reviews
"While I enjoyed the book very much, it seemed repetitive after awhile as it explores the particular season game by game - ending pretty much with the Army-Navy game which Feinstein managed to describe thrillingly."
"I am a Army vet and enjoy watching the ARMY VS NAVY game every year."
"In the case of Army/Navy, I have a great interest in the game and especially the United States Naval Academy and in this book, Mr Feintein is able to capture and portray the tradition, love and honor that are the foundation of the two academies and the greatest rivalry in sports."
"This was a gift!!"
"This book gives the reader a close up, and personal look at what really matters in this, the greatest rivalry in college football."
"This books explains all issues pertaining to the Army/Navy football game."
"Truly enjoyed reading this novel."
"John Feinstein books are terrific reads, and the Army vs Navy football games are something special."
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Best Basketball Biographies

Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success
• Learned the secrets of mindfulness and team chemistry while playing for the champion New York Knicks in the 1970s. • Managed Michael Jordan, the greatest player in the world, and got him to embrace selflessness, even if it meant losing a scoring title. • Forged successful teams out of players of varying abilities by getting them to trust one another and perform in sync. • Inspired Dennis Rodman and other “uncoachable” personalities to devote themselves to something larger than themselves. • Transformed Kobe Bryant from a rebellious teenager into a mature leader of a championship team. This book is full of revelations: about fascinating personalities and their drive to win; about the wellsprings of motivation and competition at the highest levels; and about what it takes to bring out the best in ourselves and others. To a casual fan, meditation, Buddhism, and Native American spirituality may seem an odd mix of resources with which to motivate highly paid, often egocentric professional athletes. "— The New York Times Book Review "Part sports memoir, part New Age spirit quest, part pseudo-management tract...But the primary thing with Jackson — as with all the old bards, who were also known for repeating themselves — is the voice.
Reviews
"As a mom who spent 12+ years watching my daughter play volleyball, basketball, and throw discus/shot put, I have seen my share of coaching styles."
"The expression “the whole is greater than the sum of the parts” is often used to describe successful organizations, whether business enterprises or sports teams. Phil Jackson has embedded his recipe for leading that kind of success into “Eleven Rings.”. NBA fans will appreciate Jackson’s insight on the men he has coached."
"As a coach, he led the Chicago Bulls to six championships and led the Los Angeles Lakers to five championships, in addition to winning two championships as a player with the New York Knicks."
"Phil Jackson is one of the most inspirational and excellent Coach to ever participate in the game of basketball."
"Make no mistake about it, this book is about leadership."
"This is not just a book about Phil Jackson, but a book on how to be a better leader."
"I'm a wrestler and former UFC fighter, NOT a basketballer."
"As a basketball fanatic I truly enjoyed this end to end accounting of Phil Jackson's amazing career that produced 11 rings - most when he was acting as a coach."
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Best Baseball Coaching

The Big Chair: The Smooth Hops and Bad Bounces from the Inside World of the Acclaimed LosAngeles Dodgers General Manager
Mr. Colletti’s book might be even more groundbreaking [than Moneyball ] in some ways: It’s a nearly unprecedented opportunity to see what running a baseball franchise looks like through the eyeballs of an actual general manager. After reading this book, you will not only understand the job of a general manager better but also the game of baseball itself.”— Tom Verducci, author of The Cubs Way and co-author of The Yankee Years. An unprecedented, behind-the-scenes look at the career of famed former Los Angeles Dodgers General Manager (a position also known as “The Big Chair”), whose tenure spanned nine of the most exciting and turbulent years in the franchise’s history. During his tenure with the Dodgers, Colletti had the highest winning percentage of any general manager in the National League. In The Big Chair , he lets readers in on the real GM experience from his unique vantage point—sharing the inner workings of three of the top franchises in the sport, revealing the out-of-the-headlines machinations behind the trades, the hires and the deals; how the money really works; how the decision-making really works; how much power the players really have and why—the real brass tacks of some of the most pivotal decisions made in baseball history that led to great success along with heartbreak and failure on the field. Now, in The Big Chair , readers will hear the wisdom and perspective that helped the organization change its culture and reach levels never before accomplished.” — Brian Sabean, three-time World Series champion, Executive VP, Baseball Operations, San Francisco Giants. “Ned Colletti is the best kind of baseball lifer. “Ned Colletti's terrific account of the inner workings of a baseball team is engaging, honest, accurate and a great read. “Ned has been a baseball lifer since long before he climbed up his professional ladder that stretches from Chicago through San Francisco to Los Angeles. Sharing in his journey is a must for any baseball fan, including myself.” — Chris Berman, ESPN Sportscaster “Former Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti saw the team through a sale, 14 playoff wins, and the acquisitions of Clayton Kershaw and Yasiel Puig. I don't think I've ever read any baseball executive reveal his love and passion for baseball the way Colletti does here.” –John Schulian, winner of the PEN/ESPN Lifetime Achievement Award for Literary Sports Writing "Hard to put down.” –Boston Globe “Part baseball handbook and part Cinderella story.” – Los Angeles Times “A fascinating behind-the-scenes account of his 35 years working in the front office of the Cubs, Giants and Dodgers....More than anything, Colletti shows how being a GM is a 24/7 thrill ride.” —Chicago Tribune “Highly recommended.” – San Francisco Chronicle.
Reviews
"Ned… is a natural born storyteller… and his rise from a hockey sportswriter to a General Manager on one of the most glorious sports team in history the Los Angeles (Brooklyn) Dodgers… is a combination of both… hard work… and the stars being aligned just right… when things looked the worse. As mentioned earlier… I (according to my Dad) have “ATE-SLEPT-AND-DRANK-BASEBALL” from the time I could walk and talk… so the behind the scenes “business” details that Ned divulges from his baseball travels working for the Chicago Cubs… San Francisco Giants… and Los Angeles Dodgers… are hypnotically interesting. It’s funny… Penny always came across as a self-centered… don’t give your heart and soul to the team and fans type of guy… and the author… makes it excruciatingly clear my impressions were spot-on! Though much of the “destroying” of the Dodger storied franchise by the ownership of the feuding McCourt’s was pretty well documented in the media… especially because of court documents filed during the divorce proceedings that broke records and shocked the public… Ned takes it a step further and ties it all together… by showing what it was like trying to keep the Dodgers competitive with his hands tied behind his back… his purse strings cut… the team in bankruptcy… and Major League Baseball overseeing the running of the team until it was sold. The fact that the McCourt’s wound up making a GIGANTIC profit… as an end result of their greed and debauchery… and the staining of the great Dodger name… is despicable and nauseating. I’d like to share one of the items listed in Colletti’s timeline: “November 14, 2011 – First baseman James Loney sideswipes three cars in the evening rush hour. Police then placed Loney in arm and leg restraints and medical personnel gave him an injection to calm him down.”. REPEAT… NO CHARGES WERE FILED!"
"Talk about "Inside Baseball" this is really it !!! Especially for LA Dodger fans and anyone else who loves baseball."
"Ned shares dozens of "inside baseball" stories, including the back stories for all of the major trades he made, his dealings with Frank McCourt, and a number of players."
"As someone who is just a major baseball fan..Learning how Ned Colletti became GM, His challenges with owner Frank McCourt and how he made some of the biggest trades in baseball, a very easy read...Almost felt like you could hear Colletti's voice..Dodgers fans will love it."
"As a Dodger fan for over 50 years, this was a fascinating and interesting story of the behind-the-scenes work of a General Manager as he strives to find a winning combination of excellent players for a quality team."
"And if you are a Dodger fan you can read about the turnaround Ned started when he took over as GM."
"Coletti keeps the story moving at a brisk pace."
"I have read a lot of books on sports but never one that had the day to day breakdown of what it was like to run a major sports franchise."
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Best Basketball Coaching

The Legends Club: Dean Smith, Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Valvano, and an Epic College Basketball Rivalry
The riveting inside story of college basketball's fiercest rivalry among three coaching legends—University of North Carolina's Dean Smith, Duke's Mike Krzyzewski, and North Carolina State's Jim Valvano—by the king of college basketball writers, #1 New York Times bestseller John Feinstein On March 18, 1980, the immensely powerful Duke basketball program announced the hiring of its new coach—the man who would resurrect the team, restore glory to Duke, and defeat the legendary Dean Smith, who coached down the road at UNC Chapel Hill and had turned UNC into a powerhouse. The hiring didn't raise as many eyebrows, but with the exuberant Valvano on board, two new coaches were now in place to challenge Dean Smith—and the most sensational competitive decade in history was about to unfold. Feinstein pulls back the curtain on the recruiting wars, the intensely personal competition that wasn't always friendly, the enormous pressure and national stakes, and the battle for the very soul of college basketball allegiance in a hot-bed area. "The book is one of [John Feinstein's] best, a beguilingly personal, sometimes heartbreaking look at the psychic cost of doing battle in America’s most brutally, nakedly competitive (and actual) arenas. "Feinstein entertains readers with fair, objective observations based on fact and his unique inside access gained not only through years of his coverage but also through many new interviews with former players, coaches and administrators...In a famous speech before he died, Valvano implored all of us to attempt to do three things each day: laugh, think and cry. His longstanding relationships with the principals give the book its insider appeal; his history with each man goes back decades, and the intersecting, layered looks at each are built on firsthand knowledge...Funny and smart." He is the author of A Season on the Brink and A Good Walk Spoiled , both #1 New York Times bestsellers and Last Shot , which won the Edgar Allen Poe Award for mystery writing in the Young Adult category.
Reviews
"I think that anyone interested in basketball would like this book, and especially anyone interested in college basketball should absolutely love this book."
"Anyone who is a fan of college basketball and especially the long rivalries in the ACC...this is a GREAT GREAT read."
"He tells the story of the three ACC basketball coaches' national accomplishments in an enjoyable and interesting way. Also, this book should not be viewed as taking a critical look at big-time college basketball - it doesn't, and I don't think Feinstein would ever claim that it does."
"Brought back memories of the day Dean Smith brought the Tar Heels into Providence, RI to play the Friars during my undergraduate days and PC pulling out an upset win just after a 35 inch blizzard had paralyzed the city."
"Feinstein's first book established his reputation and began his long and lucrative career as a sports journalist when he exposed the innermost secrets of the Indiana basketball program and Bob Knight's coaching techniques (also earning Knight's lifelong animosity)."
"A well written book filled with informative stories about 3 of the favorite basketball coaches in N.C., how they related to one another, & how they competed against one another."
"Basketball is a significant element of life in " Carolina " and Feinstein's book brings the historic perspective to life including players, coaches and administrations."
"It will make you think."
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Best Golf Coaching

FINALLY: THE GOLF SWING'S SIMPLE SECRET - A revolutionary method proved for the weekend golfer to significantly improve distance and accuracy from day one (1)
After studying the golf swing for over 25 years, JF Tamayo has developed a revolutionary method proved for the weekend golfer of any level to significantly improve distance and accuracy from day one, based on three main principles: - CAMILO VILLEGAS --CAMILO VILLEGAS. "Every weekend golfer should read this great book."
Reviews
"I have a fairly unique swing that I don't want to change and these techniques help me with my backswing turn."
"The author explains and shows images of essential moves that give the golfer increased accuracy and distance."
"These swing ideas have me hitting the ball better than ever."
"I read this book over the past week, and practiced some drills at home (without hitting a ball). I had a hard time with the setup at first with my driver during the first few holes (typically my best stick), but saw immediate improvement on irons, specially 7-9!"
"As one who took up golf only two years ago--at age 61--I can attest to the fact that the most difficult aspect of the game for beginners is getting to a point where they can strike the ball consistently and correctly off the tee and from the fairway. Then, as other reviews here have mentioned, the next hurdle--and the real secret to lowering one's score--is around the green; i.e., improving consistency and accuracy in pitching, chipping and putting. I rated it 4 stars out of 5 and here are some things that would have made it even better: First, the photos are all b&w, and I ceratinly understand the added publishing expense issues related to going beyond that. Tightening down the editing, for example, rather than shortening the book, would then have left more space for the author to elaborate on some its key points, such as the one about the exact feeling and sensation of proper lag at the start of the downswing."
"An easy read about the fundamentals of a good golf swing."
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Best Soccer Coaching

Successful Coaching-4th Edition
As America’s best-selling coaching text, Successful Coaching has helped over a million coaches develop their coaching philosophies; improve their communication, teaching, and management skills; and understand their responsibilities as a coach. The updated fourth edition of Successful Coaching offers students as well as new and veteran coaches a comprehensive guide to every aspect of coaching. Written by a coach for coaches, Successful Coaching blends the latest research and accepted practices in the sport sciences with practical advice from seasoned coaching veterans. Successful Coaching helps readers think critically about their motivation for being a coach and establish a coaching philosophy and style that pave the way for a fulfilling sport experience for coaches and their athletes. The founder and president of Human Kinetics, he also started the American Sport Education Program, the largest coaching education program in the United States. A past president of the American Academy of Kinesiology and Physical Education, he has been recognized for his contribution to sport by the National Recreation and Park Association and by his induction into the National Association for Sport and Physical Education Hall of Fame.
Reviews
"Pros: - lots of topics. - chapters are well-categorized and information within them make sense. - good for any sport (though it does have somewhat of a basketball lean). - lots of good info-graphics, tables, checklists, pictures, etc so you are not just reading listlessly. - good information for all levels of coaching. - the list goes on and on - this is quite possibly the best book I have bought from Amazon so far. Cons: - Big (over 500 pages). - Would like to see more info in the "practice as games (paraphrase)" section. - Some information in the supplement breakdown is contrary to the information I am familiar with. ** Added Bonus **. Apparently this book is also the curriculum for a college course, so whether you are just thinking about buying it and want more information, or you already own it and want a "quick reference" there is a very good support site here: [...]. I have read several books on coaching, and this is by far, the most comprehensive."
"The book took awhile to arrive and by the time it did, it stank, if what I'm not sure? My guess was that it was stored in a meth lab or some warehouse. I aired it out in the sun and fresh air over a period of 3 months, meticulously turning each page every few days, and smelling each page to ensure the smell was gone."
"This should be required reading for all coaches, sports instructors, Martial Artists and parents."
"ordered this for a class I took, great condition."
"The book is set up much like a field manual with tasks, conditions and standards, which can be use as a basis for situations and cross referencing in multiple sports."
"Contacted amazon was told I had to spend another 29 dollars to purchase paperback to take text and finish my class."
"The book came in great condition."
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