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InSideOut Coaching: How Sports Can Transform Lives (2011)

by Joe Ehrmann(Favorite Author)

4.02 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

1439183007 (ISBN13: 9781439183007)

languge

English

genre

Graphic Novels & Comics

publisher

Simon & Schuster

review 1: Solid stuff recommended by a friend. For many years, as both a coach and educator, I stumbled around who I was trying to become (Why do I coach?) and if I was getting the job done (What would it be like to be coached by me?). This book crystallized those answers, and while this acted more as validation than information, I am now much more able to articulate my goals as well as look at other coaches and accurately critique their approaches (which is actually part of my job as coaching director).Some bonuses...1.) Code of Conduct and roles for coaching staff - great template2.) Code of Conduct for parents - amazing3.) Player Agreement - solid stuff that is easily adaptedI appreciated this book very much. I also found a kindred spirit in Joe - seems like we've read and been i... morenspired by much of the same material. So while I'll never play Rod Stewart's "Have I Told You Lately" while my players hug each other (as Joe and Biff do), I feel even more encouraged to go forward and preach the gospel of athletics as a place of empathy, growth, and personal/internal competition to be YOUR best, not the best.
review 2: I have given this book three stars. To say "I like it" would be incorrect because I did not like it as a resource for myself. It offered few insights into coaching of which I was not already aware or that my staff did not already practice. It certainly offered some affirmations and different language to be used. I think that for Ehrmann writing this book was equally as important as having other people read it...maybe more important. However, this is a good book for many coaches because it diverges from what is often the norm, especially amongst older coaches and coaches of boy's/men's sports. There is a definite emphasis placed on the development of the complete person which I agree should be the aim of coaching, and really all endeavours with youth. But the book lacks in the practical implications of such matters, neglecting to offer specifics on how to infiltrate the culture, a problem especially profound for those who do not coach the "cash sports" of football and basketball, although I imagine this is because it is truly a situational issue, depending on the culture and environment of the school/organization for which you coach. The other issue for which the book has a limited scope is for coaches of female athletes of which I am one. While Ehrmann attempts to address these issues, he does so in a way that is clearly limited by his lack of experience coaching female athletes. As a result, his examples are not only male-centric but football dominated making a lot of his ideologies and practices challenging to incorporate into a system without having to massively overhaul them to meet the needs of our specific student-athletes (although better to recognize this and work with the materials then blindly try to implement it like many other coaches have and will). Ultimately, I wish that Ehrmann had simply attempted to impact male coaches with this book, a task I think he may ultimately be able to achieve and thus the three stars I gave this book.On a side note, for anyone reading this particular review, I am looking for a book on coaching that A.) addresses women's athletics specifically and B.) is more academic/theory based and less ancedotal.Also, the religious scholar in me would be remiss if I did not congratulate Ehrmann on what for me is one of his finest recognitions in his book, namely the religious (he terms spiritual) nature of sports. I believe that this contribution to the coaching realm is of extreme significance as it is important for coaches to recognize that for many athletes, sports are extremely powerful to the extent that they may become for someone a temporary or even all pervasive ultimate sense by which their actions are guided and directed. The responsibility this creates in the realm of athletics is of extreme significance and is often overlooked because of a fear of being seen as irreverent or blasphemous. Thank you Mr. Ehrmann for sharing these thoughts with coaches around the country. less

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