For Christmas, I ordered a bunch of books... not all about coaching but a wide variety as I enjoy many different topics! Here they are:
1) The Man Watching: Anson Dorrance and the University of North Carolina Women's Soccer Dynasty - Tim Crothers
2) The Boys of Winter - Wayne Coffey
3) Herb Brooks: The Inside Story of a Hockey Mastermind - John Gilbert
4) A Passion to Win - Lou Nanne with Jim Bruton
5) The Game - Ken Dryden
6) Georges Laraque: The Story of the NHL's Unlikeliest Tough Guy - with Pierre Thibeault
7) Cornered - Ron MacLean and Kirstoe McLellan Day
8) Hat Trick - Harley Hotchkiss
9) Ice Warriors: The Pacific Coast / Western Hockey League 1948-1974 - Jon C. Stott
10) Idea Mapping: How to Access your Hidden Brain Power, Learn Faster, Remember More, and Achieve Success in Business - Jamie Nast
11) 21st Century Skills: Learning for Life in our Times - Bernie Trilling and Charles Fadel
12) Becoming a Coach - Thomas J. Leonard
13) Marva Collins Way: Returning to Excellence in Education - Marva Collins and Civia Tamarkin
14) Creating Competitive Advantage - Jaynie L. Smith
15) The Rare Find: Spotting Exceptional Talent Before Everyone Else - George Anders
16) Talent Identification and Development in Sport: International perspectives - edited by Joseph Baker, Steve Cobley and Jorg Schorer
17) Play - Stuart Brown
18) Just Let the Kids Play - Bob Bigelow, Tom Moroney and Linda Hall
19) The Myth of Ability: Nurturing Mathematical Ability in Every Child - John Mighton
20) Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain - Betty Edwards
21) How To Think Like Leonardo da Vinci - Michael J. Gelb
22) Innovate Like Edison - Sarah Miller Caldicott
23) With Three Dollars to a Millionaire - Markus Scheu
24) Heart Zones Cycling - Sally Edwards and Sally Reed
25) The Ultimate Guide to Weight Training for Cycling, 2nd Edition - Robert G. Price
26) The Man Who Cycled the Americas - Mark Beaumont
27) The Man Who Cycled the World - Mark Beaumont
28) Tour De Lance - Bill Strickland
29) Lights Out: Sleep, Sugar and Survival - T.S.Wiley
30) The Paleo Diet for Athletes: A Nutritional Formula for Peak Athletic Performances - Loren Cordain and Joe Friel
31) Persuasion: A New Approach to Changing Minds - Alene Dickinson
32) Roman Empire - Nigel Rodgers
That ought to keep me going through... February 2012!
Plus I just received a $150 gift certificate today from some kids I coach... next stop - Human Kinetics website!
I love December!
NHL General Managers Tell how Winners are Built
Dec 28 2011
I received a lot of books this Christmas! I am partway through "The Rare Find" and really enjoyed Georges Laraque's book. Today I started reading the NHL GM book (thanks mom!) and love it! I highly recommend it!
This article below ties in with the book...
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Flames GM doesn’t have time to mark anniversary
Scott Cruickshank, Calgary Herald, December 28, 2011
COLUMBUS, OHIO
Jay Feaster insists that he never thought about it.
It simply did not occur to him.
That if any date had been stuck in his head lately, it was Tuesday’s — the day of son Ryan’s 11th birthday.
Today, however, marks the first anniversary of Feaster’s occupation of the Calgary Flames general manager’s throne.
Not that it’s a big deal to the man. Apparently.
“The job is such, that once you’re into it, it’s every day, it’s constant,” Feaster is saying outside the visitors quarters at Nationwide Arena. “You don’t take time to sit back and think, ‘Gee, it was just a year ago.’ And it’s a situation where we’re not where we want to be . . . and there’s a lot of work that needs to be done.
“That’s the focus all the time.”
Under his 12-month watch — exactly 82 games, including Tuesday’s 2-1 shootout win in Columbus — the Flames have compiled a 43-26-13 log (and 99 points).
Which, over a single winter, would be enough to cinch a playoff berth.
Nevertheless, the Flames finished 10th last season in the Western Conference. And, because of early-season sluggishness, they have spent this campaign gawking up at the eighth rung.
And this happens to be precisely how Feaster assesses his program.
Not for bite-size improvement.
Not for better salary-cap use.
Not for flashes of competence.
But, plain and simple, for post-season entrance.
“Be clear about this — there is only one measure of success for the Calgary Flames,” says Feaster. “It’s the playoffs. Then, once in the playoffs, it’s about playoff success. There’s a lot of work that goes on with the organization, there’s a lot of good things we’re doing. I’m happy and proud of the things we’re doing. But, at the end of the day, the measure of success is the playoffs.
“We went into this season believing we had a team that should make the playoffs. To be sitting five points ahead of last year’s pace? That’s just not good enough. Yeah, it’s better to be where we are now than where we were a week ago . . . yet it’s not where we should be.
“There’s still a big road ahead of us.”
Since Feaster took over from Darryl Sutter, much deadwood has been cut adrift.
Ales Kotalik and Niklas Hagman, for instance. First-round flops Matt Pelech and Kris Chucko.
Then again, Feaster has orchestrated his own snarls — giving up a seventh-round pick for swaybacked winger Freddy Modin; giving up a fifth-round pick for Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond, currently toiling in the minors.
“For me, it never was my guys, their guys, his guys,” says Feaster. “This is our team. These are our guys — and they’re our guys till they’re not here. I don’t go down the roster, ‘Oh, that player was Darryl’s. That player was Craig Button’s guy. Or who drafted him?’ There’s none of that for me.
“They’re our guys. This is our team.”
And should he ever be at a loss, Calgarians, ever helpful, will happily provide all the advice he needs. After all, Feaster is one of only 1.1 million general managers in the city.
“I would rather have the sport-talk radio filled with whatever they want to say about me, about us,” he says. “I’d rather have people talking (about the Flames) than having to convince people to become passionate about the game. That’s an incredible advantage we have in Calgary — people care.”
Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
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