📘 Book Review: The Coach’s Guide to Teaching – Doug Lemov
Why this book helps you grow—not just your players, but yourself.

When we talk about great coaching, we often focus on tactics, technique, and drills. But what if the real difference-maker isn’t what we coach, but how we help athletes learn?

Doug Lemov, best known for Teach Like a Champion, has written an exceptional book that connects cognitive science with coaching in a practical, inspiring way.
In my opinion, it’s the single best book available for giving coaches the tools they need to not only develop their players, but also themselves. An outstanding investment.

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📖 Chapter Overview

1. Introduction – What Coaches Can Learn from Teachers
Coaching is teaching. At its core, it’s about communicating knowledge and shaping behavior in a way that lasts.

2. Attention
Learning begins with focus. This chapter explains how to reduce distractions and direct players’ attention in ways that enhance retention.

3. Memory
“Practice doesn’t make perfect. Practice makes permanent.” Lemov explores how memory works, and how to structure repetition and variation for long-term learning.

4. Teaching in the Classroom and on the Field
How can strategies from the classroom translate into sports training? This chapter provides practical guidance and real-world examples.

5. Feedback
Feedback is essential—but only when it’s specific, actionable, and delivered at the right time. Lemov shows how to make feedback truly effective.

6. Culture of Error
Mistakes are part of learning, but only if the environment is safe enough to allow them. This chapter is about building trust, openness, and a growth mindset.

7. Teaching Perception and Decision-Making
Athletes need to read the game, not just play it. Lemov explains how to train perception and decision-making through video, live play, and guided questioning.

8. The Coach as a Learner
The final chapter shifts the focus: how can we grow as coaches? It’s a powerful reminder that great coaching starts with continuous learning and reflection.

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🎯 Final Thoughts

Whether you coach youth athletes, semi-professionals, or elite performers, this book will sharpen your approach and deepen your impact.
It challenges you to go beyond drills and design training that truly teaches.

👉 Read it. Reflect on it. Apply it. Grow.
That’s what coaching is all about, isn’t it?