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What: “The Double-Goal Coach.”

Author: Jim Thompson.

Publisher: HarperCollins.

Price: $13.95.

This is Thompson’s third book on coaching in a manner that builds the self-esteem of players without sacrificing a competitive atmosphere. The books are primarily meant for youth coaches, but are recommended reading for coaches at any level, as Laker Coach Phil Jackson points out in the forward. Practical, not preachy, “Positive Coaching,” “Shooting in the Dark” and “The Double-Goal Coach” are full of entertaining anecdotes that illustrate concepts coaches can learn and apply.

The Double-Goal model of coaching refers to teaching life lessons while at the same time pursuing victory. It is built around three principles: “redefining winner,” to avoid a win-at-all-cost mentality; “filling the emotional tank” of players by praising them five times for every criticism; and “honoring the game” by following the rules and respecting teammates and opponents.

Several chapters end with lists of specific ways a coach can employ the concepts. When a game is not going well, for example, Thompson suggests a “Two-Minute Drill” during which a coach “goes out of your way to notice and comment positively on everything you can. You are injecting a shot of positive energy into your team. The criticisms can wait for two minutes -- they’ll still be valid when the Two-Minute Drill is over, or maybe they won’t. Because what often happens when a coach uses this tool is that things get better! That’s the whole point.”

Thompson, a Stanford professor and longtime youth and high school coach, five years ago founded the Positive Coaching Alliance, a nonprofit organization that supplies youth leagues with coaching workshops and other tools. Information: 650-725-0024.

-- Steve Henson