Books
For those who want to learn more about the field in their own time, I have comprised a variety of recommended resources related to the field of sport, exercise, and performance psychology. This page includes books, academic journals, podcasts, and documentaries that I think may be of interest to people. Please note that these resources have been chosen because of my own experience, and I am not compensated by any of the authors. If you have any questions about the selection of resources, or have any recommendations you want to share, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
Books for sports, exercise and performance psychologists
Richard Keegan – Being A Sport Psychologist
A book that is has acted as a guiding framework for so many sport and exercise psychologists during their training. Richard Keegan does a wonderful job at exploring the role of a sport psychologist, and illustrating the foundations needed to be effective on this career path.
Christopher Wagstaff – The Organizational Psychology Of Sport
With the role of a sport psychologist expanding, this book is vital for practitioners who want to gain a better understanding of how sport psychology can facilitate performance and wellbeing from an organisational lens.
Josephine Perry – The Psychology Of Exercise
As part of the psychology of everything book series, Dr Josephine Perry has created an excellent resource to help people from all walks of life better understand exercise, and all of its accompanying factors.
Dr Matt Slater – Togetherness
Dr Matt Slater, an expert on the concept of ‘togetherness’, developed this concise and practical book to help athletes, coaches, psychologists alike to better understand what underpins togetherness, and how this can enhance both performance and wellbeing within a group.
Stewart Cotterill – The Psychology Of Performance
As part of the psychology of everything book series, Stewart Cotterill explores the key psychological factors that affect our ability to cope under pressure, whether it’s competing in a sport, appearing in front of an audience, or meeting a tight deadline.
Dr Bob Rotella – How Champions Think
Acclaimed sports psychologist Bob Rotella has advised everyone from professional golfers to NBA superstars to business executives on how to flourish under pressure and overcome challenges. In this book, he has distilled his decades of in-depth research and practical experience into a potential-unlocking guide for everyone.
Book Series – 100 Key Points & Techniques
100 Key Points and Techniques is a book series that offers practitioners a clear and concise understanding of various approaches one may take in their practice. So far, 11 books have been published, including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Existential Therapy, and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.
Stewart Cotterill – Performance Psychology Theory & Practice
Stewart Cotterill explains in this book how concepts within sport psychology are transferrable across many performance domains. This resource maps core theoretical concepts within sport and performance psychology, while also offering practical guidance on how performance can be improved.
Josephine Perry – Performing Under Pressure
Josephine Perry offers a concise and evidence-based overview of psychological skills to help sport psychology student, athletes, and coaches alike better understand core components of sport psychology.
Interesting and influential biographies and autobiographies
Phil Jackson – Eleven Rings
Phil Jackson is the most decorated NBA coach ever, with (you guessed it) eleven titles to his name. In this autobiography, Jackson shares how his interest in philosophy and Native American culture influenced him to adopt a unique coaching style, focusing on mindfulness and present-moment awareness.
Jessica Ennis – Unbelievable
During the London 2012 Olympics, Jessica Ennis entered GB Athletics immortality, winning gold in the heptathlon. However, for her it was the end of a long, winding, and sometimes harrowing road. Unbelievable is a candid account of her rise to fame during a time of immense societal issues in athletics, such as body image issues, drug abuse, and the culture of elite sport in the UK.
Shoe Dog – Phil Knight
In this candid and riveting memoir, Nike founder and CEO Phil Knight shares how he borrowed $50 from his father and created a company with a simple mission: import high-quality, low-cost athletic shoes from Japan. This book highlights the value of resilience and self-belief, as Knight faced constant adversity throughout the company’s early days of one of the most iconic brands to ever exist.
Damian Hughes – The Barcelona Way
Drawing on interviews with key architects of the culture, as well as his own extensive experience as a sports psychologist working with leading sports and business institutions, Damian Hughes reveals the key principles that have defined FC Barcelona’s success and shows how the DNA of a winning team can be successfully applied to any working environment.
Andre Agassi – Open
Andre Agassi, one of the most gifted men to ever step on a tennis court – hated the game since his early childhood. This vivid journey of Agassi’s life encapsulates the importance of psychological safety for young athletes, and how pivotal psychological support is in elite sport, for both performance and wellbeing.
Katherine Grainger – The Autobiography
Katherine Grainer is Great Britain’s most decorated female Olympic athlete. Three times a silver medallist in the Olympic Games, Grainger shows perseverance and determination like no other in the London 2012 games, finally gaining gold at the age of 36 and retiring as an Olympic champion, to go with her six World Championships and eight World Cup gold medals.
Ibtihaj Muhammad – Proud
This memoir illustrates how a Ibtihaj, an African American Muslim, discovered fencing; a sport traditionally reserved for the wealthy. From winning state championships to three-time All-America selections at Duke University, Ibtihaj was poised for success, but the fencing community wasn’t ready to welcome her with open arms just yet. As the only woman of color and the only religious minority on Team USA’s saber fencing squad, Ibtihaj had to chart her own path to success and Olympic glory.
Kobe Bryant – Mamba Mentality
The late Kobe Bryant, one of the most iconic professional athletes to have ever lived, here portrays his personal perspective of his life and career in the NBA. This read offers an exceptional insight into one of the most sought-after psychological approaches in elite sport.
Rob Burrow – Too Many Reasons To Live
After a career of constantly being written off, Rob Burrows retired from rugby league as one of the greatest players of all time. Then, in December 2019, he was diagnosed with motor neurone disease and given a couple of years to live. Far more than a sports memoir, Too Many Reasons to Live is a story of boundless courage and infinite kindness.
Books related to the field
Joshua Medcalf – Chop Wood Carry Water
Chop Wood Carry Water is the story of a boy’s journey in achieving his life-long dream to become a samurai warrior. This (very) short fable will take the reader on a journey of the lessons that this boy learnt on their way to becoming a samurai.
Owen Eastwood – Belonging
In this memoir, Eastwood shares his ethos that has made him such a successful performance coach throughout his career. Drawing on his own Mauri ancestry, Eastwood reflects on his own unique journey of belonging. He weaves together the evolutionary story of homo sapiens’ and the ideology of spiritual beliefs, explaining how these powerful ideas can maximise team performance.
Julie DiCaro – Sports, Culture, And Being a Woman In America
Through personal anecdotes, candid interviews, and evidence-based research, DiCaro explores the many issues in sport and media regarding women’s rights and misogyny. The award-winning sports journalist illuminates the way sports presents a microcosm of life as a women in America, covering everything from the abusive online environment, the sexist treatment of athletes, and female athletes fighting for equal pay and treatment.
Andy Puddicombe – The Headspace Guide To Meditation & Mindfulness
Andy Puddicombe, a former Buddhist monk, the Voice of Headspace, and the UK’s foremost mindfulness expert, is on a mission: to get people to take 10 minutes out of their day to sit in the here and now. This book brings the ancient practice of meditation into the modern world, offering simple but powerful techniques that impact every area of physical and mental health.
DK – The Psychology Book
This is an ideal read for anyone who wants to better understand the field of psychology. The Psychology Book is a simple visual guide to the complex and fascinating world of human behaviour, with concise explanations of different schools of psychology, insights into crucial thinkers, and illustrations of key theories and ideas.
Viktor Frankl – Man’s Search For Meaning
First published in 1946, psychiatrist Viktor Frankl’s memoir has riveted generations of readers with its descriptions of life in Nazi death camps and its lessons for spiritual survival. Based on his own experience and the stories of his patients, Frankl argues that we cannot avoid suffering but we can choose how to cope with it, find meaning in it, and move forward with renewed purpose.
Steve Ingham – How To Support A Champion
Steve Ingham has worked with some of the most successful athletes that Great Britain has ever produced. Here, this memoir highlights the importance of psychological awareness and understanding through his career as a physiologist.
Matthew Syed – Black Box Thinking
Black Box Thinking puts a spotlight on some of the most successful people in the world, and how their relationship with failure was pivotal for that success. Here, Syed uses gripping case studies, exclusive interviews, and practical guidance to explain how failure can be the best way to learn, and be used to develop future strategies for success.
Reni Eddo Lodge – Why I’m No Longer Talking To White People About Race
This should be a book that is read by everyone. Twice. Eddo-Lodge, an award-winning journalist, wrote about her frustration with the way that discussions of race and racism in Britain were being led by those who weren’t affected by it. She posted a piece on her blog, entitled: ‘Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race’ that led to this book.
‘Every voice raised against racism chips away at its power. We can’t afford to stay silent. This book is an attempt to speak’.