I am going to share my learning journey to help coaches both young and inexperienced as well as older more experienced coaches to streamline their learning process and hopefully not make some of the mistakes and missteps that I have made. My goal was simple: to know more than anyone I coached against, I figured the more and faster I learned the more edge my athletes would have in competition. For me it was and is a point of pride. Today in my role as a mentor coach I advise the coaches I work with to know history to know where ideas have come from how they have evolved, how some have changed and other have stood the test of time. The soundest advice that received when I started coaching was if in doubt go back to basics and review the fundamentals. Here is a reading list of works that I think every educated coach should read. It reflects what was done by pioneers in coaching and sport science. The following are recommendations of readings that influenced me. They are go to resources, some of which I review periodically to keep me grounded in fundamentals. (Those that review on a regular basis are in all bold) Next post I will go over the other resources that influenced me on my learning journey
Scientific Principles of Coaching by John Bunn
Track & Field Omnibook (Fourth Edition) by Ken Doherty
Modern Track & Field by Ken Doherty
Modern Training for Running by Ken Doherty
The Inner Athlete by Bob Nidefer
The Science of Swimming by James E. Counsilman
The Mechanics of Athletics by Geoffrey Dyson
Better Athletes Trough Weight Training by Bob Hoffman
Hidden causes of injury, prevention, and correction for running athletes by John Jesse
Wrestling Physical Conditioning Encyclopedia by John Jesse
Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation: Patterns and Techniques by Dorothy Knotts and Margaret Voss
Scientific Principles and Methods of Strength Fitness. By Patrick O’Shea
Total Body Training by Richard H. Dominguez and Robert Gajda
Kinesiology by Gene Logan and Wayne C. McKinney
Skill in Sport by Barbara Knapp
Acquiring Ball Skill – A Psychological Interpretation by H.T.A. Whiting
The Thinking Body by Mabel Todd
Run Run Run by Fred Wilt
Run to the Top by Arthur Lydiard
Franz Stampfl on Running by Franz Stampfl
Track and Field Dynamics by Tom Ecker
Biomechanics of Athletic Movement by Gerhard Hochmuth
Sports Physiology by Edward L. Fox
Interval Training – Conditioning for Sports and General Fitness by Edward L. Fox and Donald K. Mathews
Biomechanics and Energetics of Muscular Exercise by Rodolfo Margaria
Biomechanics of Sports Techniques by Jim Hay
Introduction to Biomechanic analysis of sport by John W. Northrip, Gene A. Logan and Wayne C. McKinney
Principles of Sports Training – Introduction to the Theory and methods of Training by Dietrich Harre
Fundamental of Sports Training by L. Matveyev
Sports Training Principles by Frank Dick
Training Theory by Frank Dick
Track and Field – Textbook for Coaches and Sports Teachers Edited by Gerhardt Schmolinsky
International Track and field Coaching Encyclopedia by Fred Wilt and Tom Ecker
The Hurdlers Bible by Wilbur Ross
Mechanics of the Pole Vault by R.V. Ganslen
The Triple Jump Encyclopedia by Ernie Bullard and Larry Knuth
Tendinitis: it’s Etiology and Treatment by Sandra Curwin and William D. Stanish
Weight Training In Athletics by Jim Murray and Peter V. Karpovich
Weight Training in Athletics and Physical Education by Gene Hooks
Circuit Training by Manfred Scholich
Circuit Training by R. E. Adamson and G.T. Morgan
The System of Physical Education in the USSR Edited by G. I Kukushkin
The Soviet Road to Olympus – Theory And Practice Of Soviet Physical Culture And Sport by N. Norman Shneidman
1000 Exercises d’ Athletisme by Kurt Murer and Walter Bucher
The Pursuit of Sporting Excellence – A Study of Sport’s Highest Achievers by David Henry