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The Barefoot Coach
In 2008, a few days after being selected to coach the Indian cricket team, Gary Kirsten and Paddy Upton set themselves the goals of winning the World Cup in 2011 and becoming the number one Test team in the world. Over three years of their innovative and creative ways of coaching, the team achieved these goals, and more. Paddy’s journey included working with the South African cricket team as the cricket world’s first fitness trainer, transitioned to him becoming a mental coach in professional sport, and in 2012 became head coach of the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League. Since then, he has coached five teams in thirteen seasons across three of the world’s premier T20 leagues. The Barefoot Coach is packed with Paddy’s out-of-the-box thinking and illuminating anecdotes on winning, preparation, failure and working to resolve life’s tangled knots. Inspiring, candid and unusual in its approach to coaching, and with fascinating breakaways into extreme sport, this is a must read for everyone who wishes to enhance their performance, and their lives.
364 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 25, 2019
209 people are currently reading
541 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
July 1, 2019
In this book, Paddy Upton, India's mental conditioning and strategic leadership coach (when they won the 2011 World Cup) details his experiences of coaching the Indian and South African teams, and numerous T20 teams across the globe.
Throughout the book, he stresses on the importance of preparation, developing your strengths into excellence and the myth of mental toughness. It's also interesting to read about the parallels he draws between India's war history and our psyche on the cricket field.
And the fact that this book is interspersed with anecdotes and real-life experiences of some of the best cricketers of the world definitely boosts your reading experience :)
Throughout the book, he stresses on the importance of preparation, developing your strengths into excellence and the myth of mental toughness. It's also interesting to read about the parallels he draws between India's war history and our psyche on the cricket field.
And the fact that this book is interspersed with anecdotes and real-life experiences of some of the best cricketers of the world definitely boosts your reading experience :)
July 19, 2019
One of the best books I read on sports, mentoring, mental conditioning, and values. If you read this book to get inside scoop about dressing room secrets and late night IPL parties, you will be disappointed. This book taught me a great deal about mentoring/coaching, learnings model, growing up with integrity, and how having soul intact is more important than "win-at-all-costs" mindset.
September 26, 2019
Fantastic book with deep insights on management.. wherever we read, the current world requires management that is friendly to its employees..gone are the days of comman control assembly line jobs..those are best suited for robots
January 8, 2025
Paddy (Patrick) Upton is a South African born coach who was associated with the 2011 cricket world cup winning Indian men's team, 2024 Olympic medal winning Indian men's hockey team, and the 2024 world chess championship winning team supporting Gukesh Dommaraju. These are a few of the many achievements that he has had in the sporting world as there are a plethora of other teams and franchises that he has worked with over the years. His role has been that of a "mental coach" for the most part (along with variants in title like "strength and conditioning coach", "fitness coach" etc.) and he has valuable insights to provide about mental conditioning.
This book titled The Barefoot Coach was written in 2019, before some of his accomplishments listed above, in which he clearly elucidates ideas about effective helping techniques for the mind. The exposition towards the beginning about instructing, advising, mentoring, abdicating and coaching is fascinating. There are many anecdotes and vivid descriptions about interactions with various famous sportsmen who he worked with, which are inspirational. One gets a glimpse of how great sportsmen dealt with success and failure, with regards to mental framework.
The lessons that can be picked up by the reader as the writing progresses applies to coaching in any sport, management in a corporate world, and even to everyday life! The narration seems to meander towards the end, but it is more than made up for by exciting stories full of life (especially those of experiences with barefoot surfing which gives the book its title). This is a fun and alluring read for introspective readers interested in improving their mental approach to challenges in life.
This book titled The Barefoot Coach was written in 2019, before some of his accomplishments listed above, in which he clearly elucidates ideas about effective helping techniques for the mind. The exposition towards the beginning about instructing, advising, mentoring, abdicating and coaching is fascinating. There are many anecdotes and vivid descriptions about interactions with various famous sportsmen who he worked with, which are inspirational. One gets a glimpse of how great sportsmen dealt with success and failure, with regards to mental framework.
The lessons that can be picked up by the reader as the writing progresses applies to coaching in any sport, management in a corporate world, and even to everyday life! The narration seems to meander towards the end, but it is more than made up for by exciting stories full of life (especially those of experiences with barefoot surfing which gives the book its title). This is a fun and alluring read for introspective readers interested in improving their mental approach to challenges in life.
March 28, 2020
Exceptional. One of the best book I read in recent time. Picked up thinking about anything will be on my favorite sport but boooom, it's all about insight and preparation for any game. I feel it's not one time read, I will read it again after some time.
May 22, 2019
I admit that I've always turned my nose up at any book promising either motivation or productivity, but having heard universally great things about Paddy Upton from player interviews I was intrigued about this one. It took only a few pages for me to realize this was going to be good. What Paddy has offered is far beyond a coaching manual, it is an entire approach to life and all your endeavours. Seldom have I introspected quite as deeply as I did while reading a book as I did for this one. His methods and approaches are practical, effective, and most importantly, desirable and reproduceable. As an additional bonus, there are both funny and moving anecdotes about some of the best Cricketers in the world.
I will be applying the lessons from the book for a long time to come.
I will be applying the lessons from the book for a long time to come.
October 6, 2019
Inspirational!!!
This book definitely gave me a different dimension about leadership (more about the character and values). Good start for me to do more research on Servant-leadership concepts. And also helped me to understand "playing to your strengths".
This book definitely gave me a different dimension about leadership (more about the character and values). Good start for me to do more research on Servant-leadership concepts. And also helped me to understand "playing to your strengths".
October 15, 2019
An excellent read. Well presented ideas clearly presented, illustrated with anecdotes and backed up with research.
July 10, 2019
This book is for all sorts of people. Starting from an ordinary folk to the richest of persons. Paddy teaches us a lot about life, fear, uncertainty, problems, and all kinds of odds and challenges. And with that he is able to give us a concrete solution to all of those above mentioned scenarios of life. This book is a must read for all the coaches, sports personalities, and leaders. Baring them, a common man like can also draw the essence of this fruit named as "Barefoot coach" and savour the lessons and learning all through his reading.
August 28, 2019
The Barefoot Coach
Paddy wrote in detail about coaching and managing sports teams. It is on coaching but with different perspective. Only winning is not necessary , which he explained very well. I found this book more on being better human beings and living in complete synchronisation with others. Very useful for people in sports and in coaching of big teams.
Paddy wrote in detail about coaching and managing sports teams. It is on coaching but with different perspective. Only winning is not necessary , which he explained very well. I found this book more on being better human beings and living in complete synchronisation with others. Very useful for people in sports and in coaching of big teams.
September 15, 2019
Must read !!
June 19, 2019
Must read for every cricket lover and also for every person who wants to become a better person. Phenomenal insights.
September 11, 2019
Quite a well researched and unique book on sports.
January 26, 2021
"On the contrary, failure is the reason to feel alive in the midst of the game of the life, even though it feels downright shit."
I had always wanted to finish a non-fiction for a while because I generally struggle with them. There were a lot of DNFs. However, this book has brought a fresh air of positivity to my life. Although, Paddy talks about personal mastery and removal of fear of failure, most of the stuff I had practised earlier in my life and the results have been fantastic both on the personal and professional front.
Paddy talks about his experience with various players (named and anonymous) when he was the mental conditioning and strategic leadership coach with the Indian cricket team, South African cricket team, Rajasthan Royals, Sydney Thunder and Lahore Qalanders. What I loved the most was the experience of bringing Mike Horn to meet players and inspire them.
BTW Mike Horn is an extreme adventurer and has achieved unimaginable feats. He was supporting the players in becoming mentallytough capable of being responsible and courageous.
The book becomes amazing when Paddy relates the theory with real life examples from cricketing and other worlds. However, the theory portion made me feel sleepy. Overall, a good book for everyone who aspires to be a leader or is a leader.
I had always wanted to finish a non-fiction for a while because I generally struggle with them. There were a lot of DNFs. However, this book has brought a fresh air of positivity to my life. Although, Paddy talks about personal mastery and removal of fear of failure, most of the stuff I had practised earlier in my life and the results have been fantastic both on the personal and professional front.
Paddy talks about his experience with various players (named and anonymous) when he was the mental conditioning and strategic leadership coach with the Indian cricket team, South African cricket team, Rajasthan Royals, Sydney Thunder and Lahore Qalanders. What I loved the most was the experience of bringing Mike Horn to meet players and inspire them.
BTW Mike Horn is an extreme adventurer and has achieved unimaginable feats. He was supporting the players in becoming mentally
The book becomes amazing when Paddy relates the theory with real life examples from cricketing and other worlds. However, the theory portion made me feel sleepy. Overall, a good book for everyone who aspires to be a leader or is a leader.
December 8, 2019
This is a life philosophy + management+ sport mental conditioning book. One of the better books that I read. I had heard of Paddy Upton many times in the context of the 2011 World Cup win as well as India's rise to become the world no. 1 team. There are several good takeaways from the book on self-mastery, building teams, building team culture and self-management under pressure. The ideas in the book are well articulated and there are links to original research in the references.
It is a refreshingly honest book and Paddy names names and pulls no punches whether it is the empathy of the Shane Watson or Gautam Gambhir's insecurities or his own failings (both as a coach and as a human being). He has an insider's view on cricket and if you are a keen follower of the game you will come back with interesting nuggets about the different people that inhabit the Indian cricket dressing room. Definitely a book I would recommend to others and come back and read specific parts.
It is a refreshingly honest book and Paddy names names and pulls no punches whether it is the empathy of the Shane Watson or Gautam Gambhir's insecurities or his own failings (both as a coach and as a human being). He has an insider's view on cricket and if you are a keen follower of the game you will come back with interesting nuggets about the different people that inhabit the Indian cricket dressing room. Definitely a book I would recommend to others and come back and read specific parts.
May 9, 2021
Fascinating and insightful!
This can easily be called as a book on business and management, and also on parenting.
It mentions the latest business practices which are recently being used in sports coaching and leadership, and its multifold benefits like servant leadership, empowering individuals to think for themselves as compared to traditional approaches of instructing on what to do.
The author rightly mentions that this approach is not easy initially and doesn’t happen overnight, but if well executed creates a lifelong impact.
He brilliantly explains how focusing on strengths and not on weaknesses leads to excellence. A much needed approach when everyone around including parents are focusing on filling the weak gaps.
Further Insights on sharing feedback and how to gain focus if not the flow, are superbly put.
A short postscript describing a moment the author shared with Nelson Mandela, perfectly sums it up.
This can easily be called as a book on business and management, and also on parenting.
It mentions the latest business practices which are recently being used in sports coaching and leadership, and its multifold benefits like servant leadership, empowering individuals to think for themselves as compared to traditional approaches of instructing on what to do.
The author rightly mentions that this approach is not easy initially and doesn’t happen overnight, but if well executed creates a lifelong impact.
He brilliantly explains how focusing on strengths and not on weaknesses leads to excellence. A much needed approach when everyone around including parents are focusing on filling the weak gaps.
Further Insights on sharing feedback and how to gain focus if not the flow, are superbly put.
A short postscript describing a moment the author shared with Nelson Mandela, perfectly sums it up.
August 28, 2022
I firmly believe that books come to you when they are destined too. This is one of them.
This is essentially a book about the author's journey into helping people become more self aware and to be on the path of self mastery.
Paddy Upton is a well known coach in the cricketing world and especially Indian cricket. In fact recently there was news that he may be brought into the fold once again for the mental conditioning of the Indian cricket team before the T20 World cup. Anyways, back to the book. This is a well thought out and well written book. It is full of aha moments. The only critique I have here is that book could have been 20-30 pages shorter. But I guess the author and editor know it best.
In fact it is an excellent reference book for coaches in the sports and leadership coaching segment. So if you are one then I 'd say go ahead and read this book. In fact I would say this one is for keeps!
This is essentially a book about the author's journey into helping people become more self aware and to be on the path of self mastery.
Paddy Upton is a well known coach in the cricketing world and especially Indian cricket. In fact recently there was news that he may be brought into the fold once again for the mental conditioning of the Indian cricket team before the T20 World cup. Anyways, back to the book. This is a well thought out and well written book. It is full of aha moments. The only critique I have here is that book could have been 20-30 pages shorter. But I guess the author and editor know it best.
In fact it is an excellent reference book for coaches in the sports and leadership coaching segment. So if you are one then I 'd say go ahead and read this book. In fact I would say this one is for keeps!
February 4, 2025
The author brings in some of the dressing room discussions and the plannings that go on during the preparation for any match. I always wondered, what would be the role of a coach, when most of the players have played for many years for their respective teams. Paddy clearly mentions the different styles of coaching and what the role of a coach should be.
I wasn't aware/expecting the events like ad shooting were used for ice-breaking between the team members. The preparation of the South African team with Mike was unbelievable. I never thought that teams would go through such strenuous preparations for a cricket series.
I understand that some of the conversations may not be for public consumption, but I felt, some more instances could be added to the book. Overall a good read.
I wasn't aware/expecting the events like ad shooting were used for ice-breaking between the team members. The preparation of the South African team with Mike was unbelievable. I never thought that teams would go through such strenuous preparations for a cricket series.
I understand that some of the conversations may not be for public consumption, but I felt, some more instances could be added to the book. Overall a good read.
November 15, 2019
An amazing book, and an easy read.
I like reading books on leadership theories. And I enjoy cricket. This is a book about leadership, that is made much more fun to read because of the context in which it is all played out - the cricket field.
One encounters several familiar faces in these pages - the respect Paddy has for Gary Kirsten, Rahul Dravid, Mike Hussey and Shane Watson is obvious throughout - while I've always been a fan of Dravid's - I also became a fan of the others after reading this book.
Highly recommend this.
I like reading books on leadership theories. And I enjoy cricket. This is a book about leadership, that is made much more fun to read because of the context in which it is all played out - the cricket field.
One encounters several familiar faces in these pages - the respect Paddy has for Gary Kirsten, Rahul Dravid, Mike Hussey and Shane Watson is obvious throughout - while I've always been a fan of Dravid's - I also became a fan of the others after reading this book.
Highly recommend this.
February 24, 2020
Paddy Upton, the lesser known man behind the India World Cup Win of 2011. The Barefoot Coach is an experiential anecdote in the world of leadership and coaching in this VUCA world. With his experiences as the mental conditioning coach of the Indian Cricket team, coach of Rajastan Royals, Sydney Thunders and the performance director of the South African cricket team, Paddy bats for servitude leadership, out of box thinking and innovative techniques. Paddy had kept the narration style candid and the chronology of the book keeps the reader hooked.
November 2, 2020
Barefoot, Mindful, Heartfelt!
Simply superb. A must read for everyone. Paddy Upton was the Mental Conditioning & Strategic Leadership Coach for the Indian Cricket Team from 2008 to 2011. Yes, his contribution along with Head Coach Garry Kirsten in bringing back the ICC World Cup back to India is just incredible.
The insights offered by Paddy about Leadership, Ego Management, Simplicity, Focusing on Strengths rather than weaknesses, A+B=C, and many more are for sure Life Enhancing, only if implemented.
A great barefoot coach.
Simply superb. A must read for everyone. Paddy Upton was the Mental Conditioning & Strategic Leadership Coach for the Indian Cricket Team from 2008 to 2011. Yes, his contribution along with Head Coach Garry Kirsten in bringing back the ICC World Cup back to India is just incredible.
The insights offered by Paddy about Leadership, Ego Management, Simplicity, Focusing on Strengths rather than weaknesses, A+B=C, and many more are for sure Life Enhancing, only if implemented.
A great barefoot coach.
November 13, 2019
One of the best books on leadership, humility, perseverance, team work and having belief in yourself. Thoroughly enjoyed the practical approach that Paddy shared through his own first hand experience of working with various Cricketing countries and leagues. The book details the mindset that sportsmen develop to conquer the unthinkable and the same principles can be applied to any other fields in life.
December 31, 2019
Awesome book. Read cover to cover and did not feel bored for even a page. The cricket stories, the Indian Team's world cup journey, the highs, and the lows all are great. It was interesting to know how even the greatest of players (and leaders) feel nervous before their innings, feel pressure and do ordinary mistakes.
I connected with the author much deeply through this book. It is a must-read for anyone who wants to learn the nuances of an athlete ( or employee) first leadership.
I connected with the author much deeply through this book. It is a must-read for anyone who wants to learn the nuances of an athlete ( or employee) first leadership.
September 11, 2020
My rating - 4.5/5
This book highlights the importance of a mental conditioning coach in any cricket team. It could be in any domestic leagues or at an international level. Paddy has served as a mental conditioning coach for the BCCI, CSA, and many other domestic clubs in various T20 leagues around the world. He throws light on various topics like leadership, ego, and what it means to coach the best players in the world. A must read for every cricket fan.
This book highlights the importance of a mental conditioning coach in any cricket team. It could be in any domestic leagues or at an international level. Paddy has served as a mental conditioning coach for the BCCI, CSA, and many other domestic clubs in various T20 leagues around the world. He throws light on various topics like leadership, ego, and what it means to coach the best players in the world. A must read for every cricket fan.
January 29, 2020
What a start of new year to complete this book
An amazing book about cricket, coaching and doing the things in the correct way
Very inspiring and Engaging read
Very honest
Not given five stars just because after initial phase for few chapters it becomes little bit slow and more theoretical about management concepts
An amazing book about cricket, coaching and doing the things in the correct way
Very inspiring and Engaging read
Very honest
Not given five stars just because after initial phase for few chapters it becomes little bit slow and more theoretical about management concepts
March 28, 2020
A great sports management & leadership book with fascinating insights which can be applied to all spheres of one's life. The behind the scenes story of Indian WC win & several franchisee is a rivetting read. Paddy is quite candid in accepting his mistakes & recommends the readers to be always be learning from mistakes. All in all a superb book for this lockdown period.
April 11, 2020
Explaining the purpose of life using excerpts from the world of cricket.
I will highly recommend this book to someone who wants to know the real meaning of taking part in a game/sport and how winning is not the most important thing in it.
I will highly recommend this book to someone who wants to know the real meaning of taking part in a game/sport and how winning is not the most important thing in it.
January 10, 2021
Excellent book on Paddy Upton's journey as indian team's cricket coach.
The sport strategies are easily applicable in any management activities.
Loved it and i recommend this book as Must have creation.
The sport strategies are easily applicable in any management activities.
Loved it and i recommend this book as Must have creation.
February 23, 2021
One of the best books on leadership I've read so far. My expectation, when I picked this book, was that it'll be a typical sportsperson's autobiography, where he'll talk about the teams, players, and techniques around major sports events. What it had was much much more, whether it was preparing the Indian team for the World Cup final, coaching the Sydney Thunders, a bottom-rung team, and taking it all the way to the top, or preparing the South African team to take the No.1 spot in all 3 formats. I would highly recommend this book to everyone, especially those leading a team.
January 25, 2022
Really liked the insights into the minds of sportsmen and how they deal with different situations. Also a great commentary on the mental preparation of the Indian Cricket Team that led them to winning the 2011 world cup!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews