16 sports psychology books and manuals

The sports psychology It's one of the fields of psychology which is on the rise in recent years and few doubt the importance of mental factors in increasing the potential of athletes and their athletic performance.

More and more teams and athletes decide to hire a professional in this field for the benefits that their work brings both in competition, training or interpersonal relationships.

Best Sports Psychology Books

If you are interested in this sub-discipline of psychology and would like to know more about this topic, below you can find a list of great manuals and books of sports psychology that will provide you with knowledge and allow you to deepen in this field of application.

1. Football: from head to toe (Fernando Callejo Muñoz and Carlos Rey García)

Soccer is a sport that is subject to the continuous fluctuation of multiple abilities physical, technical, tactical and psychological influencing the behavior and performance of the soccer player. This book collects the best techniques used from sports psychology as well as showing us a wide variety of practical exercises to carry out in planning a season.

It explains the psychological work that can be done with footballers, both individually and at the team level, with the aim of helping them optimize and enhance their basic psychological skills to achieve high levels of performance, well-being and satisfaction with the sports practice of the athlete, regardless of the category and level.

Without a doubt, a fundamental book for psychologists, coaches and for any agent who deals with soccer players.

• You can find more information about this book by clicking here.

2. Psychology of sports training (José María Buceta)

This book is one of the best to introduce you to sports psychology. José Maria Buceta is the author of several editorial works and director of the Master in Psychology of Physical Activity and Sport at UNED.

In fact, this text has trained hundreds of sports psychologists. The content is, without a doubt, of high quality, and in its pages it reviews and analyzes the bases of the psychology of the sports training, in addition to providing many necessary strategies for both coaches and psychologists sports. A great manual, very complete.

• You can buy it through this link.

3. Football. Mental Strength Training (Bill Beswick)

With this book, Bill Beswick, a renowned British psychologist who has worked for the England National Team and various Premier League teams, aims to make us understand, always from a practical point of view, how the work on the different psychological variables has a great importance in the success of soccer players and the clubs.

Besides being a psychologist, Beswick was also a coach, which has allowed him to narrate, from a broader point of view, how it is possible to achieve optimal performance of footballers.

• Buy it here.

4. With the strength of Jordan (Pat Williams and Michael Weinreb)

Michael Jordan is one of the greatest players of all time in the sport of the basket. Without a doubt, an example of how a successful athlete should be and how it is possible to always stay at the highest level throughout his career.

But, How does one of the greatest athletes of all time prepare to compete? This text answers this and other questions that concern the winning mentality of this true basketball genius. A book full of vital and personal stories, but with a strong psychological and mental component that will hook you. As the authors of the text say: “Jordan is a true role model. It personifies how one should behave on and off the court ”.

• You can buy it here.

5. Mental training to optimize sports performance (Steven Ungerleider)

There are many psychological variables that affect sports performance: emotional management, self-confidence, the motivation, the level of activation or stress are some examples.

This book presents the necessary ingredients to increase the mental capacities of athletes and to optimize their potential to the maximum.

• You can buy it here.

6. Tennis. Mental Strength Training (Antoni Girod)

This text is similar to the second one on this list, but focused on the sport of the racket, tennis. Tennis is a sport that requires individualized work with the tennis player, and in which it really is A lot of training in mental work is necessary, as the conditions during the game can be adverse.

The author, Antoni Girod, does an excellent job with this book, useful for players, coaches and psychologists alike.

• Buy this manual here.

7. Psychology and sports injuries (José María Buceta)

One of the worst moments in the life of an athlete is suffering an injury. The psychological aspect, although many do not think about it, influences both the prevention and the recovery of this problem. There are few books like this on the market, and their reading is definitely recommended.

• You can buy it here.

8. Psychological strategies for coaches of young athletes (José María Buceta)

This book is intended for coaches, teachers, managers and parents of young athletes, so that they can know and apply appropriate psychological strategies for the sporting experience of children and adolescents. Sports practitioners at these ages are in the development phase and, therefore, need a different treatment from adults.

Thus, this work deals with the values ​​that these athletes must acquire in their formative stage and offers the appropriate methodology to allow them a good progress towards success. A totally practical text, which contains exercises throughout its chapters.

• Buy it at this link.

9. To run. Mental Strength Training (Matt Fitzgerald)

Running has become a very popular sport today. This is a tough sport in which mental work is necessary not only for competition, but also for training.

The correct attention in difficult moments that help to stay alive, the appropriate motivation to training or the ability to recover quickly after failure, are some aspects that this construction site.

• You can buy it here.

10. Direct or lead? Keys to the cohesion of the group (José Carrascosa)

A work intended for both coaches and sports psychologists. Leading a group is not easy, especially in sports settings, where interpersonal relationships can affect team performance for better or for worse.

This book provides the necessary knowledge to create a winning group, where communication and group cohesion positively affect the work of athletes.

11. Neurosciences and sport (Stefano Tamorri)

This is an extensive book but with unmissable content, which proposes a different way of doing sports psychology. In its pages it is possible to find topics as interesting as: neurosciences applied to sport, learning, memory, attention and motor skills in training and competition or how to diagnose diseases of the athlete.

• You can buy it at this link.

12. Fundamentals of Sport and Physical Exercise Psychology (Robert S. Weinberg and Daniel Gould)

It is one of the most consulted books in this field, and one of the best manuals to start in this field. The text offers a rigorous presentation of the fundamental concepts of sport psychology and makes a compilation of the most important investigations that have taken place in the last years.

• Buy it here.

13. Mindfulness for runners (J. Moisés González Martínez and Montse Rodrigues Fígols)

One of the newest works that we can find in the market. In fact, there are many athletes who have applied training in mindfulness to his sports routine with the aim of improving his performance on the field, for example, Roger Federer. But for some people, this practice is unknown in the world of running.

Mindfulness helps to better manage emotions, improves attention and helps athletes to achieve a state of flow. Also to the runners.

• You can buy it here.

14. Champion's Mind (Ed Martin)

A work that combines themes closely related to sports: self-confidence and performance, and how they are linked to emotion when it comes to moving. It offers simple explanations to describe complex phenomena, and uses pleasant language to do so.

• If you are interested, you can buy here.

15. Leadership and sports coaching (Alejo García-Naaveira Vaamonde and Roberto Ruiz Barquín)

The leader is one of the most important roles in sport, capable of energizing teams and making them work as an effective performance-oriented system. This book explains the keys to sports coaching used strategically to enhance leadership effectiveness.

• On this link you will find more related information.

16. Lead coach: sports psychology for the management of successful teams (Oriol Mercadé Canals)

A book to understand leadership styles and how sports psychology can be used in team management. Especially recommended for coaches.

• To read more about him, see this link.