Training Soccer Champions
Average Rating: 5.0 Total Reviews: 9
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 On: 2008-07-30
I can only echo the other reviews and state that this is one of the best books for coaches out there. This is the one book Id keep if I had to toss out all of the other soccer books on my shelf. You dont have to pay the thirty bucks or more charged here. Its still available from Reedswain for much less.
On: 2000-12-14
Ive only coached mens college teams, but Im convinced Ansons principles represent a foundation for the future of coaching -- for athletes of either sex. Competition is fun and practices need to be fun. The days of drill sergeant as coaching model are over.Kids from most countries now have hundreds of choices in terms of different sports and entertainment. Every minute of practice needs to be fun or theyll do something else. And its only going to get worse. Obviously the "competitive caldron" can create womens US college soccer champions (UNC won the title again in 2000), but it may also be our best chance to lure the upcoming Sega generation into team sports.
On: 2000-12-14
This book is an excellent guide for ways to develop your soccer team and take them to a new level. This is more for advanced coaches, but I think beginning coaches can utilize these techniques also. Covers great program building techniques for youth boys and women of all levels. Great resource for all soccer coaches.
On: 2000-05-05
I am not a soccer coach. This book was recommended to me by a volleyball coaching mentor. He recommended it and said it was the best coaching book he had ever read.... I agree. There is not doubt why Anson Dorrance is one of the best soccer coaches in the world. His insights into success with female athletes is extremely helpful and I recommend this book to anyone who wants to be a better coach, period.
On: 2000-02-07
I think that this book is the finest book (to date) on coaching the female athlete at the highest levels. In my time as a NCAA Div. II womens soccer coach, a girls high school coach, and premier level girls soccer coach, I have found Dorances theories and models to be highly useful. This is NOT a book for the recreational coach. The focus of the book is the philosophy and foundation of creating soccer champions. Ansons insight into the mind of the female athlete is not only clear and concise but, it is uncanny as well. I have found the ideas in his book have led me to a better understanding of my own players. This understanding has helped me form a consistant winning program where ever I have coached. I would highly recommend this book to any individual who is looking for more theory and philosophy to coaching. This book is not a daily practice guide with drills and games, rather it is an excellent source for building a successful womens soccer program.
by: Anonymous On: 1999-10-09
I havent read the book, but Anson was my coach in the first year of Chapel Hills youth soccer league (I think it was the Carolina Blues team of the Rainbow league) way back in the 70s. I remember very well how intelligent and focused he was. He didnt yell much, but what he did say was always on point. (Moreover he learned to pitch his voice to a timbre that you could ALWAYS hear through all the screaming!) When people talk about Anson, they always quote zillions of his amazing stats, his w/l records, undefeated games, etc, and sometimes I wonder if people think winning is the proof of good coaching, or even of good playing. Sure, its fun to win, but Ive played and coached a fair amount of soccer since then, and probably lost more than Ive won, but as I heard Anson said once, Never say die, and thats the truth. Of all the games Ive played and coached, the ones I remember with the most joy were the ones we lost against hopelessly stronger opponents - yet we played the games of our lives, we never gave up, and in one memorable instance our first-year team of little guys held the mighty perpetual champions of our region to a single lucky goal scored in the final minutes. Ive always tried to practice the style that I attribute to him - remembering that soccer is supposed to be fun, that it can be beautiful, and that you only truly lose when you give up. Or maybe that was Kip Ward who said that?! Anyway, you should buy this book. I might even buy it myself.
by: Anonymous On: 1999-01-01
I have always been interested in the mental side of sports. This book is excellent for bridging the gap that exists between the physical and mental sides of the game. A must read.
On: 1998-12-08
this is an insightful no nonsense guide to coaching advanced players, high school age and above, female and male. Although Dorrance is best known for coaching the outrageously successful womens team at University of North Carolina, his experience with mens teams allows this book to relate to both sexes. I found his approach to quantifying all aspects of practice, which the book explains in great detail, most innovative. The chapters on fitness, off-season training, competitiveness, and team chemistry are particularly helpful to the coach looking to produce an edge for his or her team. The chapter on field organization, I thought, was a most concise and insightful approach to this subject. Dorrance does a better job of putting into words the mystique and creative force of soccer than any other coach and/or author that I have read.
by: Anonymous On: 1997-09-05
Anson delves deeply into the psychology of competition which is applicable to all athletes and all forms of competition in life. He is able to clearly and concisely describe these theorums which I always knew were true but was never able to properly describe. The beauty of this book is that the reader not only develops a new appreciation for the competitions we all must participate in during our lifetimes, but the aspiring soccer coach learns a great deal about his chosen sport. Two for the price of one
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