Joanne “Coach P” McCallie

For Joanne “Coach P” McCallie, building a winning team or leading someone to success is not about focusing on the outcome. Instead, it’s a process that not only applies to business and sports but also mental health. Coach P calls her technique The “I” Test. This leadership/success program is what she used throughout her years of coaching and continues to utilize today. It ties passion and response to Emotional IQ with inspiration. In this motivational and highly informational talk, Coach P explains The “I” Test system and how it can be used for individual development, team cohesion and growth, including embracing adversity, uncertainty and vulnerability, as well as how to not only survive but also thrive.

When Joanne “Coach P” McCallie was leading the women’s basketball team at the University of Maine, she created a program she called “Choice Not Chance.” It was based on her philosophy that you are a product of your choices, both big and small. And if you make the right choice, you can make a difference in your life. Using this idea, along with her staff and players, Coach P took the Maine program from nothing and built it into a very competitive team in a span of eight years.  In fact, she started to outdraw the men's team, a rarity in college sports. Maine went from drawing 800 fans a game to 5,800, a sellout crowd. It worked so well, Coach P wrote a book about it: Choice Not Chance: Building a Fierce Competitor. Drawing on Coach P’s experiences at Maine and Duke and throughout her career, as well as her memoir, Choice Not Chance gives you the tools to become a fierce competitor, such as going against the grain, never becoming satisfied and why it’s critical to enjoy getting better daily.

Can mentors make a difference in your life at work, on the playing field or at home? Absolutely, says Joanne “Coach P” McCallie. The legendary Hall-of-Fame NCAA Basketball Coach has had mentors for nearly all of her life, starting in sixth grade when she joined an intramural basketball team. “I remember a coach saying to me, ‘You could be really good,’ and that statement was so inspiring,” she told BP Magazine. And that was just the start. Throughout her career, she has learned the value of mentors, from the encouragement of her mom to older coaches, college athletic directors and a sports psychologist—all of whom not only inspired but held her accountable. In this talk, Coach P shares the stories of mentors in her life, from Auburn to Maine to Michigan State to Duke, and the value they brought. She’ll also shares the lessons and philosophies learned from “Coach K” Mike Krzyzewski, Tara VanDerveer, Tom Izzo, Nick Saban and Joe Ciampi and how they helped form Coach P’s own approach.

Joanne “Coach P” McCallie understands first-hand the toll mental illness can take on someone because she has experienced it herself. At 30 years old,  while coaching women’s basketball at the University of Maine, she was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder. It’s something she’s been dealing with ever since. And yet, she believes deep in her soul that a diagnosis does not define your destiny. And she has proven it. Coach P is one of the most highly decorated female college basketball coaches in the country. In this moving talk based on her best-selling book, The Secret Warrior, Coach P shares her mental health journey through the realities and challenges within the sports world. Using the recurring theme of "stories over stigmas" to reduce misconceptions associated with impaired mental health and encourage those suffering from mental health issues to reach out to coaches, student-athletes and people across the world, Coach P offers real direction, experiences and personal stories to teach and reassure those adversely affected by the dynamics of the mind and body experience. She also shares how to embrace anxiety and coaching philosophies that relate to brain health success. Motivational and heartfelt, this talk drives home the need for more education, stories, action and an overall change to the narrative about brain health.

Joanne “Coach P” McCallie has a message for anyone going through tough times: You are tougher and stronger than you think. In this highly motivational talk, Coach P shares her own journey of overcoming adversity and how she not only rose above it but also became stronger, smarter and healthier using her Point Guard Mentality: the pivot, perseverance personified, practice and people. From maintaining wellness to having a team in your corner to self-discipline and self-care, Coach P provides the tools you need for growth, success and conquering any challenge. It’s time for you to “be good to you.”