Soccer iQ - Vol. 2: More of What Smart Players Do

I have the paperback, which including a chapter from one of his other books is 116 pages. The book consists of 49 very short chapters each of which address a specific aspect of playing and coaching soccer. Each chapter is drafted from the standpoint of a coach explaining to the players why they should take a given action in a given circumstance. Each chapter ends with a note to coaches. The chapters express his approach clearly and in easy to understand language.The author recognizes that not all coaches will agree with some of his thoughts on how to approach specific parts of the game. In these cases he suggests that they “agree to disagree” and moves on from the topic..His topics range from the types of kicks to take and those to avoid to when the players should expend extreme energy and when they should not. The range of topics is very broad.My one quibble with the book reflects that the game is very dynamic and the pictures in the book are two dimensional, which to me didn’t always give me a complete idea of the author’s point. That’s more on me than it is on him. I think that if you are a soccer coach with some experience you’ll understand his points.If you’re interested in playing, coaching or just watching soccer, I recommend the book.

Great book for elevating the thinking level for players and coaches. Coach Blank has watched and coached a ton of soccer. His tips and ideas will literally help your teams win games. Easy book to read. I like to read a chapter a day in the two months leading up to a new season.

There's a lot of good information in this book -- but it's not as good as volume 1 (Soccer IQ).It's not that every chapter in volume 1 is better than any chapter in volume 2, but that there's more quality in volume 1, which is not to imply that there's no or little quality in volume 2. I just think that if you listed the chapters from both books on the basis of quality from 1 to 104, that you'd find 35 of the top 52 chapters in volume 1 and the other 17 in volume 2. That's good enough for a recommendation from me with the caveat that volume 1 is better.

Great book that outlines important concepts that every player should have in their toolbox. It’s an easy read and I highly recommend it.

This book is a must if you coach or you have a soccer player in your house! Great tips and insight into various soccer strategies from what a goalkeeper should pay attention to, passing situations and tips, and even what to do for a throw in. We have Vol. 1 too. Vol. 1 starts off with simpler strategies and drills. This volume was great for my U14 and U15 soccer players.

My son play soccer and learned a lot court smartness from the book. Just bought the second book for collection.

Great book on soccer. I also like Vol. 1 better, this one goes more into tactics whereas the first volume had more general facts. Both were interesting and informative. This one was probably beyond the scope our U12 rec girl in many chapters but we both read the entire book and enjoyed it. Dan Black is my favorite author of the dozen or so soccer related books I've read lately.

I read 2 or 3 of these self help soccer training manuals each season. Most are laden with drills and anecdotal information about how to play the game. I picked up Dan's book on a whim and was really surprised. The format is different then most with concise and to the point issues. Its a quick and entertaining read and provides straight to the field advice and solutions. Seems best for the older teams but still valuable for the younger kids coach to catch issues early on so you can address before they become real problems. Be sure and get Vol 1.

It's a must read book for a soccer player.My son is only 11 years.I have gifted vol1 and 2 to him. I can see improvements in his game.Thanks Dan..

Super diagrams

Elaborates on Soccer IQ book 1 and offers more insight. See my review of book 1. My only wish was the team should have provided a copy at the beginning of the season to all the players on the team. My son was struggling with the "strategy" and "positioning" of the game - no longer. The book validated much of what I was teaching him to do but he struggled with the fans and coaches rewarding the ball handling and fancy footwork players, by the way, whom consistently slow the attack to a crawl and eventually loose the ball. The cheers by fans and the coaches rewarding these players for their play contradicted what I was teaching him, to control the ball if needed, pause if needed, look before passing, one touch passes are better, spread the play on the field and longer passes if possible and to play smart. He is no longer confused with the contradiction between what I have been telling him and his coaches. The book has helped him understand he is and was not doing anything wrong and had skills beneficial to the team according to the book. Perhaps, when I go back to coaching, I will start by buying a book for the entire team as my gift to them before the start of the season. The book well worth the cost. Nice simple read with practical advice.

I found this book to be an excellent follow up to the first volume. What I appreciate most about the Soccer IQ series is that you can look for a specific situation or event in the table of contents and then go to that specific lesson in a 1-3 page easy to read format, complete with drills as appropriate. I find that I read the Soccer IQ series as a series of "chapters" that deal with specifics, rather than sitting down to digest the entire book in a sitting or two. As a former player and current coach in Club Soccer, I also appreciate that Coach Blank has chosen to write from a player's perspective, and then has included a section specifically for the coach after the specific item. I find myself moving through the Soccer IQ series one "lesson" at a time, introduced and taught within the framework of my existing practices. My final observation is that because the author is coaching at a high level, the book itself serves as a refresher course for senior coaches, particularly when working with players that may or may not have had complete coaching in the past. If you are a new coach, this serves as an excellent framework for getting your team up and running.

A really good book I have read so far about soccer tactical. Not yet finished but I have enjoyed it till where I have read.