Southwind Volleyball Club Resource Page: Books

The Talent Code: Greatness Isn't Born. It's Grown. Here's How. by Daniel Coyle
Review found on Amazon.com How do people get good at something? Wait a minute, that's the not the right question, how do people get great at something?

Well, frankly, there has been a significant amount of research on the matter of human performance and the development of skill/talent. Author, Daniel Coyle, has looked at the research and he also went on a road trip to what he calls "talent hotbeds", places where great talent has been produced out of proportion to their size and perceived stature; for example, a Russian tennis club, a music school in Dallas, a soccer field in Brazil, and others.

Coyle shares what he learned in this excellent book, "The Talent Code". The Talent Code covers three basic areas:

1) Deep practice. Practice is important to world-class performance. I guess everyone knew that already, huh? Well, sometimes, it doesn't hurt to remind of everyone of the obvious. What might be a little more helpful is the understanding of "how" to practice. What constitutes "deep practice"? This is the kind of practice that separates the great from the not-so-great.

The understanding of "deep practice" involves an understanding of a substance called "myelin". Myelin is the insulation that wraps around nerve fibers. According to Coyle, myelin turns out to be a very big deal in the development of skill. Myelin is increased through deep practice and, in turn, increased myelin affects the signal strength, speed and accuracy of the electric signals traveling through nerve fibers. This increase of myelin and its effect on neurons has more to do with skill development than had previously been realized.

2) Ignition. If a person is going to invest the amount of time and passion and concentrated, difficult practice that produces high-level skill, that person will have to be deeply motivated. This is the aspect of skill development that Coyle refers to as "ignition". Coyle writes, "Where deep practice is a cool, conscious act, ignition is a hot, mysterious burst, an awakening." This deep passion is a necessary part of the attainment of great skill.

3) Master coaching. World class talent requires help and feedback and guidance from disciplined, committed, coaches. Think of this as the wise, older sage who can tell the student what he can't tell himself. The development of great skill seems to require the help of people who have the ability to grow talent in others.

Much of the content of "The Talent Code" reminded me of the book, "Talent Is Overrated" by Geoff Colvin, they contain many of the same insights regarding the development of talent. I loved both of these books and they are both worth reading. One of the encouraging and motivating truths that these books reveal is that great skill can be attained by virtually anyone who is willing to sincerely and passionately make the necessary commitment to its development. But, as one of the lines in the book suggests . . . "Better get busy."

Don't Shot the Dog! The New Art of Teaching and Training by Karen Pryor
From the Publisher: "Whatever the task, whether keeping a four-year-old quiet in public, housebreaking a puppy, coaching a team, or memorizing a poem, it will go fast, and better, and be more fun, if you know how to use reinforcement."--Karen Pryor.

Now Karen Pryor clearly explains the underlying principles of behavioral training and through numerous fascinating examples reveals how this art can be applied to virtually any common situation. And best of all, she tells how to do it without yelling threats, force, punishment, guilt trips--or shooting the dog. 8 methods for putting an end to all kinds of undesirable behavior. The 10 laws of "shaping" behavior--for results without strain or pain through "affection training." How to combat your own addictions to alcohol, drugs, cigarettes, overeating or whatever, how to deal with such difficult problems as a moody spouse, an impossible teen, or an aged parent. Plus. . .House training the dog, improving your tennis game, keeping the cat off the table, and much more!

"In the course of becoming a renowned dolphin trainer, Karen Pryor learned that positive reinforcement (the only kind useable with dolphins, who can't be reached with leashes, bridles, fists, or yells) is even more potent that prior scientific work had suggested. . .This new book looks like the very best on the subject--a full-scale mind-changer."--Stewart Brand, The Coevolution Quarterly .

Catch Them Being Good: Everything You Need to Know to Successfully Coach Girls by Tony DiCicco, Colleen Hacker and Charles Salzberg
Review from Amazon.com: DiCicco coached the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team to victory in the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. Hacker is a psychology consultant for the team. They join their expertise in this accessible, useful guide for coaches at all levels. Primarily written in DiCicco's enthusiastic voice that's straight off the sports field, the book's practical advice includes insight on coaching girls and women (forget the outdated intimidation tactics used by many famous coaches for men); forming a team, making cuts and nurturing exceptional players; criticizing and motivating effectively; working with parents; and evaluating one's own coaching performance. Throughout, Hacker offers clear, helpful ideas for team-building exercises, while DiCicco follows with companion training workouts. Most of the examples focus on soccer, but coaches of all sports will learn a great deal from this straightforward guide based on impressive experience.

Volleyball Drill Book: Individual Skills & Volleyball Drill Book: Game Action Drills by Bob Bertucci and James Peterson
It seems that most youth coaches I visit with are interested in finding drills for their practices. These two books were very helpful during my early years of coaching. Usually when you purchase books on volleyball there are many sections to discuss the various skills and systems and a chapter, if you're lucky, on drills. These two books are jammed with drills and only drills... a great resource to help you along in your coaching career.

How To Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
Review from Amazon.com: This grandfather of all people-skills books was first published in 1937. It was an overnight hit, eventually selling 15 million copies. How to Win Friends and Influence People is just as useful today as it was when it was first published, because Dale Carnegie had an understanding of human nature that will never be outdated. Financial success, Carnegie believed, is due 15 percent to professional knowledge and 85 percent to "the ability to express ideas, to assume leadership, and to arouse enthusiasm among people." He teaches these skills through underlying principles of dealing with people so that they feel important and appreciated. He also emphasizes fundamental techniques for handling people without making them feel manipulated. Carnegie says you can make someone want to do what you want them to by seeing the situation from the other person's point of view and "arousing in the other person an eager want." You learn how to make people like you, win people over to your way of thinking, and change people without causing offense or arousing resentment. For instance, "let the other person feel that the idea is his or hers," and "talk about your own mistakes before criticizing the other person." Carnegie illustrates his points with anecdotes of historical figures, leaders of the business world, and everyday folks. --Joan Price --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

The Anxious Organization by Jeffrey A. Miller
Review from Amazon.com: This book was recommended by a colleague, CEO of a manufacturing company, with whom I do some exponential thinking from time to time. I can see why he enjoyed reading this straightforward look at internal corporate politics. Miller builds a new model for understanding what is sometimes a very perplexing problem - decoding why people respond the way they do in a given situation.

What I found interesting in Miller's model is that he requires us to "look at ourselves" as part of the stress delivery system in the organization. "If a situation is making you anxious, then there's a question in there somewhere that is yours alone to answer." Miller explains how we all set up triangles to get our way or to spread out the anxiousness so that we don't have so much to handle ourselves. "Learning to manage your own behavior in triangles is probably the single most important thing you can learn about handling workplace politics." So I found this model for understanding why smart companies do smart things to be useful.

What makes the book very readable is the use of stories to illustrate the points being made. The stories are familiar to anyone who has worked in or around large organizations. The layout of the book is also helpful in that each chapter ends with a summary of the major points made. Miller's book is a worthwhile quick read.
--Dave Kinnear "the Rational Taoist" (Lake Forest, CA USA)

How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish
Review from Amazon.com: How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk is an excellent communication tool kit based on a series of workshops developed by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish. Faber and Mazlish (coauthors of Siblings Without Rivalry) provide a step-by-step approach to improving relationships in your house. The "Reminder" pages, helpful cartoon illustrations, and excellent exercises will improve your ability as a parent to talk and problem-solve with your children. The book can be used alone or in parenting groups, and the solid tools provided are appropriate for kids of all ages.

Blink: The power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcom Gladwell
Review from Amazon.com: Blink is about the first two seconds of looking--the decisive glance that knows in an instant. Gladwell, the best-selling author of The Tipping Point, campaigns for snap judgments and mind reading with a gift for translating research into splendid storytelling. Building his case with scenes from a marriage, heart attack triage, speed dating, choking on the golf course, selling cars, and military maneuvers, he persuades readers to think small and focus on the meaning of "thin slices" of behavior. The key is to rely on our "adaptive unconscious"--a 24/7 mental valet--that provides us with instant and sophisticated information to warn of danger, read a stranger, or react to a new idea.

Gladwell includes caveats about leaping to conclusions: marketers can manipulate our first impressions, high arousal moments make us "mind blind," focusing on the wrong cue leaves us vulnerable to "the Warren Harding Effect" (i.e., voting for a handsome but hapless president). In a provocative chapter that exposes the "dark side of blink," he illuminates the failure of rapid cognition in the tragic stakeout and murder of Amadou Diallo in the Bronx. He underlines studies about autism, facial reading and cardio uptick to urge training that enhances high-stakes decision-making. In this brilliant, cage-rattling book, one can only wish for a thicker slice of Gladwell's ideas about what Blink Camp might look like. --Barbara Mackoff