I was fortunate to attend a short presentation given by Greg
Dale, one of the co-authors during a volleyball tournament in Louisville
Kentucky. At that gathering he was speaking about the player, their confidence,
their self-talk and their mindset. He was breathtakingly energetic and his
approach was simple and direct. No BS and no responsibility shirking.
It was after this presentation that I bought this book,
directed at the coach. True to his style, the book reads easily and is full of
energy. It is simple and direct. No BS and no shirking.
Both authors work at Duke University, so they have access to
many business leaders and coaches on staff at Duke and in other schools as well
as in the professional ranks. They skillfully interweave interviews with these
leaders in the book to illustrate their points. This particular tactic is very
effective in illustrating their points but also keep the readers interested
because it makes the sports fan in us sit up and take notice.
The first three chapters deals with the definition of
successful coaches, and lays the groundwork for the rest of the book. Credible
coaching is defined and explained. Chapter 4 reveals the seven secrets, Chapters
5 and 6 are the arguments for being a credible coach and explains HOW being a
credible coach benefits coaching.
Chapters 7-13 treat each of the seven secrets individually;
citing successful coaches in regard to the secret and the authors do a
commendable job of creating a path towards utilizing the secrets. They lay out
a plan for using each secret as well as continue to convince the reader pf
their argument.
The chapters are laid out in familiar format, with
interviews with successful coaches at the end of each chapter, reinforcing the lessons
of the chapter. In addition, there are review questions and thought exercises
to pound home the lessons. It is a simple yet effective way to make sure the
reader understands the concept, more importantly, it gives the readers a way to
being to implement the lessons.
I enjoyed the book because it is so much common sense, it
reinforced what I thought I was doing right and it set me on the right path
with regard to those practices where I was ambiguous about whether I was doing
the correct things.
This is not a straight how to book, nor is it a business
book masquerading as a coaching book. It is a coaching book, written by coaches
for coaches, and it is a refreshing breath of fresh air.
