To become successful in any field you have to have passion and a desire to learn as much as possible about that field. The best of the best in wrestling didn’t just drill or workout, they learned about their sport. It is as true for Dan Gable as it is for Bruce Lee as it is true for David Schultz. The best are always reading and learning and applying that knowledge. So if you’re going to have big goals, you’d better learn from the best. And books is one of the best ways to do that. So here is a list of as many books as I can find on the top of wrestling. Some are for wrestlers to learn wrestling, some are for coaches to learn wrestling and some are simply about wrestling or just sport and inspirational reads.
| Title- Author (* denotes a book in PH Wrestling Library) | Description of who it is for and what it is about. | |
| 1 | A Wrestling Life*- Dan Gable | Dan Gable autobiography |
| 2 | A Wrestling Life 2*- Dan Gable | Dan Gable autobiography sequel. |
| 3 | Winning State Wrestling* – Steve Knight | For wrestlers on how to train for state championship. |
| 4 | Winning Wrestling Moves*- Mark Mysnick | For wrestlers and coaches to learn moves. |
| 5 | The Wrestling Drill Book * Bill Welker | For coaches and wrestlers to learn drills. |
| 6 | Mental Toughness for Young Athletes – Troy Horne | A book for coaches, wrestlers and parents about developing mental toughness. |
| 7 | Coaching Wrestling Successfully– Dan Gable | Dan Gable’s bible on coaching wrestling. |
| 8 | Wrestling , Ultimate Guide– Clint Sharp | Guide for beginners |
| 9 | Wrestling for Beginners *- Tom Jarman | Guide for beginners about wrestling. |
| 10 | How to Succeed (and fail) as a wrestling parent – Donovan Panone | A guide for new (and some not so new) wrestling parents |
| 11 | Mat Mentality – Howard Stanton | For wrestlers on mental toughness and performance |
| 12 | Beyond the Breaking Point– Mike Houck | Fiction wrestling story. |
| 13 | A Prayer for Owen Meany – John Irving | An autobiography by John Irving about his wrestling days. |
| 14 | The World According to Garp – John Irving | A classic book by John Irving that talks of growing up with main character being a wrestler. |
| 15 | Girls Wrestling- Handbook for Coaches and Wrestlers – Joe Marzo | Advice from a coach who took on a woman’s program and produced champions. |
| 16 | 101 Things every youth wrestler should know– Stephen Adams | A book for youth wrestlers. |
| 17 | The Elite Wrestler – Keith Manos | Looks at character traits of some of the greatest wrestlers of all time. |
| 18 | Unstoppable – Anthony Robles | Autobiography of NCAA Champion born without a leg. |
| 19 | Jim Londos – Stephen Johnson | A biography of one of the most famous athletes in America during depression who was a wrestler and lived in San Diego. |
| 20 | American Women in Amateur Wrestling – Jason Norman | A look at Women’s wrestling between 2000 and 2022 |
| 21 | I Can Be a Wrestler – Mykell Wilson | Kids picture book about wrestling |
| 22 | Girls Wrestling A to Z – Kelly Melson | Beginners guide to wrestling for girls. |
| 23 | Wrestling Rules for Life – John Passaro | Great light read that shows how wrestling is a great allegory for doing well in life. |
| 24 | Wrestling Psychology Workbook – Danny Uribe | A book of sports psychology for wrestling |
| 25 | She Wrestles – Howard Stanton | A guide for female wrestlers. |
| 26 | Ultimate Guide to Weight Lifting for Wrestlers * – Rob Price | Just what it says, a guide for coaches and wrestlers on how to lift for wrestling. |
| 27 | Coaching Youth Wrestling – American Sport Education Program | For Coaches on how to coach youth wrestlers. |
| 28 | Youth Wrestling Drill Book – | A book for coaches on drills designed for youth wrestlers. |
| 29 | The Art of Coaching *- Valentin Kalika | US Olympic Coach and on his life and coaching philosophy. One of the best books for coaches. |
| 30 | Soviet Wrestling Domination – Igor Karelin | Soviets won more medals in wrestling than all other countries combined. Book describes how. |
| 31 | The Purler Way – Nick Purler | A book for coaches, parents and wrestlers by a successful coach on how to do well as a wrestler. |
| 32 | Strength Conditioning for Wrestlers – Saman Monfared | A book on strength training by Iranian wrestler. |
| 33 | How to Coach High School Wrestling – Dan Eckley | Coaching guide to high school wrestling. |
| 34 | Coaching Better Every Season – Wade Gilbert | General coaching book on improvement as a coach. |
| 35 | Wooden – John Wooden | Autobiography of one of the best College coaches of all time. |
| 36 | Developing Wrestling Champions– Dariel Daniel | A book for coaching elite wrestlers to their potential. |
| 37 | The Culture Captain – JP Nerbun | A book on how to become a leader on your team. |
| 38 | Captain Athlete’s guide to being a leader– John O’ Sullivan | A leadership book for athlete. |
| 39 | A Look At Wrestling (Martial Arts for Kids) – Cara Krenn | Kids book about wrestling. |
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