Coaching Athletes

Athletes desire—and deserve—a more substantive expression of the Christian faith in the context of sport, but they don’t know what it looks like or where to turn to learn more. Author Brian Smith shares his story as an athlete and coach, and his experience working with high-level athletes in the last decade to help listeners better understand how to integrate faith and sport.

What’s your max squat? How much ya bench? What’s your best deadlift? Can you press your body weight? Today, pushing quantifiable expressions of strength, like your maxes, is becoming increasingly ubiquitous. However, though strength may be specific, real strength is much more than a powerlifting total - it’s about resilience, capability, and adaptability. It’s survival of the fittest after all, not the strongest.

Famous three-time Grand Slam winner Arthur Ashe pointed out that many in sports fall victim to “paralysis by analysis”. Athletes on any level can experience the pain of overthinking and sabotaging their performance. Blame many traditional methods of teaching and training. How can we train smarter, not harder? If only our body and mind could perform in a way that’s more natural and instinctive. The best athletes have this quality, but many feel it is simply unattainable for them. I assure you it is not.

The focus of this book is to provide you, the listener, with best practices for working with youth and athletes outside of the classroom environment. There are too many kids and athletes not receiving the support they need mentally, academically, behaviorally, and emotionally.

Do you put 110 percent effort into your training sessions and still see no improvement? Are you looking for a simple guide that summarizes the best habits used by today's top athletes? The truth is...some of us train our hearts out and see little improvement. And some of us are just getting started and don't know where to begin. This audiobook is for athletes from all levels of experience - from your first few steps to your last stroke in an Olympic swim. You might be looking for motivation to go on your first run. Or you might be ready to trial for your country's Olympic team.

Shut up and Clap! offers a practical guide for parents, coaches, and referees in the world of youth sports. This book offers valuable insights, practical tips, and personal anecdotes to help you support your student-athlete.