Great Resources to Get You Started Part 1

Being a lifelong learner is something that has become extremely important to me.  I have said before that if there were one piece of advice I could give to amateur players it would be to read.  Read something.  Read books, read magazines, or read online articles.  Technology has made it incredibly easy to access all kinds of information we would have never though possible as close as ten years ago.  Take advantage!

With that in mind, I want to present you with two of the books I have found to be especially helpful in building the foundation for my knowledge in sport psychology.  Both have something different to offer, but I am confident you will get insight from them far in excess of the price.

1. The Mental Keys to Hitting:  A Handbook of Strategies for Performance Enhancement by Harvey Dorfman:  This is the book that started it all for me.  Hitters, coaches, and parents of hitters can all get something from this book.  Harvey Dorfman is acknowledged as probably the greatest sport psychology consultant in Major League history and paved the way for many today.  A major strength of the book is how concise it is (13 chapters in about 100 pages).  Dorfman is very straightforward in his writing style, and he is great about giving short stories about big leaguers that help drive messages home.  I am also a big fan of the "Remember" section at the end of each chapter that gives the reader key points.  This book really changed the terminology I use with hitters and is a great introduction to the mental side of baseball.

Here is a link to The Mental Keys to Hitting on Amazon (my preferred book buying destination) The Mental Keys to Hitting

2. Intangibles: Big-League Stories and Strategies for Winning the Mental Game-in Baseball and in Life by Geoff Miller:  G is currently the Mental Skills Coach for the Atlanta Braves and does a phenomenal job with this book.  The book is easy to read and does a great job combining theory with real life experiences from G's work with minor and major league baseball teams.  G is big on using movie clips to introduce sessions with his teams and does a really good job explaining how he uses the clips.  I used the clip from Rounders discussed in the book with a summer team I coached, and the lesson was well received.  Another valuable part of the book is the The Character Development Inventory (CDI) G has created.  The CDI is a ninety-five question evaluation that can be used in a variety of different ways.  I have used the CDI with our baseball program at Blythewood High School and found it invaluable in helping me understand the players we coach on another level.  This book does a great job giving the reader a glimpse into the world of sport psychology work in professional baseball.  Also, G is a great guy who has given me tremendous advice to get me started on my path!

Here is a link to Intangibles Intangibles

If I get good feedback from this post, I will write more about other books and resources I have learned from in the future.  If not, I won't!

I really appreciate the great feedback I have gotten from many of you so far in the form of texts and tweets.  Please keep it coming so I am able to make the blog as valuable as possible for the reader!

If you haven't already, please follow me @Coach_Ehrlich on Twitter as well!

Not a reader?  Check out this E:60 clip about Evan Longoria and the influence Ken Ravizza has had on him: