Successful Coaching - 3rd Edition

Being a successful coach is not just about Xs and Os and winning games. It’s about coaching young people to become successful athletes—and successful human beings. But unless you already have the teaching skills of an educator, the training expertise of a physiologist, the administrative leadership of a business executive, and the counseling wisdom of a psychologist, you will rely on this third edition of Successful Coaching to discover how to excel as a coach.

Successful Coaching offers an in-depth introduction to the coaching profession and is specifically written for the high school and serious club coach. Integrating the latest sport science research with practical knowledge acquired by highly experienced coaches, this book features new sections on sportsmanship, coaching diverse athletes, managing athletes’ behavior, preventing and addressing drug and alcohol abuse, and coaching using the games approach. Five sections serve as the foundation for the book:

• Principles of Coaching emphasizes the value of a coaching philosophy and how to achieve the three major objectives of coaching: create a team of winners; help young people have fun; and motivate young people to develop physical, psychological, and social skills. Featured is a new chapter devoted to coaching diverse athletes, in which coaches learn about developmental differences in youth, cultural and gender differences, and differences in physical and mental abilities. Also new are specific guidelines on sexual harassment, sexual relations, and homosexuality in sport, making Successful Coaching the first book to offer written guidelines that address these issues.
• Principles of Behavior discusses how to communicate and motivate players, as well as manage problem behaviors among athletes, using a positive discipline approach.
• Principles of Teaching introduces the games approach to coaching and details how to incorporate this new approach into teaching technical and tactical skills. Coaches will learn how to develop an instructional plan for each practice and for the entire season.
• Principles of Physical Training includes five new chapters on training basics, training for energy fitness, training for muscular fitness, nutrition, and battling drugs. Coaches will learn to develop training programs for better sport performance and to ensure the health and safety of their athletes.
• Principles of Management covers the interpersonal and administrative basics required for building a solid coaching foundation that emphasizes team, relationship, and risk management. Helpful advice on working with fellow coaches, administrators, officials, medical personnel, parents, and the media is also included.

With more than 500,000 copies sold since the release of the first edition, Successful Coaching is the best-selling general coaching book ever published. Produced by the American Sport Education Program (ASEP) and written by ASEP founder Rainer Martens, Successful Coaching serves as the text for ASEP’s Coaching Principles course. This course is used by many colleges and universities and endorsed by numerous state high school associations and other sport organizations as the preferred professional development program for their coaches. Each year, more than 25,000 coaches take this course to further their professional development and meet coaching certification requirements.

Successful Coaching, Third Edition, was reviewed by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) and the National Council for Accreditation of Coaching Education (NCACE) and complies with the NASPE National Standards for Sport Coaches and the NCACE Guidelines for Accreditation of Coaching Education.

Sport has always been a vital part of Rainer Martens’ life. He has coached at the youth, high school, and collegiate levels and has studied sport as a research scientist. The founder and president of Human Kinetics, he also started the American Sport Education Program, the largest coaching education program in the United States. An internationally recognized sport psychologist, Martens is the author of more than 80 scholarly articles and 15 books, including Successful Coaching, the best-selling coaching book ever published, and Directing Youth Sport Programs. He has also been a featured speaker at more than 100 conferences around the world and has conducted more than 150 workshops and clinics for coaches and athletes at all levels.

After receiving his PhD in physical education from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana in 1968, Martens was a member of its faculty for 16 years. A past president of the American Academy of Kinesiology and Physical Education, he has been recognized for his contribution to sport by the National Recreation and Park Association and by his induction into the National Association of Sport and Physical Education Hall of Fame. He has received Distinguished Alumni awards from Emporia State University in Kansas (where he earned a bachelor’s degree), the University of Montana (where he earned a master’s degree), the University of Illinois, and Hutchinson High School.

Martens continues to enjoy sport today, especially senior softball. As a member of the world champion 60+ Florida Legends, Martens has been named to six all-world teams.