I love reading books and taking shortcuts in my learning curve by “downloading ideas and information from people who have solved my problems before me”, rather than learning everything the hard and slow way. Every now and then, followers of the Learn Beach Volleyball Fast project share this mindset with me strongly enough to ask me for book recommendations on books that will make their beach volleyball careers and lives better.
I realized I should collect all the books I recommend in one place, where I can also add more books in the future when I find new ones etc. For now, this is that place.
Affiliate disclaimer: You are free to choose whether you want to buy the books by clicking the links below, or by finding them in some other way. However, if you decide to purchase within 24 hours after clicking one of my links below, the Learn Beach Volleyball Fast-project will earn a small monetary commission from the purchase with no difference in price for you.
Therefore, if you feel like you are gaining value from the existence of the Learn Beach Volleyball Fast-project and wish it could grow even bigger/faster/better, please consider buying through the links below if you are going to buy anyway. All the money will go to further development of the project and we all win from that.
Also, if you normally buy other products via Amazon.com, please consider buying also those after clicking a link of mine, it doesn’t matter if my link directs you to the product you buy or not as long as the purchase happens within 24 hours. Same deal there, you support the further development of this project with no extra cost for you.
The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance
by Timothy W. Gallwey
This is basically the grandfather of sports psychology books, written in the 70’s but still probably one of the most impactful mental training books out there. Hooks you from the first page wondering why noone has taught you these things before. Don’t let the word “tennis” in the title discourage you, it doesn’t really matter. Highly recommended.
Mastery: The Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfillment
by George Leonard
How do we truly become masters of a craft as well as have a highly enjoyable experience on the path to mastery? This book that draws wisdom from ancient Eastern philosophies is an absolute gamechanger and highly needed in todays society where quick fixes, short attention span and fast (but ultimately lower quality) satisfaction is demanded by pretty much everyone.
The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results
by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan
Any time you have a big and complex goal (like becoming a good beach volleyball player for example), there are a lot of moving parts in how you approach your goal. How do you prioritize, what do you do first, after that etc to ultimately reach your goal faster and more efficiently? This book tackles that question head on and will make you more efficient in all sorts of pursuits for the rest of your life. Highly recommended.
Psycho-Cybernetics: Updated and Expanded
by Maxwell Maltz
This is one magnificient piece of personal development. Will help you understand your “subconscious mind” and how you most probably self-sabotage yourself both on the court as well as in your beach volleyball career in general, and help you turn that around. A pure classic that many successful sportsmen owe their success to.
Dream On: The Challenge to Break Par in a Year
by John Richardson
A very inspiring, fun to read and insightful story of Johns “impossible” 1-year golf challenge. A lot of insights around learning skills and sports faster by the first podcast guest of the Learn Beach Volleyball Fast Podcast. Highly recommended reading even if it’s not golf you are trying to master.
The Mindful Athlete: Secrets to Pure Performance
by George Mumford
George Mumford has been a mental trainer for Micheal Jordan, Kobe Bryant & other pro sports legends and through this book also you can have a look into what he teaches. Honestly I’d probably recommend reading The Inner Game of Tennis before this book, but The Mindful Athlete is a good read among some of the first sports psychology books you read.
The Talent Code: Greatness Isn't Born. It's Grown.
by Daniel Coyle
Very interesting book about learning skills more efficiently. A lot of insights both for players and coaches.
Winning Ugly: Mental Warfare in Tennis - Lessons from a Master
by Brad Gilbert
You know the players who have ugly technique, but still somehow manage to win? How do they do it? Here is a book by one of those guys, but from tennis. Even if this book is very tennis specific, one can get a lot of ideas from it that are applicable to beach volleyball.
The Science of Accelerated Learning: Advanced Strategies for Quicker Comprehension, Greater Retention, and Systematic Expertise
by Peter Hollins
A book with a lot of ideas on how to learn things (like beach volleyball) faster. To be completely honest, I haven’t yet finished reading this book, but the part I have read has had a lot of great stuff in it.
Angela Rock's Advanced Beach Volleyball Tactics
by Angela Rock
One of the few books out there that actually tries to teach you how to play beach volleyball. Has some cool ideas in it for the nerd that wants to read all the information out there.
Volleyball for Milkshakes
by Travis Mewhirter and Tri Bourne
“Edutainment” (educational entertainment) at the highest level. Very easy and fun read about the story of a few young beach volleyball players battling with the sport and eachother in Hawaii, with tons of applicable beach volleyball instruction nuggets weaved into it. If you ever feel like reading something a bit more lighthearted but still want to become a better and smarter player, this is the book for you.
Power vs. Force
by David R. Hawkins M.D. Ph.D
This is NOT a book for the faint hearted. Somewhat difficult to read, concepts that are way over the head and hard to believe for most people. I cannot say I have been even close to experiencing everything that is talked about in this book or if I am capable of knowing if I believe in it or not. However, what I know is that even despite all of the above, this book has had some tremendous impact on me and how I approach beach volleyball especially mentally, so it still has to be on this list.
I have probably forgot to mention some books, but I will add them once I remember them. These will get you started for sure. In case you are someone who enjoys personal development and takes it seriously, there is an online course I’d recommend even more than all of these books. Read more about it here.
Thanks for checking the booklist out, let me know if you have any huge insights from any of these books! If you decide to purchase anything though the links, thanks alot, we will all win because of that! // Alex