Successful Coaching

by Rainer Martens

Being a successful coach is not just about Xs and Os and winning games. It’s about coaching young people to become successful athletes—and successful human beings. But unless you already have the teaching skills of an educator, the training expertise of a physiologist, the administrative leadership of a business executive, and the counseling wisdom of a psychologist, you will rely on this third edition of Successful Coaching to discover how to excel as a coach.

Successful Coaching offers an in-depth introduction to the coaching profession and is specifically written for the high school and serious club coach. Integrating the latest sport science research with practical knowledge acquired by highly experienced coaches, this book features new sections on sportsmanship, coaching diverse athletes, managing athletes’ behavior, preventing and addressing drug and alcohol abuse, and coaching using the games approach. Five sections serve as the foundation for the book:

Genres: Sports, Leadership

508 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1989

About the author

Rainer Martens is a former Professor of Kinesiology at the University of Illinois (1968-1984) and the founder and president of Human Kinetics, the world's largest publisher of sport, physical activity, and health resources as of 2020. Martens served as president of the American Academy of Kinesiology and Physical Education and the North American Society for Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity. He was a board member of many organizations, including the American College of Sports Medicine, the National Association for Physical Education in Higher Education, and the American Academy of Physical Education. Over the course of his long career as coach, professor, researcher, and publisher, Rainer Martens received numerous awards and recognitions, including the Soccer Association for Youth Gold Ball Award (1985) and the Meritorious Service Award of the National Recreation and Park Association (1987). Rainer was inducted into the National Association of Sport and Physical Education Hall of Fame in 2001 and the National Senior Softball Hall of Fame in 2009.

Reviews

[Selene · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is Coaching 101. Very useful for someone who has never coached before and has no idea where to begin. Some content may be a little outdated, but for the most part it is very thorough. I would not recommend this book for the experienced coach.

[John Gates · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is fantastic and ought to be read by every parent. Unfortunately most people care instead about status and money, so most of this book is therefore rendered useless, BUT... for those who enjoy sports for the sport, this book is definitely for you!

[Rick · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are many books out there on softball, especially fastpitch softball. Some cover coaching, some cover drills, and still others cover the windmill pitch in fastpitch softball. Here are eight good ones: (General) Softball: Fast and Slow Pitch…ISBN-1570280258; and The Louisville Slugger Complete Book of Women’s Fast-Pitch Softball…ISBN-0805058095 --- (Coaching) Coaching Fastpitch Softball Successfully…ISBN-0880115467; and Successful Coaching…ISBN-0880116668 --- (Drills) Softball: Steps to Success…ISBN-0873227948; and Softball Skills & Drills…ISBN-0736033645 --- (Pitching) The Softball Pitching Edge…ISBN-0736038256; and Fastpitch Softball: The Windmill Pitcher…ISBN-1570281408.

This coaching book is particularly good for beginning coaches. Written by a coaching legend and the founder of the American Sport Education Program, it is particularly strong in teaching general coaching concepts...it is not written for the sport of softball. The book is only illustrated with plain drawings. Chapters are organized around psychology, pedagogy, physiology, and management. Many states use this as a required course for certifying coaches in the state high school associations.

[Cloay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Available in SG NLB 796.077 (Central)

This is a good reference book, easy to read and covered extensively on coaching science, but it is very heavy because of the paper material used. Maybe all coachers are strong and don't feel it.

I used it for my diploma course and reading it before class make understand better during classes, and I can better reflect my by past experience being coached by others, hence, I can contribute alot during class discussion.

[Amanda Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very helpful textbook that I used for a coaching class to get a certification in coaching from the American Sport Education Program. A lot of the information was common sense, but there was some information that I found to be interesting. I enjoyed being able to discuss this with the class. I strongly recommend this if you are clueless about coaching a sport, otherwise I'm not sure how much you would really benefit from it.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had to read it for my coaching class. A lot of information. Some of it is pretty obvious but good to know.