Sports psychology is one of the areas of psychology that has been booming in recent years and few doubt the importance of mental factors in increasing the potential of athletes and their sporting 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 and interpersonal relationships.
If you are interested in this subdiscipline of psychology and would like to know more about this topic, Below you can find a list of great sports psychology manuals and books that will provide you with knowledge and allow you to delve deeper into this field of application.
1. Football: from head to toe (Fernando Callejo Muñoz and Carlos Rey García)
Football is a sport that is subject to the continuous fluctuation of multiple physical, technical, tactical and psychological skills that influence the behavior and performance of the footballer. This book collects the best techniques used in Sports Psychology in addition to showing us a wide variety of practical exercises to carry out when planning a season.
Explains the psychological work that can be done with soccer players, both at the individual and 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 practice of sports. athlete, regardless of category and level.
Without a doubt a fundamental book for psychologists, coaches and for any agent who deals with footballers.
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 Sports at the 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 sports training, in addition to providing many necessary strategies for both coaches and sports psychologists. A great manual, very complete.
3. Soccer. Mental Strength Training (Bill Beswick)
With this book, Bill Beswick, a renowned British psychologist who has worked for the England National Team and several Premier League teams, aims to make us understand, always from a practical point of view, how work on the different psychological variables has a great importance in the success of football players and clubs.
In addition to 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 for footballers.
4. With the strength of Jordan (Pat Williams and Michael Weinreb)
Michael Jordan is one of the best basketball players of all time Without a doubt, a great example of what a successful athlete should be like and how it is possible to always stay at the highest level throughout your career.
But, How does one of the best 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. He personifies how one should behave on and off the court.”
5. Mental training to optimize sports performance (Steven Ungerleider)
There are many psychological variables that affect sports performance : emotional management, self-confidence, motivation, level of activation or stress are some examples.
This book presents the necessary ingredients to increase the mental capabilities of athletes and optimize their potential to the maximum.
6. Tennis. Mental strength training (Antoni Girod)
This text is similar to the second on this list, but focused on the racket sport, tennis Tennis is a sport that requires individualized work with the tennis player, and in which great training in mental work is really necessary, since 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 an athlete’s life is suffering from an injury The psychological aspect, although many do not think about it, influences both the prevention and recovery of this problem. There are few books like this on the market, and, without a doubt, its reading is totally 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 the appropriate psychological strategies for the sports experience of children and adolescents. Sports practitioners at these ages are in the development phase and, therefore, need different treatment than adults.
Thus, this work addresses the values that these athletes must acquire in their formative stage and offers the appropriate methodology to allow them to make good progress towards success. A totally practical text, which contains exercises throughout its chapters.
Buy it at this link.
9. Running. 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 helps you stay alive, the appropriate motivation to train or the ability to recover quickly after a failure, are some aspects that this work addresses.
10. Direct or lead? Keys to group cohesion (José Carrascosa)
A work intended for both coaches and sports psychologists Leading a group is not easy, especially in sports environments, where interpersonal relationships can affect team performance for better or worse.
This book provides the knowledge necessary to create a winning group, where communication and group cohesion positively affect the work of the athletes.
11. Neurosciences and sports (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 such interesting topics as: neuroscience applied to sport, learning, memory, attention and motor skills in training and competition or how to diagnose athlete’s diseases.
You can purchase it at this link.
12. Fundamentals of Sports 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 get started in this field The text offers a rigorous presentation of the fundamental concepts of sports psychology and makes a compilation of the most important research that has been produced in recent years.
Buy it here.
13. Mindfulness for runners (J. Moisés González Martínez and Montse Rodrigues Fígols)
One of the most innovative works that we can find on the market In fact, there are many athletes who have applied mindfulness training to their sports routine with the aim of improving their 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 achieve a state of flow. Also to the runners.
You can buy it here.
14. The Mind of the Champion (Ed Martin)
A work that combines themes closely related to sports: self-confidence and performance, and how they are linked to the 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 purchase it 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.
In this link you will find more related information.
16. Leading coach: sports psychology for managing 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.
