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Chasing Perfection: The Principles Behind Winning Football the De La Salle Way
A coaching legend shares techniques, philosophies, and team-building exercises applicable beyond the playing field
In 1979, when Bob Ladouceur took over the head football coaching job at De La Salle high school, the program had never once had a winning season. By the time he stepped down in 2013 and after posting an unprecedented 399–25–3 record, De La Salle was regarded as one of the great dynasties in the history of high school football. In When the Game Stands Coaches’ Playbook , Ladouceur shares, for the first time, the coaching philosophies he employed at De La Salle. Far more than a book on the Xs and Os of football, this resource focuses on how Ladouceur created a culture based on accountability, work ethic, humility, and commitment that made his teams greater than the sum of their parts. This book not only include details on the nuances of the game and the techniques that made the Spartans the most celebrated high school football team in history, it also has chapters on creating what Ladouceur calls an “authentic team experience,” which include lessons as valuable in a board room as in a locker room.
In 1979, when Bob Ladouceur took over the head football coaching job at De La Salle high school, the program had never once had a winning season. By the time he stepped down in 2013 and after posting an unprecedented 399–25–3 record, De La Salle was regarded as one of the great dynasties in the history of high school football. In When the Game Stands Coaches’ Playbook , Ladouceur shares, for the first time, the coaching philosophies he employed at De La Salle. Far more than a book on the Xs and Os of football, this resource focuses on how Ladouceur created a culture based on accountability, work ethic, humility, and commitment that made his teams greater than the sum of their parts. This book not only include details on the nuances of the game and the techniques that made the Spartans the most celebrated high school football team in history, it also has chapters on creating what Ladouceur calls an “authentic team experience,” which include lessons as valuable in a board room as in a locker room.
- GenresNonfiction
240 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 2015
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57 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 3, 2021
Chasing Perfection is not a book for casual football fans, this book is geared for football coaches and really die-hard football fans. Casual football fans wouldn't even get past the first chapter of this book. And I think former De La Salle Spartans (DLS) head coach Bob Ladouceur and the former and current Spartan assistant coaches who helped write this book, wanted this book to appeal to high school, college, and pro football coaches in the first place.
One of the things I liked about this book was when Ladouceur made it plain at the beginning of the book and on the front cover of the book, that Chasing Perfection was about winning the De La Salle way. Every coach who reads this book is not gonna always agree with the strategies and such expounded on in this book. When you read this book, you have to get out of it what you can and then try to be successful with your own strategies and own style of coaching.
If you think this book was a sequel to the super successful When The Game Stands Tall (2003), then you're wrong. Chasing Perfection is a coaching manual and the When The Game Stands Tall was a chronicling of DLS's football success under Ladouceur from 1979 to 2002.
Buy this book if you're a football coach (past or present), but if you're a casual football fan or you could care less about football then bypass this book because you won't get it.
One of the things I liked about this book was when Ladouceur made it plain at the beginning of the book and on the front cover of the book, that Chasing Perfection was about winning the De La Salle way. Every coach who reads this book is not gonna always agree with the strategies and such expounded on in this book. When you read this book, you have to get out of it what you can and then try to be successful with your own strategies and own style of coaching.
If you think this book was a sequel to the super successful When The Game Stands Tall (2003), then you're wrong. Chasing Perfection is a coaching manual and the When The Game Stands Tall was a chronicling of DLS's football success under Ladouceur from 1979 to 2002.
Buy this book if you're a football coach (past or present), but if you're a casual football fan or you could care less about football then bypass this book because you won't get it.
April 14, 2020
Definitely good nuggets in here for aspiring football coaches - probably better than good. I know Coach Ladouceur probably hates this, but it is very hard to separate what he writes and the program he runs/ran with the fact that DLS is an elite private school. One particular egregious difference is when he said that it was essentially impossible to transfer to DLS in the summer and catch up (both physically and mentally) to the program in time to play in the fall. Trust me when I say that a lot of programs are taking anyone willing to play after week 2 of the season. Good for DLS that they had such a great coach - and I believe Coach Ladouceur is a great coach, but not everything in this book transfers well. ;)
August 1, 2024
This wasn’t what I was expecting. I was hoping for more of the coaching philosophy but the book focused a lot on the drills, plays, and specific football positions. Probably a good read for football coaches… my favorite chapters were the last two where it talked about conditioning and sports medicine. Overall I’d give it a 5/10
August 28, 2018
After seeing the movie, When The Game Stands Tall, I wanted to read the book about the coach. The first half of the book contained many great "nuggets" of wisdom. I skimmed over the second half of the book with chapters about how to play football.
December 30, 2019
Lots of excellent coaching points and rationale for his coaching philosophy. Always enjoyable to read about what the greats do, and what makes them so good. Ladouceur's attention to detail and rationale for everything he does make it easy to see why he has had such success.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews