America's Coach


Book Description

The inspirational story of legendary coach Herb Brooks comes to life in this heart-warming, motivational biography, celebrating the legacy of a true American hero. As the architect of the fabled 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey "Miracle on Ice," Brooks showed the world that dreams really can come true. Brooks' unorthodox ideologies and philosophies on team-building, leadership and motivation can be applied to the real world just as easily as they can to the business world. Follow along as Brooks' amazing life is chronicled with anecdotes, quotes, funny stories and nuggets of wisdom from Brooks himself.




America's Coach


Book Description




Let Them Lead


Book Description

An uplifting leadership book about a coach who helped transform the nation’s worst high school hockey team into one of the best. Bacon’s strategy is straightforward: set high expectations, make them accountable to each other, and inspire them all to lead their team. When John U. Bacon played for the Ann Arbor Huron High School River Rats, he never scored a goal. Yet somehow, years later he found himself leading his alma mater’s downtrodden program. How bad? The team hadn’t won a game in over a year, making them the nation’s worst squad—a fact they celebrated. With almost everyone expecting more failure, Bacon made it special to play for Huron by making it hard, which inspired the players to excel. Then he defied conventional wisdom again by putting the players in charge of team discipline, goal-setting, and even decision-making – and it worked. In just three seasons the River Rats bypassed 95-percent of the nation’s teams. A true story filled with unforgettable characters, stories, and lessons that apply to organizations everywhere, Let Them Lead includes the leader’s mistakes and the reactions of the players, who have since achieved great success as leaders themselves. Let Them Lead is a fast-paced, feel-good book that leaders of all kinds can embrace to motivate their teams to work harder, work together, and take responsibility for their own success.




InSideOut Coaching


Book Description

In this inspirational yet practical book, the man Parade called “the most important coach in America,” subject of the national bestseller Season of Life, Joe Ehrmann, describes his coaching philosophy and explains how sports can transform lives at every level of play, from the earliest years to professional sports. Coaches have a tremendous platform, says Joe Ehrmann, a former Syracuse University All-American and NFL star. Perhaps second only to parents, coaches can impact young people as no one else can. But most coaches fail to do the teaching, mentoring, even life-saving intervention that their platform provides. Too many are transactional coaches; they focus solely on winning and meeting their personal needs. Some coaches, however, use their platform. They teach the Xs and Os, but also teach the Ys of life. They help young people grow into responsible adults; they leave a lasting legacy. These are the transformational coaches. These coaches change lives, and they also change society by helping to develop healthy men and women. InSideOut Coaching explains how to become a transformational coach. Coaches first have to “go inside” and articulate their reasons for coaching. Only those who have taken the InSideOut journey can become transformational. Joe Ehrmann provides examples of coaches in his life who took this journey and taught him how to find something bigger than himself in sports.He describes his own InSideOut experience, starting with the death of his beloved brother, which helped him understand how sports could transcend the playing field. He gives coaches the information and the tools they need to become transformational. Joe Ehrmann has taken his message about the extraordinary power of sports all over the country. It has been warmly endorsed by NFL head coaches, athletic directors at major universities, high school head coaches, even business groups and community organizations. Now any parent-coach or school or community coach can read Ehrmann’s message and learn how to make sports a life-changing experience.




Jake Gaither, America's Most Famous Black Coach


Book Description

Alonzo S. (Jake) Gaither, former head football coach and athletic director of Florida A&M, was named to the Football Foundation Hall of Fame in 1975, the first coach of a predominantly black college to be so honored. It was deserved recognition of an incredible career. "I like my boys ag-ile, mo-bile, and hos-tile," Gaither was fond of saying, and apparently they were. In twenty-five years of coaching at Florida A&M, Gaither won 85 percent of his games and never had a losing season. When he retired in 1973, his record of 203-36-4 was better than that of any active coach in the country. Over the years his teams won six national black collegiate championships and every conference title except three - twenty-two out of twenty-five. He also produced at least one All-America player every years except one, and through the years sent over twenty-five of his players to the pros. Gaither was selected small college Coach of the Year three times - by the Associated Press in 1961, by the American Football Coaches Association in 1962, and by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics in 1969. In addition he was awarded two of the highest honors given for coaching, the Amos Alonzo Stagg Award and the Walter Camp Award. Here, in an absorbing biography of the man who became a football legend, is the story of how he did it. --From the book jacket.




Playing the Game Without a Coach


Book Description

"At thirteen years old, Benjamin Raymond made a life-changing decision. The son of a white mother, who often broke down under the strains of her mental illness and drug addiction, and a black father, who had long since disappeared, Ben took control of his destiny and put himself in foster care. A raw portrait of growing up in a family burdened with mental illness and domestic violence, building relationships through prison walls, and discovering what living a rich life really means, [this] is a story of courage, resilience, and ultimately, forgiveness"--Jacket back.




The Perfect Pass


Book Description

An “excellent sports history” (Publishers Weekly) in the tradition of Michael Lewis’s Moneyball, award-winning historian S.C. Gwynne tells the incredible story of how two unknown coaches revolutionized American football at every level, from high school to the NFL. Hal Mumme spent fourteen mostly losing seasons coaching football before inventing a potent passing offense that would soon shock players, delight fans, and terrify opposing coaches. It all began at a tiny, overlooked college called Iowa Wesleyan, where Mumme was head coach and Mike Leach, a lawyer who had never played college football, was hired as his offensive line coach. In the cornfields of Iowa these two mad inventors, drawn together by a shared disregard for conventionalism and a love for Jimmy Buffett, began to engineer the purest, most extreme passing game in the 145-year history of football. Implementing their “Air Raid” offense, their teams—at Iowa Wesleyan and later at Valdosta State and the University of Kentucky—played blazingly fast—faster than any team ever had before, and they routinely beat teams with far more talented athletes. And Mumme and Leach did it all without even a playbook. “A superb treat for all gridiron fans” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review), The Perfect Pass S.C. Gwynne explores Mumme’s leading role in changing football from a run-dominated sport to a pass-dominated one, the game that tens of millions of Americans now watch every fall weekend. Whether you’re a casual or ravenous football fan, this is “a rousing tale of innovation” (Booklist), and “Gwynne’s book ably relates the story of that innovation and the successes of the man who devised it” (New York Journal of Books).




Coach Education Essentials


Book Description

In Coach Education Essentials, renowned coach educators and professionals present the key elements of quality coaching and how to cultivate it. This resource is for everyone invested in advancing the abilities and actions of coaches through effective educational and developmental experiences.




Quotable Spurrier


Book Description

Steve Spurrier is the epitome of a national sports figure either loved or hated with enthusiasm by millions.




Coaching Supervision


Book Description

Just like the coaching relationship, supervision is most successful when it is a collaborative endeavour, with both parties clear on their roles and the process. Coaching Supervision is an intensely practical book providing guidance on when, why and how to seek supervision, and on how coaches can make the most of the supervision they receive. Written by experienced supervisors who have a deep understanding of the field, and drawing on research into good practice internationally, this book: Explains what supervision is and how it differs from other ‘helping conversations’ Provides a step by step approach to choosing a supervisor Advises on how to structure the coach/mentor development journey Explores a breadth of activities that enhance reflective practice Shows how supervision is an integral element of professional coaching and mentoring This practical guide will be vital reading for all established and trainee coaches and mentors participating in the supervision process, either as supervisors or supervisees.