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Looking for some great reads this summer that will help you and your team go to the next level?
Sure there are some coaches books out there including recent ones by Avery Johnson, Terry Francona, and one about Bo Schembechler. You can certainly learn a lot from successful coaches at the elite levels of the game.
However, as you compile your summer reading list, I wanted to share some particularly interesting and mind-stretching books that are a bit off the well-worn path of coaches books. These books are sure to help you tackle some of the challenges you have as a coach/leader - but do so in an non-traditional way that takes advantage of some different, yet related fields of psychology, philosophy, human resources, management, and history.
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Trying to figure out how to effectively coach your batch of fragile, coddled, and "over-parented" student-athletes?
In book with a title that any coach can't help but love - A Nation of Wimps - Psychology Today editor-in-chief Hara Marano offers some great insights on why today's teenagers and young adults are struggling to adapt to the normal bumps of sports, school, and society in general.
She attributes the problem to the rise of harmful parenting styles including the helicopter parent and snowplow parent - that in actuality make it tougher on today's kids to overcome adversity.
In essence, today's hyper-involved, overprotective parents are doing so much for their children that they are unwittingly depriving them of developing the critical skills of mental toughness, overcoming adversity, problem-solving, conflict management, and leadership - the very skills that we as coaches, teachers, administrators, and parents know are so critical to success in athletics, and more importantly, life in general. If you too are concerned about where this is all going, sprint to get a copy of this book!
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Looking to take your recruiting to a whole new level?
If so then Topgrading is definitely worth your investment in terms of time and money. The book takes an in depth look at the process of how to attract, recruit, screen, sign, and retain the absolute best talent for your team.
The book is based on the Topgrading system that General Electric and other top companies use to hire A players, develop B players, and eliminate C players.
College coaches especially will find some highly practical and effective suggestions that can easily be applied to getting the right talent and people in the recruiting process. This is definitely one that you better hope your competition doesn't read before you do.
For more info on Topgrading in recuiting, see our previous article called 7 Steps to Avoid the Selection/Recruiting Mistakes that Drive You Crazy and Devastate Your Program at:
http://www.championshipcoachesnetwork.com/public/359.cfm
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Prolific leadership author John Maxwell has churned out yet another great book in Leadership Gold. Maxwell inventories and expounds on the critical leadership lessons he has learned over the past 60 years of his life as a pastor and leadership guru.
His 26 chapters include; Defining Moments Define Your Leadership, Don't Send Your Ducks to Eagle School, and Few Leaders are Successful Unless a Lot of People Want Them to Be. As usual, the principles he shares are highly applicable to the sports world and life in general.
If you enjoyed Maxwell's previous works, you'll love this one too!
4. MAKE THE IMPOSSIBLE POSSIBLE by Bill Strickland
The title alone captures what many coaches try to do with their teams. Recommended and given to me by the great people at Pitt Athletics, this book traces the inspiring story of one man's vision to make a huge difference despite growing up in poverty in inner-city Pittsburgh.
Author Bill Strickland has defied the odds and shares his amazing story of how he developed one of the most impressive high schools and job training centers in the world. Strickland's mission has contributed to uplifting the lives of many -- and his programs are used as models for developing similar educational programs around the world. If you are looking for some great inspiration on how to make a difference against all odds, this is the book for you.
5. THE 8th HABIT by Stephen Covey
In the 8th Habit, author Stephen Covey writes, "Deep within each one of us there is an inner longing to live a life of greatness and contribution - to really matter, to really make a difference... All of us can consciously decide to leave behind a life of mediocrity and to live a life of greatness - at home, at work and in the community."
This book encourages us to find, connect with, and pursue our passion and purpose in life -- whether we are a recent college graduate or an adult taking inventory of our life at middle age. The book is a fabulous teacher and reminder of the skills, tools, and insights we need to develop ourselves personally and professionally.
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In honor of our history buffs and the upcoming 4th of July holiday, another book I recommend is the Founding Fathers on Leadership. Not only will the book give you a great in-depth look at the against all odds, improbable birth of the United States. It examines the critical leadership skills of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Ben Franklin, Paul Revere, and others that were imperative to pull the whole thing off.
Through historical, engaging, real-life stories, the author brings these leadership lessons to life so that we can see how important they were to the success of the nation. He also does a great job of summarizing the leadership principles as bullet points at the end of each chapter so that people centuries later can still apply their lessons.
7. THE LAST LECTURE by Randy Pausch
If you haven't already seen it online, this book captures the last lecture given by Carnegie Mellon professor Randy Pausch. It is really Pausch's final lecture because he has pancreatic cancer and has been given less than a year to live.
One of the many lessons he touches on was what he learned from his football coach. Your coaches are the people who care about you enough to provide you with feedback when you are not doing well -- because they have confidence that you can do it right. Even though he didn't make the NFL, he says he got many things from playing sports that are much more valuable.
Carve out an hour and 16 minutes of your time this summer and watch the lecture online if you haven't already seen it. You can find it at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo
As John F. Kennedy once said, "Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other." Like you emphasize with your athletes, take advantage of your summer and invest the time to get better by reading. Talk with the fellow coaches at your school and select one of the seven books to discuss as an informal Book Club. Set a date in mid-August before school starts and get together to share your insights and lessons. You are not only investing in yourself, but more importantly, you are investing in your team.
PLEASE SHARE YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS!
Do you have any books that you would recommend to coaches and athletic administrators?
If so, please email me at jeff@championshipcoachesnetwork.com the titles and authors and I will be happy to post for the benefit of the other 3,000 coaches on this list.
CHAMPIONSHIP COACHES NETWORK BONUS:
8 GREAT BOOKS TO SHARE AND DISCUSS WITH YOUR ATHLETES
In addition to books for coaches, I also get several requests from coaches for books that they could have their athletes read over the summer.
(Lakers coach Phil Jackson has been known to select a book for each of his players for the offseason.)
So I've included a similar list and synopsis of some great books that you can have your athletes read as a team or individually as a special bonus for our Championship Coaches Network members.
Members can click on the link below:
http://www.championshipcoachesnetwork.com/members/370.cfm