Football (American) Books

Mind Gym : An Athlete's Guide to Inner Excellence

Gary Mack, David Casstevens

Amazon Price: $11.53 List Price: $16.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: McGraw-Hill Amazon Marketplace: 56 new & used starting at $8.42

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Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Mental Health -> General
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Mental Health -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 23 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Best one for athletes! 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

I have read several books on the mental game in sports and this is by far the best. I work with collegiate and professional athletes and recommend this so often that Gary Mack should send me a commission!!!

not what i expected 3 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

a solid read, but i was expecting a book that got more into the intricacies of sports psychology, but this book seems to focus more on your thinking off the court then on it.

Well-written and entertaining 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

If you want to read an inspiring book on the power of the mind in sports, then this book is for you. It is not too packed with information, but it underlines many of the important points in mental coaching. Great stories and examples make it an uplifting read. The only thing missing was a step-by-step instruction guide to mind management - practice makes perfect.

Editorial Review:

Drawing on his work with some of the top teams in professional sports, noted sport psychology consultant Gary Mack shares with you the same techniques and exercises he uses to help elite athletes build mental "muscle." These 40 accessible lessons and inspirational anecdotes will help you gain the "head edge" over the competition.

The Genius: How Bill Walsh Reinvented Football and Created an NFL Dynasty

David Harris

Amazon Price: $17.16 List Price: $26.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Random House Amazon Marketplace: 50 new & used starting at $12.99

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Subjects -> Sports -> Biographies -> Football

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

The Genius is the gripping and definitive account of Bill Walsh’s career and how he built a football dynasty from the rubble of a fallen franchise. David Harris gives a stellar account of the silver-haired sophisticate from humble working-class roots who was hired as head coach and general manager of the San Francisco Forty Niners in January 1979 and became the architect of what is arguably the greatest ten-year run in NFL history.

With unmatched access to players, fellow coaches, executives, the reporters who covered the Niners’ heyday, and Walsh himself, Harris recounts how Walsh, through tactical and organizational genius, created a football juggernaut. There were also the demons that pushed and haunted Walsh throughout his career: his clash with his former mentor, Paul Brown, who denied Walsh his first pro head-coaching job with the Cincinnati Bengals; Walsh’s struggle with self-doubt and criticism; the toll his single-minded devotion to football exacted on his family; and his complex relationship with the Forty Niners’ owner, Edward DeBartolo, Jr.

Walsh’s pre-Niners coaching odyssey was arduous–a longtime assistant coach, he developed his legendary and now-standard pass-oriented West Coast offense during stops at all levels of the game. Despite never having run a team’s draft before, Walsh, along with his right-hand man John McVay, quickly built the foundation for a dynasty by drafting or trading for a durable core of stars, including Joe Montana, Fred Dean, Hacksaw Reynolds, Dwight Clark, and Ronnie Lott. (Walsh would later restock the team with such players as Jerry Rice, Steve Young, and Charles Haley.) The key to Walsh’s genius perhaps lay in his keen understanding of his athletes’ psyches–he knew what brought out the best in each of them. But the scope of Walsh’s impact on the game extended well beyond the field and locker room. The Forty Niners’ life-skills counseling program, which Walsh spearheaded with the sports sociologist and activist Dr. Harry Edwards, and the internship program Walsh devised to bring minority coaches into the game have since been adopted by the NFL for all league franchises.

In the annals of sport, few individuals have had as great an impact on their game–or on its relevance to life outside the lines–as Bill Walsh. With knowledge, skill, passion, and a critical eye, David Harris reveals the brilliant man behind the coaching legend.

The vision Bill Walsh brought to all his pioneering efforts was a function of his perception of himself as someone who was far more than a football coach. He cherished his standing and participation in the larger world outside the NFL and nurtured them at every opportunity.

“Knowing Bill Walsh was kind of like the blind man describing an elephant,” one of the sportswriters who covered him observed. “We all knew just one little piece of him. But he had all these other areas we knew nothing about. He dealt with lots of people outside of football, outside of our scope entirely. He was able to deal with politicians, people who were intellects in other areas. They were impressed by him.”

–from The Genius

How Good Do You Want to Be?: A Champion's Tips on How to Lead and Succeed at Work and in Life

Nick Saban, Brian Curtis

Amazon Price: $10.20 List Price: $15.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Ballantine Books Amazon Marketplace: 17 new & used starting at $8.57

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Subjects -> Business & Investing -> Management & Leadership -> Leadership
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Self-Help -> Personal Transformation

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 15 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

He guided LSU to its first football championship in forty-five years. He turned down countless offers from professional teams to stay with the job he loves. Now Nick Saban reveals the secrets that will help you lead and succeed at work and in life.

Excellence doesn’t happen overnight. It comes from hard work, consistency, the drive to be the best, and a passion for what you do. Few understand this better than Nick Saban, the hottest college football coach in the game. Now, in How Good Do You Want to Be?, Saban shares his winning philosophy for creating and inspiring success.

In more than three decades as a player and coach, Saban has learned much about life and leadership, both on the field and off. Working alongside some of the game’s legends, including Super Bowl winner Bill Belichick and coaching legend Jerry Glanville, he saw firsthand how great leaders encourage greatness in others. In this candid, insightful guide, he shares such acquired wisdom as

• Organization, Organization, Organization
Create an environment where everybody knows his or her responsibilities–and each is responsible to the entire group.
• Motivate to Dominate
Understand the psychology of teams and individuals, and use that knowledge to breed success.
• No Other Way than Right
Practice ethics and values–and demand the same from your team.
• Look in the Mirror
Maintain an understanding of who you are by knowing your strengths and your weaknesses.

How Good Do You Want to Be? is more than the story of how Nick Saban motivates his staff and players to excel–it is also the memoir of one of America’s most successful coaches. Filled with instructive anecdotes and illuminated by never-before-told stories of his life and career, this is a book that challenges and inspires us all to be our best.


From the Hardcover edition.

The Football Coaching Bible

American Football Coaches Association

Amazon Price: $16.47 List Price: $24.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Human Kinetics Publishers Amazon Marketplace: 49 new & used starting at $9.99

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Super Book 5 out of 5 stars.
15 of 15 people found this review helpful.

I really enjoyed this book quite a bit. My boy finished football season a while ago and I decided to get more involved for this upcoming season by coaching. The details and strageties were solid and very applicable. For someone like me that had an athletic backgroud but no coaching experience, I found the information quite useful.

I would call this a "cookbook" for new coaches. Something anyone can follow.

I would recommend this.

If you love football... 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 8 people found this review helpful.

I am looking in to coaching for fun and this is a great book to have. There is a lot of coaching information and great football information in general.

Excellent Read for the Beginning or Experienced Coach 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

The Football Coaching Bible brings together a collection of articles and speeches by successful coaches from all levels. Whether you are looking for guidance on how to teach leadership, how to build (or re-build) a program from the ground up, or some talk on X's and O's, this book has it covered. Bill Snyder's chapter is particularly great, and has helped me to apply focus to my life in areas other than coaching. His story at K State is amazing.

This book does help a bit with basic nomenclature for brand new coaches. However it mostly assumes a basic understanding of certain things. The beginning coach may have to do some digging to find out exactly what some of the terms mean.

Editorial Review:

Contributions from 29 American football coaches cover every facet of coaching. Each chapter contains strategies and stories expressed in the coach's own style.

The Baffled Parent's Guide to Coaching Youth Soccer

Bobby Clark

Amazon Price: $11.53 List Price: $16.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press Amazon Marketplace: 79 new & used starting at $1.71

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Subjects -> Parenting & Families -> Parenting -> General
Subjects -> Parenting & Families -> Parenting -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 23 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Wonderful! Highly Recommended! 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 5 people found this review helpful.

This book helped organize my practices and provided ideas for drills that kept my U8 Boys team interested the entire season. I received numerous compliments from parents that their kids enjoyed the variety of "games" (i.e. drills) we played in practice. My team went 11-2 this past season and all my players chose to return for the spring season over baseball and other sports. I honestly feel this book improved my coaching style and played a large part in the success of our team.

coaching soccer-a baffled parents guide 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

The book gave very helpful information. I have never coached anything and it gave helpful insight into giving the best experience I can into my son's 4 yr old soccer team.

Editorial Review:

Written by soccer great and championship Stanford coach Bobby Clark, COACHING YOUTH SOCCER: THE BAFFLED PARENT'S GUIDE tells you how, starting at point zero, an uninitiated coach can meld kids into a team and help them enjoy one of the most rewarding experiences of their youth. (In the end, you may be the one who reaps the biggest reward, as you watch kids learn and grow in an experience they'll treasure for a lifetime.)

Football's Eagle and Stack Defenses

Ron Vanderlinden

Amazon Price: $13.57 List Price: $19.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Human Kinetics Publishers Amazon Marketplace: 29 new & used starting at $12.89

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Subjects -> Sports -> Coaching -> Football (American) -> Defense
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Subjects -> Sports -> Coaching -> Football (American) -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Multiple formation and motion offenses of the modern football era present many defensive challenges. Football's Eagle & Stack Defenses will prepare teams and individual players to not only defend but also attack and dominate whatever offensive tactics an opponent might employ.

Author Ron Vanderlinden has been coach and architect of several of the most formidable defensive teams in the past 20 seasons. From the University of Colorado's national champions in 1990 to Northwestern's Big Ten title-winning team in 1995 to the revitalized, high-pursuit Penn State attack, Vanderlinden's well-drilled defensive players and units have enjoyed tremendous success.

Now, in this book, you can learn all the details of the defensive tactics and techniques as well as the coaching points that can make these two defenses so effective. No other book combines these fronts, and there is no one better equipped than Vanderlinden to put them together in a variety of game situations that will allow your defense to control your opponent's offense. Football's Eagle & Stack Defenses will be your best defensive co-coordinator for this season and many seasons to come.

101 Agility Drills (101 Drills)

Patrick McHenry, Joel Raether

Amazon Price: $12.21 List Price: $17.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Coaches Choice Books Amazon Marketplace: 28 new & used starting at $11.11

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Agiltiy book review 4 out of 5 stars.
10 of 12 people found this review helpful.

This is a good book to develop quick feet and agility. The only disappointing chapter was the one on dot drills. I would have liked a few more drills rather than make the letters and numbers. Otherwise it is great for cones, hurdles, and agility ladders. Good purchase!

Okay 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Nice list of drill ideas for various sports. Most are fairly basic, but ok

Editorial Review:

Presents over 100 drills designed to develop an athlete’s ability to stop, start, and change the direction of the body (or body parts) rapidly and in a controlled manner. Each series of drills uses a logical progression to maximize performance, while using minimal and readily-available equipment, including: Boxes, cones, dots, hurdles, and ladders. Each drill is thoroughly explained and illustrated. Ideal for coaches and athletes of all activities and at all skill levels.

University of Alabama Football Vault: The Story of the Crimson Tide,1892-2007

Jay Barker

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Wow! Every BAMA Fan should have this one! 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

My husband is a diehard Bama fan, and this was just to be an addition to the collection he already has... But, this could be the best one yet. I was amazed at the amount of information, history, memorabilia, quality, everything. I was expecting another "book", not a scrapbook of Alabama football history. Way to go Barker!

A must have for every 'Bama fan. 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This book is more than a book. It has everything you could imagine and is very well written by former alabama QB Jay Barker. I sat, totally amazed by everything in this vault for over 2 hours, reading stories, talking to my dad about games he'd been too, having travia matches with my "know-it-all" brother, and wishing I had another book for myself. This book looks great on the coffee table of my moms house and is a suitable sub for the Bible (until mom saw it there, Apparently "The Bear" isn't God after all.). If you like 'Bama football then, this book will make you love it. This is THE GIFT for the holidays or any other special occasion.

Editorial Review:

The 114 year history of the Crimson Tide is brought vividly to life by All-American quarterback Jay Barker, coupled with historic images, artwork, and photographs that span more than 11 decades of collegiate football greatness. Additionally, this unique book gives Tide fans a veritable home archive of reproduction memorabilia representing Bama's long and illustrious history. Hardcover with slipcase, 12X10, 144 pages.

Football Scouting Methods

Steve Belichick

Amazon Price: $16.95 List Price: $16.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Martino Publishing

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

"Considered the bible of scouting techniques" according to the Los Angeles Times, Football Scouting Methods explains the basic scouting strategies and insights of author Steve Belichick. He was widely viewed as the ablest football scout of his time and coached at the U.S. Naval Academy for 33 years; his son is New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, a three-time Super Bowl winner.

When Steve Belichick died in November 2005, the New York Times headline cited him as "Coach Who Wrote the Book on Scouting," and quoted Houston Texans General Manager Charley Casserly calling Football Scouting Methods "the best book on scouting he had ever read." Joe Bellino, Navy's Heisman Trophy winner in 1960, told the Times that Steve Belichick "was a genius. On Monday nights, he would give us his scouting reports, and even though we were playing powerhouses, I always felt we were prepared because he found a way for us to win."

In recent years Football Scouting Methods has been one of the top ten most sought out-of-print books; used copies have been quite scarce. This reissue edition makes the original 1962 text available once again in exact facsimile.

The book covers how to scout opponents, recognize defenses, analyze offenses, discover "tip-offs" that reveal the opponent's plays, compose a useful report, self-scout, and conduct postgame analysis.

"Steve Belichick taught many younger men how to scout and how to watch film and how to prepare their teams for the next week's game," David Halberstam noted in the Washington Post, and his best student was his own son Bill Belichick, "one of whose greatest skills as a coach to this day remains his ability to analyze other teams, figuring out both their strengths and their vulnerabilities, and shrewdly deciding how to take away from them that which they most want to do."

When CBS asked Bill Belichick to name his favorite book, he replied "Well, I've got to go with my dad's. Football Scouting Methods. I'd have to go with that."

Offensive Football Strategies

American Football Coaches Association

Amazon Price: $13.57 List Price: $19.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Human Kinetics Publishers Amazon Marketplace: 43 new & used starting at $9.50

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Subjects -> Sports -> Coaching -> Football (American) -> Offense

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Use strategies straight from many of football’s all-time greatest coaches! Offensive Football Strategies offers you special access to the sharpest football minds in the game’s history. Pick and choose portions to use to optimize your game plan each season and each game.

Offensive Football Strategies is the most comprehensive and detailed book of its kind, containing the most popular and effective offensive philosophies, systems, formations, and plays over the past 40 years. This extensive collection includes 73 articles written by many of the greatest coaching strategists, including Bob Devaney, Bear Bryant, John McKay, Joe Paterno, Tom Osborne, Marv Levy, Hayden Fry, LaVell Edwards, Steve Spurrier, and many more.

The articles are organized into the following sections:

• Developing a System
• Attacking the Defense
• Building Backfield Excellence
• Running the Wing-T
• Running From the I
• Running the Wishbone
• Running the Veer
• Running an Option Offense
• Establishing a Passing Scheme
• Passing From Sets and Formations
• Keeping the Defense on Edge
• Incorporating Play-Action
• Creating Quality Quarterback Play
• Protecting the Passer
• Gaining Key Yardage
• Dominating the Red Zone

Developed in cooperation with the American Football Coaches Association, Offensive Football Strategies is loaded with more than 700 X-and-O diagrams. Whether you are seeking another option for your running or passing attack, or looking for that sure-fire scoring play in the red zone, this book offers a wealth of winning strategies for your game plan.