Soccer Coaching Books

Bob Wilson: Soccer
Bob Wilson
ISBN 0-7207-0793-5
1975
61 pages
Chapter on Goalkeeping, defence, midfield, strikers/wingers skills with teaching points.  Briefly talks about set plays.  Full of vintage photos.  Somewhat useful for a beginning player or coach.

Michael Owen's Soccer Skills: How to become the complete player
Michael Owen with Dave Harrison
ISBN 0-00-218935-6
1999
128 pages
Two pages on stretching.  Covers basic skills, restarts, and defending with simple drills and teaching points for each.  Lots of information on Michael Owen.  Somewhat useful for a beginning player or someone who has a crush on Michael Owen.

Soccer for Dummies
Michael Lewis
ISBN 0-7645-5229-5
2000
375 pages
Typical for Dummies book.  The 5 Ws of soccer, with plenty of factoids thrown in.  As with all dummies books, only rudimentary, more for entertainment than real knowledge.  Useful for bathroom reading.


Soccer with Gary Bailey - An easy manual for coaches and players
Hans Kirsten Publishers
ISBN 0958305587
1989
101 pages
A simple book with basic tips on individual skills with a couple of drills for each skill.  A chapter on goalkeeping.  Extremely brief chapters on restarts and formations.  A summation of out of date Laws of the Game.  Most useful for individual beginning player.

Soccer Fundamentals - Basic skills, drills, and strategy for beginning players
John Learmouth
ISBN 0312115326
1979
133 pages
Introduces the practice grid.  Chapters on Passing and Dribbling, Kicking, Ball Control, Heading, Tackling, and Goalkeeping.  Each chapter has basic tips on technique plus a few practice exercises and drills.  Most useful for individual beginning player.


Youth League Soccer Coaching and Playing
The Athletic Institute
ISBN 0876700261
1988
168 pages
Covers Coaching.  Role and influence of the coach.  Chapter on injuries and first aid.  A brief but good chapter on theory of practice/practice planning.  Tips and techniques for basic soccer skills with essential teaching points for each skill.  Chapter on drills with good diagrams (pics of little soccer guys rather than X and O).  Chapter on basic tactics, chapter on basic formations.  A summation of out of date Laws of the Game.  Most useful for a novice coach.

Soccer Playbook
Robert Matero
ISBN 158865088X
2002
32 pages
A booklet.  Doesn't get more basic than this.  Names various soccer skills, formations, and restarts, but does very little (pretty much nothing) in the way of instruction, tips, or drills.

Soccer for Juniors: A Guide for Players, Parents, and Coaches
Robert Pollock
ISBN 0-684-18369-2
1980
190 pages
Formations is the first thing covered in "Basic Skills".  Then covers the actual basic skills but not well.
Has a chapter on tactics - creating space, through ball, marking, zonal defence.  A summation of out of date Laws of the Game.  A chapter on the Referee.  Not very useful.

The Ultimate Soccer Almanac
Dan Woog
ISBN 0-7373-9981-3
1998
96 pages
A brief history and background of soccer, major teams, and famous players.  The basic skills with 1 or two drills for each, a handful of practice games, and a summation of out of date Laws of the Game.  Not very useful.

One-on-One For Self Training
Walter Chyzowych and Ole Anderson
ISBN 0-9604588
1980
96 pages
"The skills book of the United States Soccer Federation".  20 solo moves for one-on-one.  A bio of a retro pro player with each.  Cartoony pictures, confusing sequences of arrows and numbers.  Marginally useful for individual player.  If you're looking for 1 on 1 moves, the Coerver videos are better. 

Getting Started in Soccer
Gordon Strachan
ISBN 0-8069-0834-3
1994
80 pages
Covers a broad range of basic and intermediate skills with some teaching points for each.  Most useful for individual beginning player.

Soccer Skills for Young Players
Ted Buxton
ISBN 1-55209-329-8
2000
128 pages
Short chapter on warmups and cooldowns, off season training, diet.  Covers basic skills with teaching points and drills for each.  Most useful for individual intermediate player.

The Everything Kids Soccer Book
Deborah W. Crisfield
ISBN 1-58062-642-4
2002
134 pages
Very basic, in the style of soccer for dummies with lots of little cartoony pictures and fluffed up with "Fun facts", "words to know", mazes, other crap.  Avoid.