Coaching Volleyball

I mentioned going to a seminar at the 2013 American Volleyball Coaches Association convention in which there was a panel discussion with the subject “When Winning is Your Job”. During that session the moderator asked each of the panelists for a book recommendation. Here’s what they offered up.

[amazon asin=B000FCKPHG&text=Mindset] by Carol Dweck is one coaches often mention. Many have also heard of [amazon asin=0787960756&text=The Five Dysfunctions of a Team] by Patrick Lencioni. Sacred Hoops is a well-known book by basketball coaching great Phil Jackson. The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle is a book with considerable attention in a variety of performance fields since its publication. I’ve personally read the Dweck, Jackson, and Coyle books. I recommend them all.

The other book mentioned that I have read is [amazon asin=1887791027&text=Training Soccer Champions] by Anson Dorrance. I picked that one up years ago when I was a newbie coach. It’s where he made famous the Competitive Cauldron concept. That was the subject of one of the other convention seminars, as I mentioned. I found it a very worthwhile read, though I haven’t looked at it in years.

You will notice the lack of volleyball books in there. Not a huge surprise. Most are heavily focused on drills, training methods, etc. When you reach a certain stage in your development as a coach you come to realize that a great deal of doing your job well is on the motivation and management side of things. This is stuff which overlaps with many other sports and fields (like business). Truly professional coaches interested in continuous personal development will look for inspiration and education in diverse areas.

If you want even more reading ideas, check out this list of recommended books from the Volleyball Coaching Wizards interviews.

You can also see my volleyball coaching book reviews.