Must Read Sport Psychology Books for Athletes, Coaches & Teams

This book by Dr. Colleen Hacker and Mallery Mann is my absolutely go-to favorite Sport Psychology book. Dr. Colleen Hacker was the U.S. National Team Mental Skills coach for Team USA when they won 1999 Women’s World Cup. She’s also a 6x member of the Olympic coaching staff. It’s a fantastic read for players, coaches, sport psychologists and mental performance consultants. In her book she identifies self-awareness and self-regulation as two of the most important mental skills that impact athlete performance.

Dr. Erdner, PhD, CMPC mentored me throughout my doctorate program and CMPC certification process. I cannot say enough about how the athlete’s personal letters in this book resonated with my experience as a former NCAA athlete. This is required reading for any coach that works with me. In this book, Dr. Erdner asks all the athletes one single question: What do you wish you could have told your coach but, for whatever reason, never did?  The answers will change the way you see your athletes.

Rebound is the book I wish I had read when I was recovering from wrist surgery and trying to find my way back into the starting the line-up of my college volleyball team. In this book Carrie Jackson Cheadle and Cindy Kuzma created a guide to support injured athletes with building psychological resilience needed to recover from injury and return to sport stronger than before. They also have an inspiring podcast for injured athletes called The Injured Athlete club.

If you are looking for a fun, engaging and inspiring book to read with your entire team during the season, than look no further than Abby Wambach’s Wolfpack. The two-time Olympic Gold Medalist & FIFA World Cup Champion shares pearls of wisdom about leadership, teamwork, and balancing athletic identity. My favorite quote: “I’ve never scored a goal in my life without getting a pass from someone else.” We all have something to learn from Abby in this feminist athlete call to arms.

Attention Leaders: If you want to learn how to explore your athlete’s resistance to change and learn how to navigate team conflict, this is the book for you. The authors take this person-centered approach to evaluating intrinsic motivation and apply it to directly to athletes in sport. I use motivational interviewing all the time with my athletes and highly recommend this book to coaches and sport psychologists. This book goes beyond coaching… it teaches a philosophy of curiosity and human empathy. It’s guaranteed to make you a better coach and leader.

Last but not least, my mindset training guidebook was created specifically for teams to read and discuss together in the form of a book club to enhance pre-season team-building. You can buy the paperback on Amazon, or grab digital copies for your entire team directly on my website here. When you buy my book for your team, I’ll also send you a digital workbook for building mental performance skills, a team discussion guide, and a guided imagery session in the format of an mp3 for your athletes to practice imagery. Lots of valuable content for one affordable price!