Rainer Martens

Impressive book on all facets of coaching -- no wonder it's used as the official textbook in many coaching education programs. It takes a very conversational approach describing the many things a successful coach must know about, from dealing with athletes, preparing training sessions, and finding your own coaching style (drill sergeants need not apply).

If there's any complaint, it's that this book won't be read by many of the thousands of volunteer coaches who would benefit from it. While the general principles it advocates are great (like knowing your athletes and using them to help plan practices), that's almost not feasible in many recreational programs -- my recreational soccer league probably has about eight hours total practice per season, whereas club or high school (or college) sports programs might practice that much in a week. Still, I know I've learned a lot from the book, and hope to include much of its advice in my upcoming practices.… (altro)