Dan Blank

I loved this book. I played soccer until I was 16, and I have kept playing for fun as an adult. I have also been coaching me my son’s team for several years. For quite some time now, I have been looking for practical books on tactics and how to play better soccer. It has been frustratingly hard to find good ones. The kinds of books I have been able to find until now were either theoretical on tactics (for example, I didn’t really like “Inverting the Pyramid”), or just filled with drills (but without the reasons for doing them).

Soccer IQ volumes 1 and 2 are the first books I have found that actually explain what you should do to become better at soccer. Both are thin books with about 50 tips each. Each tip is described in one or two pages, sometimes with a diagram. Each tip applies to a specific situation in a game, for example certain passes to avoid when you are a defender.

Initially I was a bit sceptical of this approach – I had expected more of a unified story of how to play. But as it turns out, I really enjoyed this approach. First of all, it is probably easier to write about specific situations. Secondly, it is easier to adopt and apply the tips when they are presented like this. When taken together, all these tips will make you a substantially better player or coach.

Many of the tips were not news to me – I have learnt them myself when playing. Nevertheless, it is nice to see them described. However, I was really happy to see how many tips taught me things I didn’t already know. The ones I liked the most were: 5 Play Behind the Fence, 6 Skip a Layer, 7 The Higher of Two Options and 21 Swim Upstream (the “table with marbles” is a great metaphor). I am looking forward to trying to apply these and more the next time I play.

Apart from the content of the tips, I really enjoyed Dan Blank’s informal writing style. I also appreciate that all these lessons come from many years of coaching experience. Most of the tips end with a “Note for coaches”-paragraph, and these are also very good. All in all, this book and its predecessor are both fantastic books for getting better at soccer. Highly recommended!… (mais)

This book is so great! I spotted in it a thrift shop, but I didn't want to take it home because I have so many other unread books in my house. I picked it up and put it back several times, but I ended up buying it because I was just getting into following my local professional soccer team (DC United) and wanted a book which would enhance my knowledge of the tactics used in soccer. Boy, did I ever pick the right book!

This is a very slim volume written by the coach of a women's college soccer team. He wrote this book as a guide for other soccer coaches. Each chapter, usually just a page or two, describes a different situation and how soccer players should, but often do not, respond in the best way. There are chapters for such situations as defending the penalty kick, playing against a killer wind, play from a spot, the world's dumbest foul, and many, many more. Each chapter describes what to do and what not to do in a very humorous way, making the whole volume a delight to read. Some of the chapters describe in just a few words exercises that a coach can use to work on improving soccer technique related to the situation described.

I know that this book was intended for use by soccer coaches, but it has made me a much more observant soccer viewer. Now I'm on the alert to see if players are using the techniques described in this book correctly or not. It's great fun for me to watch this during a game!

Although I hate to do this as it will add to my growing collection of books at home, I feel this book needs to be part of my permanent book collection. It's a skinny book...so that should be okay. :)… (mais)

The author helps to shift traditional notions about success in our creative efforts to one of making connections. The latter follows a natural path to success that is not forced through uncomfortable marketing strategies. I have heard more and more talk lately about shifting focus to connecting with others in a meaningful way in our endeavors and the benefits that come from it. I hope this is a attitude that will infiltrate our capitalistic mindset. Not that I am against capitalism but it would be nice if it were driven by something besides greed.… (mais)