This was without a doubt one of the very best books that I have ever had the pleasure of reading!

In fact, I was so impressed with its content that I ended up highlighting approximately half of the entire book. This way, I can easily refer back to those important passages and ideas whenever I need to.

It is an absolute must-read for parents who have children involved in sports. It provides valuable insights and practical advice on how to support and encourage their kids in their athletic pursuits.

Additionally, it is equally beneficial for coaches of any level or sport. The book offers a wealth of knowledge and strategies that can help coaches enhance their coaching skills and get the best out of their athletes.

Overall, I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It is truly a gem that will have a positive impact on anyone involved in the world of sports.

I read this book when I was coaching a girls' competitive soccer team. It had a profound impact on my coaching style and, as a result, the girls achieved greater success. The knowledge and insights I gained from this book were truly invaluable.

If I were still coaching, I would definitely keep a copy of this book to re-read. It contains a wealth of useful information that can benefit anyone who works with girls in any sport. Whether you are a coach, a parent, or a mentor, this book has something to offer.

The author provides practical advice on how to build confidence, develop teamwork, and improve performance. The strategies and techniques are easy to understand and implement, and they have been proven to be effective. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in helping girls reach their full potential in sports.

A great coaching philosophy/psychology book is truly a valuable asset. I have had the opportunity to read and utilize several such books for different classes that I have taken. However, this particular book stands out as the best and most succinct one I have come across on this topic.

I coach soccer, and while this issue doesn't directly impact me, it's important to note that this book mainly focuses on girls' soccer and not necessarily other sports. Nevertheless, it can still be beneficial to read as it offers valuable insights. Just keep in mind that all the examples provided are soccer-related.

Another aspect to be aware of is the repetition of stories. The author mentioned a few stories more than once. In such cases, it's advisable to simply skip them. Overall, this book is very good and can provide coaches with useful guidance and strategies for their work.

Having coached for 34 years, I have come to realize that there is still an abundance of knowledge to be gained. However, this particular book has truly made a remarkable difference. The transition from negative coaching to positive coaching has yielded substantial benefits.

The book is a wonderful collaboration between a sports psychologist and a national level coach. Some might assume that the techniques they employed to inspire players would not be reproducible. Nevertheless, the truth is that the lessons and methods presented in the book are capable of building the confidence of every kind of player.

If you find yourself in the role of a coach, I can think of very few books that I would rate more highly. It offers valuable insights and practical strategies that can enhance your coaching skills and have a profound impact on the performance and well-being of your athletes.

I truly believe that I discovered this book rather late. Published back in 2002, it was among the very first to zero in on coaching women and girls specifically. At this stage of my career, a great many of the ideas put forward by DiCicco and Hacker have become far more common than they were when the book was first released. I consider myself fortunate to have gleaned many of these valuable lessons from other sources, and I credit DiCicco, Hacker, and others of their ilk for these teachings.

Even though this book might have come too late for me, it has the potential to make a significant difference for numerous new coaches in youth sports, especially those coaching girls. I firmly believe that many of the ideas and lessons are applicable not only to coaching youth of both genders but also to coaching women. The book can serve as an extremely valuable resource for coaches who are striving to develop good coaching habits. Many of the chapters contain crucial ideas regarding building relationships with athletes, which is of utmost importance for a coach's success in ultimately assisting the athlete to improve.

There is, however, one potential area of distraction within the book, namely the sections that follow each chapter. These sections consist of team building exercises (by Hacker) and soccer-specific coaching concepts (by DiCicco). If the reader is not a soccer coach and/or not interested in the team building exercises, these sections can easily be skipped over. Skipping these sections will not, in any way, diminish the overall utility of the book.

On a side note, I was extremely fortunate to attend a lecture by Dr. Hacker in the winter of 1996, just a few months after the Olympic Games in Atlanta that are prominently featured in the chapters. It is really cool to observe some of the ideas she expounded upon in that lecture make their way into this book.

May is just around the corner, so the Accidental Soccer Dad is making an effort to gear up for Spring soccer once again.

Although a significant portion of the focus in this book is on the more elite levels of the game, as opposed to the Rec league that I coach in, the basic principles are relatively universal and extremely helpful.

The team building exercises and chalk talks at the end of each chapter could potentially be very useful when it comes to planning one or two practices. However, the real substance lies within the chapters themselves.

They offer valuable insights and strategies that can be applied to improve the overall performance and experience of the team.

As the Accidental Soccer Dad, I am looking forward to implementing these ideas and seeing the positive impact they have on my team during the upcoming Spring soccer season.

I am not a fan of soccer. However, after a guest discussed this book on my podcast regarding coaching and leadership, I decided to give it a read.

What an amazing book it turned out to be! I coach youth sports and have a highly successful basketball team consisting of incredible girls. This book truly reminded me of the power of our coaching approach. We should coach them to reach their fullest potential, but do so in a way that supports and encourages, rather than hinders their growth.

Each chapter of the book is filled with profound insights that can benefit anyone who coaches or mentors others. I am determined to apply many of these ideas to my coaching practices. There are also some excellent team challenges that can inspire new ideas about being a great teammate and leader, along with some thought-provoking reflection questions for both players and coaches.

This book is not just a theoretical read; it will lead to actionable steps and help me become even better at what I love to do, which is coaching and guiding these wonderful young athletes.

This book is truly a great read for soccer coaches. It is filled with a plethora of practical tips that cover both the mental and physical aspects of the game.

As a soccer parent, I have found this book to be extremely valuable. It has given me a newfound appreciation for the many different elements involved in coaching and playing soccer.

Moreover, I have also learned numerous techniques from this book that I believe will be beneficial to me in my role as a manager, even in non-sports domains. The principles and strategies presented can be applied more broadly to enhance leadership skills, motivation, and team building.

Overall, I highly recommend this book to anyone involved in soccer, whether you are a coach, player, or parent. It offers a wealth of knowledge and practical advice that can help you take your soccer experience to the next level.

I've been coaching volleyball since 2016, and my main focus is on young girls aged between 13-15. Sports psychology is my great passion, and it's a significant aspect covered in this book.

Overall, I truly relished reading it and will surely extract various quotes and bits of advice for future utilization. Primarily, I was really impressed by the way it addressed the concept of pressure. In sports, pressure is often taught in an inherently negative manner. As they aptly stated, \\"[leading up to the world cup], we never talked about pressure because we saw [it] as an opportunity. We knew that as soon as we allowed the word 'pressure' into the equation, the process would revolve around avoiding pitfalls and barriers to our goals and, inevitably, we would lose focus\\". This might seem like a straightforward idea, but for me, it was precisely the breakthrough I required regarding how to teach this concept to young girls. When these kids are about to compete and experience real 'pressure' for the first time, I always had difficulties in communicating the idea that pressure shouldn't be something to be feared. However, this passage has been of great help to me. Now I am aware of how to impart this concept to them, and I firmly believe it will be extremely advantageous and something they can carry with them throughout their entire athletic careers.

I checked this book out of the library. The reason is that I have a certain understanding of the coach. I used to coach girls' high school sports as well as women's recreational league sports, although I have never coached soccer.

This book is a typical sports coaching book in terms of voice and structure. If you are interested in the World Cup team that DiCiicco coached, there are several good stories about players that women's soccer fans will recognize. Additionally, if you are a coach, there are some good exercises on team building in general and soccer drilling in particular.

Overall, it provides some valuable insights and practical knowledge for those who are involved in or interested in sports coaching, especially in the context of women's soccer. It can serve as a useful resource for coaches to enhance their coaching skills and strategies, and for fans to gain a deeper understanding of the team and the sport.

I just wrapped up my US Soccer D Course.

Surprisingly, despite the fact that this book is 20 years old, it still aligns perfectly with the current vision of Grassroots coaching.

DiCicco had an amazing ability to bring out the best in his players by developing them in a holistic way.

He understood that successful teams are composed of individuals with optimal mindsets, who are driven by a strong sense of responsibility to their team.

The trust-building exercises designed by the team sports psychologist Hacker are not only fun but also extremely valuable opportunities that can give the team more cohesion.

I'm really excited to try the dragon game with my teams next season.

I believe it will be a great experience for them and will help to further enhance their teamwork and trust.

Overall, I'm very grateful for the knowledge and insights I gained from this course and look forward to implementing them in my coaching practice.

3.5/5 - Good read.

Although it's not entirely what I was looking for, it still has its merits.

The content seems to be aimed more at a higher level than what I'm currently coaching.

However, despite this misalignment, it was an interesting read nonetheless.

It provided some valuable insights and perspectives that I might not have otherwise considered.

Even though it didn't directly address my specific coaching needs, it broadened my understanding in certain areas.

Overall, I would say it was a worthwhile read, and I'm glad I took the time to go through it.

Perhaps in the future, I can find ways to apply some of the concepts I learned to my coaching practice.

Even if it's not a perfect fit, it has still contributed to my professional development in some way.

So, while it may not have been exactly what I expected, it was still a good read that offered some useful information.