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Coach: The Greatest Teachers in Sports and Their Lessons for Us All
Every great sports coach is a life coach. This book identifies 168 outstanding coaches who have much to teach us about optimizing our performance, our character, and our lives. Coaches build winning teams and enable each athlete they mentor, guide, cajole, and nurture to achieve top performance. More than this, every great sports coach is first and last a life coach. Sportswriter Justin Spizman identifies and profiles 168 of the greatest coaches and managers of all time. They have much to teach us about optimizing our performance, our character, and our lives.
The Greatest Teachers in Sports and Their Lessons for Us All profiles coaches in every significant sport, from football, basketball, baseball, and hockey to gymnastics, skating, rowing, rugby, soccer, and more. From field to court, diamond, rink, and pitch, the big leagues to the Olympics, college, and high school, Coach delivers the most teachable moments and methods―for play, for competition, and for life. Rich in quotations, each profile ends with lessons for top performance on and off the field, in and beyond the arena.
Justin Spizman tracks all the relevant stats―for every sport keeps score―but he seeks first and last to disclose the mind, the heart, and the force of character that drive each of the indispensable men and women behind the world’s most envied and admired athletes. His profiles range from the likes of Cardinals manager Tony La Russa (already an MLB legend), to Aimee Boorman and Cecile Canqueteau-Landi (who both coached gymnastics phenom Simone Biles), Bill Belichick (the take-no-prisoners field general of the New England Patriots), Pat Summitt (who racked up 1,098 wins as coach of the University of Tennessee Lady Vols basketball team from 1974 to 2012), Marián Vajda (the coach behind tennis titan Novak Djokovic), and David Leadbetter (golf guru to champions Kathy Baker, Nick Faldo, and Michelle Wie).
The Greatest Teachers in Sports and Their Lessons for Us All profiles coaches in every significant sport, from football, basketball, baseball, and hockey to gymnastics, skating, rowing, rugby, soccer, and more. From field to court, diamond, rink, and pitch, the big leagues to the Olympics, college, and high school, Coach delivers the most teachable moments and methods―for play, for competition, and for life. Rich in quotations, each profile ends with lessons for top performance on and off the field, in and beyond the arena.
Justin Spizman tracks all the relevant stats―for every sport keeps score―but he seeks first and last to disclose the mind, the heart, and the force of character that drive each of the indispensable men and women behind the world’s most envied and admired athletes. His profiles range from the likes of Cardinals manager Tony La Russa (already an MLB legend), to Aimee Boorman and Cecile Canqueteau-Landi (who both coached gymnastics phenom Simone Biles), Bill Belichick (the take-no-prisoners field general of the New England Patriots), Pat Summitt (who racked up 1,098 wins as coach of the University of Tennessee Lady Vols basketball team from 1974 to 2012), Marián Vajda (the coach behind tennis titan Novak Djokovic), and David Leadbetter (golf guru to champions Kathy Baker, Nick Faldo, and Michelle Wie).
560 pages, Hardcover
Published February 8, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 12, 2022
Life Lessons for Every Reader
If you want to help others and give key life lessons, coaching is one of the greatest ways to give back. Bestselling author and collaborator Justin Spizman has had a lifetime fascination with the lessons people learn from coaches. He takes this passion and pours it into this fascinating volume COACH: THE GREATEST TEACHERS IN SPORTS AND THEIR LESSONS FOR US ALL.
In the introduction, Spizman talks about categorizing these coaches into four major attributes: The Team Builders, The Strategists, The Technicians and The Closers. Beyond the interesting profiles of various coaches, as he writes, “I have tried to capture the teachable moments along the way. No doubt, some coaches will resonate more with you than others. That certainly is true for me. Yet no man or woman here has let me down. Every single one of these remarkable teachers-coaches adds to the conversation…Teachers and coaches shape our lives. You never forget your best coaches. You never forget your best teachers.” (Page 21-22)
Every reader will gain hours of insights from this well-crafted book. I recommend COACH.
W. Terry Whalin is an editor and the author of more than 60 books including his recent 10 Publishing Myths, Insights Every Author Needs to Succeed .
If you want to help others and give key life lessons, coaching is one of the greatest ways to give back. Bestselling author and collaborator Justin Spizman has had a lifetime fascination with the lessons people learn from coaches. He takes this passion and pours it into this fascinating volume COACH: THE GREATEST TEACHERS IN SPORTS AND THEIR LESSONS FOR US ALL.
In the introduction, Spizman talks about categorizing these coaches into four major attributes: The Team Builders, The Strategists, The Technicians and The Closers. Beyond the interesting profiles of various coaches, as he writes, “I have tried to capture the teachable moments along the way. No doubt, some coaches will resonate more with you than others. That certainly is true for me. Yet no man or woman here has let me down. Every single one of these remarkable teachers-coaches adds to the conversation…Teachers and coaches shape our lives. You never forget your best coaches. You never forget your best teachers.” (Page 21-22)
Every reader will gain hours of insights from this well-crafted book. I recommend COACH.
W. Terry Whalin is an editor and the author of more than 60 books including his recent 10 Publishing Myths, Insights Every Author Needs to Succeed .
December 17, 2023
I'm "rounding up" to two stars because there were a few interesting insights and quotes from some great coaches, but overall this was one of the most poorly written books I've picked up. Maybe it was purposely written at about a 7th grade level to appeal to junior high students (or, to fall into a stereotype, written at "jock" level)? Several typos, wrong names inserted into stories, cliche after cliche...yeah, that kind of book.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews