Choice Not Chance

Foreword by Mike Krzyzewski, Duke’s Men Basketball Coach A celebrated coach reveals the secrets to building a fierce competitor At age 26, Joanne P. McCallie, a.k.a. Coach P, began her career at Maine, where in the span of eight years, she elevated the women's basketball program to a very competitive team that outdrew the men's crowds, a rarity in college sports. Over her tenure, she created the Choice Not Chance (CNC) philosophy, training kids how to think and focus on making the correct choices in life. She imparted her passionate philosophy to all of her players and now brings it to her efforts as head coach at Duke. Choice Not Chancehighlights McCallie's lessons for building a fierce competitor, such as "Going against the grain," "Never become satisfied," and "Enjoy the prospect of getting better daily." The CNC philosophy is widely used by McCallie, her staff, and players, who are very active in the community speaking about "CNC." Joanne P. McCallie is head coach of the Duke Women's Basketball team and was the ACC Coach of the Year in 2010 McCallie became the first coach in Division I history to be crowned champion in four different conferences, as well as the first coach in NCAA history to garner coach of the year accolades in four different leagues A native of Brunswick, Maine, McCallie owns a career mark of 431-174 and is entering her 20th year as a head coach at Maine, Michigan State and Duke; as a coach and player, she has led her teams to 15 conference titles, 19 NCAA Tournament appearances, seven NCAA Sweet 16 appearances, five NCAA Elite Eight appearances, three NCAA Final Four appearances and three NCAA Championship game appearances During the 2004-05 season at Michigan State, she won the Big Ten Regular Season and Tournament Championship en route to a National Championship game appearance. For her efforts she was named the Associated Press National Coach of the Year McCallie has taught her teams to play with passion and fight hard for recognition, and her teams have achieved remarkable success. Apply her wisdom to your teams, your employees, and your own life.

Foreword Mike Krzyzewski xiii Preface xv Introduction 1 Chapter 1 Be Ready for Change and Adventure 9 Opportunity Knocks 10 My First Meeting with Coach K 13 Chapter 2 Creating “Choice Not Chance” 17 We Are All Products of the Choices We Make 18 Chapter 3 The Underdog, Fighter Mentality 23 A Navy Brat Grows Up 24 Wherever They Live, Kids Need to Be Motivated 26 Role Models Help Me Develop My Skills 27 Nurturing Interest and a Desire to Improve 31 Graduation Approaches 34 Chapter 4 Nobody Likes Whiners 39 Arriving at Northwestern and Fighting for Playing Time 40 A Coaching Change 42 My First (Bittersweet) Taste of the NCAA Tournament 46 Chapter 5 Money Alone Won’t Make You Happy 51 What Am I Going to Do with My Life? 52 Following a Passion: My Return to Basketball 54 Chapter 6 Never Be Afraid to Try Something and Make a Mistake 59 Making a Commitment and Sticking with It 60 Things Begin to Make Sense 63 A Nearly Fatal Mistake 67 Chapter 7 Seek Out Mentors: There Is No Substitute for Experience 73 Why the Scoreboard Is Irrelevant: Play the Game to Attack and Compete 74 Learning from Failure 77 Seek Out the Wisdom of Others 83 Chapter 8 Not All of Your Players (or Employees)Will Get Along with Each Other 93 The Other Side of Success 94 Learning Balance, Restoring Energy 97 Expectations for the Future 99 Chapter 9 Life Is More than the Game 107 Away from the Court, My Priorities Change 108 Team in Transition 109 New Developments on the Court and in My Life 113 Chapter 10 Set High Team Goals While Motivating on an Individual Level: No Two Players (Just Like No Two Employees)Are Exactly Alike 123 Arriving at Michigan State 124 Lessons from Tom Izzo and Lonny Rosen 126 Motivating a New Team 129 Managing Conflict 133 Chapter 11 Everybody Has to Be Challenged to See How Good They Can Become 139 Challenges and Progress at Michigan State 140 Always Measure Your Accomplishments 143 Chapter 12 Step Back and Reassess Your Priorities 147 How Can We Improve? What Can We Do Better? 148 Refusing to Give Up, No Matter the Opponent 150 Chapter 13 A Message from Coach Smith and Coach Wooden 159 Winning Isn’t Always about Who Has the Best or Most Talented Players 160 Coming Close Creates Added Motivation 163 Chapter 14 Coach K Teaches, “Do What You Came Here to Do” 167 Moving On 168 Meeting Another Challenge 174 Getting to Work at Duke 175 Coach K Gives Me the Message I Need When I Need It 179 My First Big Win at Duke 180 Transition at Work and at Home 182 Chapter 15 You Have to Seek Out the Changes—and See How You Need to React to Them—to Make the Team (and Your World) Better 187 Chapter 16 Recruiting Is a True Test of Will,Discipline, Character, and Evaluation Ability 197 Getting the Right Group of Players 198 Chapter 17 Competitive Cauldron 207 Acknowledgments 219 University of Maine and Michigan State University 220 Duke University 221 Index 223