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America's Coach: Life Lessons & Wisdom for Gold Medal Success: A Biographical Journey of the Late Hockey Icon Herb Brooks
"AMERICA'S COACH" "Life Lessons & Wisdom for Gold Medal Success; A Biographical Journey of the Late Hockey Icon Herb Brooks" The inspirational story of legendary coach Herb Brooks comes to life in the pages of "America's Coach," a heart-warming motivational biography that celebrates the legacy of a true American hero. As the architect of the fabled 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey "Miracle on Ice," Brooks showed the world that through hard work, commitment and dedication, dreams really can come true. It doesn't matter if you know the difference between a blue line and a clothes line, Brooks' unorthodox ideologies and philosophies on team-building, leadership and motivation can be applied to the real world just as easily as they can to the business world. Follow along as Brooks' amazing life is chronicled from the frozen ponds of St. Paul's east side, to the bright lights of New York City, and everywhere in between. Woven throughout this colorful tapestry are anecdotes, quotes, funny stories, and nuggets of wisdom from Brooks himself, which provide a unique insight into the secrets of his success. Best-selling sports author Ross Bernstein, who had actually been working with Brooks on writing a series of motivational books at the time of his tragic passing in 2003, honors the legacy of his late friend and mentor by challenging you to achieve heights you never dreamed possible. And maybe, just maybe, even inspire you to create your own miracles.
- GenresSports
176 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
May 10, 2021
Herb Brooks’ story is a leadership lesson all of its own! Wherever you are in your leadership walk this book and research of Herb Brooks should be at the top of your list. After completing your study watch “Miracle on Ice” and see a master at work.
February 10, 2026
This book is a first hand account of the mindset it takes to win a gold medal. The following is a summary of some of the greatest takeaways from this book and the life of Herb Brooks that I want to be able to reflect back on.
COACHING STYLE:
Herb Brook’s coaching style was all about the collective over the individual. From his experience as an Olympic athlete and his research of other foreign styles of play he recognized that creating a legendary team would require a new style of play, unity and a force so strong that only a team working in perfect harmony could generate.
You can’t solve a problem from the mindset that created it. - Einstein (Herb believed this)
Although each player had their own strengths, they would each be required to adopt a certain philosophy that Brooks would pound into their heads.
Herbs winning philosophy that inspired his players to take it all the way included the following:
MOTIVATION
- “Motivation is the energy that makes everything work. It is the most critical factor in performance.” Herb Brooks
Herb believed motivation was the key to success. To motivate his players, he was blatantly honest and held them to a championship standard, at all times. Champions require a level of accountability unlike anyone else- that is why they are champions. He didn’t care if a player was good, if they didn’t live and perform as a champion they were going to hear about it. This would drive players to a new level and intensity for success.
A good example of where Herb learned this was when he was the last player cut from the 1960 Olympic team that went on to win the gold medal. As Herb watched his team win the gold medal on TV without him alongside his father, his dad looked at him and said, “Looks like coach cut the right guy.” This was a statement that would inspire Brooks to not just coach but coach a team to win the gold medal and do it in a way that was thought to be impossible at the time.
VISION
Having a vision. This vision can be revisited in times of struggle to remind not only your teammates but yourself why you started in the first place. “For the country,” “to make MN the most desirable program in the country.” DON’T FORGET YOUR VISION, YOUR WHY.
INTANGIBLES
Herb was hired to be Olympic coach because of his enthusiasm, work ethic and passion (mostly intangible qualities). He strove to imbue these same qualities in his players—qualities that could yield magic. I call these ‘God’s elements’ because they can not be measured.
ATTITUDE
Herb trained his players to see obstacles as opportunities. “The individuals who are highly motivated and have a positive attitude see possibilities in tough situations rather than obstacles.” At the end of the day when you gave your best, if it doesn’t work, there’s nothing else you could have done.
He was also known to be extremely well prepared for everything he did and so thorough and methodical about every little detail. Although he lost games, anyone who knew him would say “he never lost a game because he was outworked or unprepared.”
SOME OF THE INTANGIBLES INCLUDED:
- motivation
- hard work
- collectivism
- inspiration (enchantment)
- truth
- attitude
- innovation
- preparation
- belief (faith)
- care
… these are things which can not be bought, sold, or measured, but have a definite impact on the outcome.
COMMITMENT
As a coach Herb required total commitment. Basically if you were going to successfully run through a brick wall the only way you were going to do it was with ABSOLUTE commitment to the task, unquestioning faith and total conviction that you could. “Lay it all out on the line.”
HONESTY
A quote I love from Eruzione that I think summarizes Herbs coaching style nicely. “He was just a very demanding coach and could be difficult to play for, but you couldn’t argue with the results. He was like your dad, sometimes you love your dad and sometimes you hated him because he made you do things you didn’t want to do.”
Another quote I like of his was, “I believe that as coaches we must say at times things that employees children and athletes do not want to hear.” I agree with that strongly. If you truly love someone, is it good to lie to them about a poor performance, major character flaws, etc?
For Herb honesty was important and that often was effective with the hard working mentality players who were selected to play on his team. Although it was not always received with grace up front by the players, as individuals ultimately it made them stronger and as a collective it made them world champions.
HARD WORK
I heard a quote the other day that said ‘hard work alone will not get you to where you want to be. You need to work smart also to be effective with what you are doing.’ In today’s culture, although that is true in most cases, I believe there is an arrogance that accompanies this way of thinking and although unintended the quote I believe is often perceived with a meaning far different, that is ‘be smart and you don’t have to work hard.’ It’s important not to forget the importance of hard work
in true success.
Herb was a hard-hat, lunch pail to work kind of guy. He believed in systems and playing smart, but without hard work, he knew players would fall short of their full potential.
VISION
Herb was extremely skilled at getting players to believe in a vision and although they all hated him at times, the players (especially those like Craig and Eruzione) respected him wholeheartedly.
He believed every one of his players had another level inside of them that could only be realized and come to fruition through hard-work, along with total dedication and commitment to the goal. This was often referred to as “sacrificing to the unknown” by Herb.
LEADERSHIP
Nowadays, people have many definitions of what it means to be a leader, but I really appreciated Herb’s, which is: “Leaders are visionaries, they give people something to believe in. Leaders tell us not what is, but what can be. Leaders have to show good habits and have to display a sincere purpose and passion for what they are doing.”
INTERESTING FINDINGS:
I found it inspiring and interesting that Herbs financial success was derived from pursuing his true passion- hockey.
I also found it interesting that had the 1980 US team not tied Sweden late in the game in the Olympics, the name Herb Brooks would not be known like it is today and the US almost certainly would not have won gold or even a medal. If this small detail would have been absent and the US failed to tie the game, would Herbs methods have been seen as a failure? Probably. This is why it’s important to love what you do and despite what anyone else may think or what the results may show, have conviction in yourself and your methods.
I really admired that Herb was often described as being intensely passionate about everything he did in life no matter what it was.
Lastly I want to add part of a speech he gave that I think summarizes his legacy and coaching career to a T.
EXERPT FROM PAGE 121:
“Let me refer to a story in the Old Testament, a story a lot of you have never heard. It’s not about Goliath. It’s about a young captain in King David’s army named Elazar. One day King David called his captains together and said, “we have lost most every day to the Philistines and unless we win tomorrow, you come to the point of no return.”
One man spoke up and said there’s a young captain named Elazar who may be able to help. “Send for him,” said king David. He was called in and King David told him the situation. The next day Elazar went out to do battle against the Philistine’s, but the Philistine’s were giants and although many of Elazar‘s army retreated, ultimately a few of his men fought so valiantly for the Lord that they won a great victory.
The story ends with this sentence: “His hand clave onto the sword.” Because after the battle, Elazar threw himself down on the ground, almost totally exhausted, and as his lieutenants came up, they tried to get the sword loose from his hand, but couldn’t because Elazar had gripped it so tightly, they could not get his fingers off of it, and they had to go down to the brook to get water to remove it from his hand.
Remember, Elazar won this great victory for two main reasons. First, because he took the sword with a tight grip, nothing half hearted, but with dedication of purpose and second because he lost himself to something bigger than he was, he didn’t know the sword was biting into his hand because he was too busy doing battle.
HERBS FINAL MESSAGE: “I dare you to have your haircut and not wilt under the comments of your so-called friends. I dare you to clean up your language. I dare you to honor your mother and father. I dare you to stand with your hand over your heart and sing the national anthem so all can hear. I dare you to go to church without having to be compelled to go by your parents. I dare you to unselfishly help someone less fortunate than yourself. I dare you to become physically fit, to read a book that’s not required in school, to look up at the stars, not down at the mud and to set your sites on one of them that until now you thought was unattainable, I dare you to be better than you are… to clave onto the sword.
COACHING STYLE:
Herb Brook’s coaching style was all about the collective over the individual. From his experience as an Olympic athlete and his research of other foreign styles of play he recognized that creating a legendary team would require a new style of play, unity and a force so strong that only a team working in perfect harmony could generate.
You can’t solve a problem from the mindset that created it. - Einstein (Herb believed this)
Although each player had their own strengths, they would each be required to adopt a certain philosophy that Brooks would pound into their heads.
Herbs winning philosophy that inspired his players to take it all the way included the following:
MOTIVATION
- “Motivation is the energy that makes everything work. It is the most critical factor in performance.” Herb Brooks
Herb believed motivation was the key to success. To motivate his players, he was blatantly honest and held them to a championship standard, at all times. Champions require a level of accountability unlike anyone else- that is why they are champions. He didn’t care if a player was good, if they didn’t live and perform as a champion they were going to hear about it. This would drive players to a new level and intensity for success.
A good example of where Herb learned this was when he was the last player cut from the 1960 Olympic team that went on to win the gold medal. As Herb watched his team win the gold medal on TV without him alongside his father, his dad looked at him and said, “Looks like coach cut the right guy.” This was a statement that would inspire Brooks to not just coach but coach a team to win the gold medal and do it in a way that was thought to be impossible at the time.
VISION
Having a vision. This vision can be revisited in times of struggle to remind not only your teammates but yourself why you started in the first place. “For the country,” “to make MN the most desirable program in the country.” DON’T FORGET YOUR VISION, YOUR WHY.
INTANGIBLES
Herb was hired to be Olympic coach because of his enthusiasm, work ethic and passion (mostly intangible qualities). He strove to imbue these same qualities in his players—qualities that could yield magic. I call these ‘God’s elements’ because they can not be measured.
ATTITUDE
Herb trained his players to see obstacles as opportunities. “The individuals who are highly motivated and have a positive attitude see possibilities in tough situations rather than obstacles.” At the end of the day when you gave your best, if it doesn’t work, there’s nothing else you could have done.
He was also known to be extremely well prepared for everything he did and so thorough and methodical about every little detail. Although he lost games, anyone who knew him would say “he never lost a game because he was outworked or unprepared.”
SOME OF THE INTANGIBLES INCLUDED:
- motivation
- hard work
- collectivism
- inspiration (enchantment)
- truth
- attitude
- innovation
- preparation
- belief (faith)
- care
… these are things which can not be bought, sold, or measured, but have a definite impact on the outcome.
COMMITMENT
As a coach Herb required total commitment. Basically if you were going to successfully run through a brick wall the only way you were going to do it was with ABSOLUTE commitment to the task, unquestioning faith and total conviction that you could. “Lay it all out on the line.”
HONESTY
A quote I love from Eruzione that I think summarizes Herbs coaching style nicely. “He was just a very demanding coach and could be difficult to play for, but you couldn’t argue with the results. He was like your dad, sometimes you love your dad and sometimes you hated him because he made you do things you didn’t want to do.”
Another quote I like of his was, “I believe that as coaches we must say at times things that employees children and athletes do not want to hear.” I agree with that strongly. If you truly love someone, is it good to lie to them about a poor performance, major character flaws, etc?
For Herb honesty was important and that often was effective with the hard working mentality players who were selected to play on his team. Although it was not always received with grace up front by the players, as individuals ultimately it made them stronger and as a collective it made them world champions.
HARD WORK
I heard a quote the other day that said ‘hard work alone will not get you to where you want to be. You need to work smart also to be effective with what you are doing.’ In today’s culture, although that is true in most cases, I believe there is an arrogance that accompanies this way of thinking and although unintended the quote I believe is often perceived with a meaning far different, that is ‘be smart and you don’t have to work hard.’ It’s important not to forget the importance of hard work
in true success.
Herb was a hard-hat, lunch pail to work kind of guy. He believed in systems and playing smart, but without hard work, he knew players would fall short of their full potential.
VISION
Herb was extremely skilled at getting players to believe in a vision and although they all hated him at times, the players (especially those like Craig and Eruzione) respected him wholeheartedly.
He believed every one of his players had another level inside of them that could only be realized and come to fruition through hard-work, along with total dedication and commitment to the goal. This was often referred to as “sacrificing to the unknown” by Herb.
LEADERSHIP
Nowadays, people have many definitions of what it means to be a leader, but I really appreciated Herb’s, which is: “Leaders are visionaries, they give people something to believe in. Leaders tell us not what is, but what can be. Leaders have to show good habits and have to display a sincere purpose and passion for what they are doing.”
INTERESTING FINDINGS:
I found it inspiring and interesting that Herbs financial success was derived from pursuing his true passion- hockey.
I also found it interesting that had the 1980 US team not tied Sweden late in the game in the Olympics, the name Herb Brooks would not be known like it is today and the US almost certainly would not have won gold or even a medal. If this small detail would have been absent and the US failed to tie the game, would Herbs methods have been seen as a failure? Probably. This is why it’s important to love what you do and despite what anyone else may think or what the results may show, have conviction in yourself and your methods.
I really admired that Herb was often described as being intensely passionate about everything he did in life no matter what it was.
Lastly I want to add part of a speech he gave that I think summarizes his legacy and coaching career to a T.
EXERPT FROM PAGE 121:
“Let me refer to a story in the Old Testament, a story a lot of you have never heard. It’s not about Goliath. It’s about a young captain in King David’s army named Elazar. One day King David called his captains together and said, “we have lost most every day to the Philistines and unless we win tomorrow, you come to the point of no return.”
One man spoke up and said there’s a young captain named Elazar who may be able to help. “Send for him,” said king David. He was called in and King David told him the situation. The next day Elazar went out to do battle against the Philistine’s, but the Philistine’s were giants and although many of Elazar‘s army retreated, ultimately a few of his men fought so valiantly for the Lord that they won a great victory.
The story ends with this sentence: “His hand clave onto the sword.” Because after the battle, Elazar threw himself down on the ground, almost totally exhausted, and as his lieutenants came up, they tried to get the sword loose from his hand, but couldn’t because Elazar had gripped it so tightly, they could not get his fingers off of it, and they had to go down to the brook to get water to remove it from his hand.
Remember, Elazar won this great victory for two main reasons. First, because he took the sword with a tight grip, nothing half hearted, but with dedication of purpose and second because he lost himself to something bigger than he was, he didn’t know the sword was biting into his hand because he was too busy doing battle.
HERBS FINAL MESSAGE: “I dare you to have your haircut and not wilt under the comments of your so-called friends. I dare you to clean up your language. I dare you to honor your mother and father. I dare you to stand with your hand over your heart and sing the national anthem so all can hear. I dare you to go to church without having to be compelled to go by your parents. I dare you to unselfishly help someone less fortunate than yourself. I dare you to become physically fit, to read a book that’s not required in school, to look up at the stars, not down at the mud and to set your sites on one of them that until now you thought was unattainable, I dare you to be better than you are… to clave onto the sword.
June 24, 2024
This book was a great little read - I'm definitely someone who loves the miracle on ice and I realized that I didn't really know much about Herb Brooks life. This was the perfect length (finished it in a single beach day) and gave a great overview of his life and main life lessons. It's an interesting mix of motivational speaking and biography that I enjoyed (though can see critiques that it does neither extraordinarily well).
July 22, 2024
I like Ross Bernstein as a writer (you have to be from Minnesota, and a Gopher hockey fan to know why). And I absolutely love the Herb Brooks Miracle On Ice story. And as a lifelong hockey fan I enjoy reading about the personal commitment some individuals make to bettering the sport. This book is full of short anecdotes, stories and lessons. It’s a quick read. I recommend it.
September 10, 2022
Great book telling the Herb Brooks story. I loved reading about Herb. His story includes leading the USA college hockey players to win the hockey gold medal at the 1980 Olympics. The books has lots of details about Herb’s life.
January 9, 2020
I never watched Miracle on Ice until after reading this book. Glad I did. Ross gives excellent personal account to a man many only knew from afar.
March 26, 2015
America's Coach is a great book about Herb Brooks. I really enjoyed learning about Herb. I learned a lot of good lessons and I think that everyone can learn something from Mr. Brooks. One concept that kept popping up and that I thought was important was that with hard work and passion you can accomplish almost anything no matter where you started.I think that this was a great biography and we all can learn things from it.
February 12, 2014
I loved this book! It was so good because I have a passion for hockey. It was great how Herb Brooks coached so many hockey teams to success. I learned so much more about his life from this book that I didn't know. Now I can teach people about him. I would recommend this book to any hockey lovers or fans of Herb.
I read this book because we had to have a person to research on and I picked him.
I read this book because we had to have a person to research on and I picked him.
December 27, 2011
Bernstein needs a new editor...it is really frustrating to read all the grammatical errors and spelling mistakes. I love the stories about hockey heroes, but Bernstein's books feel like a lazy effort. Brooks would have demanded more!
October 30, 2014
One of the best books I've ever read. I'm not a sports fan, but this book is about so much more than hockey. Its about a man who positively influenced so many lives , his hard work and ethics. Its an incredible journey- a great read for anyone, but a must read for hockey fans.
April 4, 2013
Lots of good info on Herb Brooks! My 9 year old loved it!
February 5, 2014
Great book on coaching and Herb Brooks.
January 12, 2015
A very interesting story about a very passionate and wise man! Gotta love Herb Brooks!!
July 27, 2016
I felt this book could be a little repetitive, but it was still really good and very interesting!
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews