Mike McGuigan’s Monitoring Training and Performance in Athletes makes often-challenging concepts, particularly around statistics, easy to understand, and gives plenty of practical examples. Coaches who want to start implementing training monitoring programs, but are unsure of how to start, should read this book for direction and ideas.

Although not the first book about sleep, “Why We Sleep” by Matthew Walker, presents some new concepts, such as “sleep pressure” and the caffeine-adenosine link. The book also looks at sleep from an evolutionary perspective and considers our modern requirements.

There’s a chance you haven’t read some of these strength and conditioning books, as they are a mix of newer and older texts. But don’t let their age or popularity stop you from adding them to your reading pile this year, as each of these 10 books has something to offer both an experienced coach and a coach just starting out.

“Plyometric Anatomy,” by Derek Hansen and Steve Kennelly, provides the right balance between the written word, clear visuals, and scientific evidence to bring plyometric exercises to life and arm the reader with sufficient knowledge to develop their own explosive power training program.

Strength and conditioning coaches at all levels should read “Intent: A Practical Approach to Applied Sport Science for Athletic Development.” Find out why Carl Valle recommends it.

The driving force behind “Game Changer: The Art of Sports Science” is the belief that sports science fails to deliver on its inflated promises. The book, by Dr. Fergus Connolly with Phil White, aims to change the prevailing philosophies on the application of sports science, technology, and analytics to team sports.

Ryan Banta’s “Sprinter’s Compendium” is not merely one coach’s treatise on how to train for speed. Instead, it presents a wide range of experiences, knowledge, and perspectives from more than 50 expert contributors, who provide their insight into the seemingly simple, yet deceptively complex, process of running faster.

While this resource list is not sufficiently comprehensive for the sports clinician, it does provide insight into preparatory means that licensure exams and regulatory bodies don’t typically prioritize. This includes books, articles, videos, programs, DVDs, and studies on critical thinking, physical preparation, pain education, and professional development.

Are you thinking about reading the latest book by Frans Bosch—Strength Training and Coordination: An Integrative Approach? Coach Carl Valle reviews some of the information and theories in the book’s chapters, without giving the entire book’s contents away.