• Coaching Tips from NSCAA
  
  
• Books recommended by Jerry Ellison, Coach of the Arlington Pride ('91G), who said, "Clearly 3 of the 4 are geared towards coaching girls, but all are must reads for anyone who wants to coach females."
  • "Catch Them Being Good: Everything You Need to Know to Successfully Coach Girls" by Tony Dicicco, paperback (Penguin 2003)  "This guide to coaching female athletes of all ages shows how to build a team and provides invaluable advice on the differences between coaching males and females. The authors include exercises that foster teamwork and develop essential skills. They also answer parents' most common questions, such as how to tell if the coach is doing a good job and what to do if a child wants to quit. Filled with stories about the Olympic and World Cup championship teams, this useful handbook is infused throughout with DiCicco's philosophy that at every level playing soccer (or any sport) is about 'playing hard, playing fair, playing to win, and having fun.'"
  • "Games Girls Play," by Caroline Silby and Shelley Smith, paperback (Griffin 2001)  "For the 2 million parents of girls who play intramural sports, the comment, 'you play like a girl,' is considered a compliment. Games Girls Play, written by sports psychologist and former figure skater Caroline Silby with ESPN reporter Shelley Smith, moves beyond the widely reported benefits of sports for young women--offering both parents and coaches a fresh, smart guide for responding to the needs of the young female athlete. Whether they are writing about choosing a sport, building confidence, staying calm during a competition, or debriefing after the game, the authors have created a powerful primer on the inner work of sports psychology. As they explain, 'teaching athletes to use their thoughts, perceptions, images and body language, focus and effort to move ahead are the life lessons of sports.'" 
  • "The Vision of a Champion: Advice and Inspiration from the World's Most Successful Women's Soccer Coach," by Anson Dorrance, hardcover (Ann Arbor Press 2002)  "Legendary soccer coach Anson Dorrance has coached 17 of the last 21 NCAA women's championship soccer teams. Enough said. 'The Vision of a Champion' is just that, as Dorrance distills his vision in this mandatory guide for young athletes and coaches who want to inspire and train them."
  • "The Winner Within: A Life Plan for Team Players," by Pat Riley, paperback (Berkley 1994)  "A game plan for team players in every arena of life--business, family, sports--uses examples from the life of the great basketball coach to show how any group can combine strengths and talents and be successful. Reprint"

• Books Recommended by Chris Smith, Coach of the Arlington Intensity Red (‘93G), Ajax of Arlington (‘96G), and Juventus of Arlington (‘96G).  The first is coaching-specific and the rest are for the fans! 
  
• Catch Them Being Good by Tony DiCicco and Colleen Hacker: The former Head Coach and Sports Psychology Consultant to the US Women’s National Team Coach offer specific insights on how to coach and motivate them – the girls!  As a male coach, this is an eye-opening account of how to inspire girls to work as a team, to set goals, and to work hard to achieve their team and individual goals.  The book is replete with the experience of DiCicco and some of the most well-known USWNT players, and offers several exercises and team building activities that demonstrate some of the most effective concepts of team building and confidence building for your girls’ team.  I echo Coach Jerry Ellison’s comments – this should required reading for coaching the girls’ game.
• Stamping Grounds by Charlie Connelly: This is a fantastic account of an author who is not necessarily even a football fan, but who decides ultimately to chronicle Liechtenstein’s march through the qualification for the 2002 World Cup.  For those familiar with the lifestyles of many of Europe’s top footballers, this book is a must-read.  Could you imagine David Beckham being forced to miss a crucial World Cup qualifier because he had to go to “work?”
• Morbo by Phil Ball: This is an absolute read for any true fans of the Spanish Primera Liga.  Of course the text weighs heavily on Barcelona and Real Madrid, but so does the history of La Liga.  Ball, a Spain-based Englishman, gives a wonderful account of how life and futbol in Spain and magically intertwined.  This book WILL leave you booking a flight to Spain in search of vino, a bocadillo, the Quinela, and futbol tickets.
• Soccerhead by Jim Haner: Written just this year by an author associated with the MSC (Montgomery, MD) club, it tells YOUR story if you grew up as a non-soccer person and fell in love with the game through your kids.  I’ve not finished it yet, but it certainly gives me a heads-up as I look forward to being a soccer Dad.
• The Miracle of Castel di Sangro by Joe McGinniss: The author shares his journey from relative soccer ignorance into one of the beautiful game’s most devout fans.  McGinniss is a native of Williamstown, MA and is inspired by none other than Roberto Baggio when the author reluctantly made his way to Boston in during USA ’94 to see Italy play Nigeria.  The next thing he knew, he was part of the posse of Italian lower-division side Castel di Sangro as a miraculous penalty save sent them on an epic journey into Italy’s Serie B, where they faced some of the most storied sides in calcio.  As their official biographer, McGinniss battles the realities of the Italian game, and he lives and dies with the Castle results on the field.
• The World’s Game by Bill Murray: A good account of the basic history of the World’s Game, from a prevailing British perspective.  Certainly worth a read for anybody who is looking to round out their general historical knowledge of the game.  A Soccer 101 if you will….
• Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby: For those of you who didn’t know that Jimmy Fallon, Drew Barrymore, and the Boston Red Sox were not the original protagonists of this story, the book is written by a Gooner about his beloved Arsenal and the trials and tribulations of his relationships and the ability to accommodate his fanatical support of North London’s finest.

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