Before I start this review of The Volleyball Coach’s Book of Lists, by Tod Mattox, I must provide a quick disclaimer. I am a contributor to the book – one of many. I have known Tod for 20+ years. He’s an interviewee on the Volleyball Coaching Wizards project, and I did a Coaching Conversation with him. That out of the way, let’s get on to the book.
Book of lists
This book is exactly what it says in the title – a book of lists. Tod reached out to a large number people. Most, but not all, are volleyball coaches. He asked them to contribute one or more lists on any subject they would like. Nearly 150 contributors are included, with over 170 lists in all. Tod definitely put quite a bit of work into this!
I will admit, skimming through the table of contents can be a bit daunting. That’s a lot of lists, after all. Once you realize they only cover 1-2 pages, though, it becomes a much less intimidating undertaking. It’s about 250 pages, but will no doubt feel way shorter. While perhaps not short in terms of pages, each chapter is quick in terms of reading time.
Structure
Tod grouped the lists by topic into 21 chapters. I won’t list them all, but they include things like drills, leadership, match coaching, parents, resources, and practice.
Between groups of chapters, Tod periodically inserts a “Wisdom Interlude”. Basically, they are places for lists that don’t fit so neatly within the chapters. There are five of them in total.
Contributors
Definitely not going to try to list them all here. Many names you’ll know. Many others you probably won’t. They cover just about every level of play you could imagine.
Here are some of the highest profile names (starting from the beginning of the book): Karch Kiraly, John Dunning, Doug Beal, John Kessel, Terry Pettit, Terry Liskevych, Joe Trinsey, Beth Launiere, Tom Black, Russ Rose.
Recommended Reading
I think any coach will get something from this book. While, as I noted above, it can be quickly read, I’d suggest this isn’t a text to just power through. Probably the better way to go is to pick a chapter based on an area of current interest and read through that set of lists. Maybe not even all of them. One or more will surely say something that triggers thoughts and ideas you can use. You can stop there an save the others for later.
That, I think, is the best use of The Volleyball Coach’s Book of Lists. Dip in and out to spark new ways of looking at things. It can easily become a resource you return to time after time to progressively improve your coaching.
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