Dawn Staley: On Coaching, Mental Fortitude, and Love | From the FM Archives

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

I'd like to present the 2024 National Championship Trophy to Coach Dawn Staley and the South Carolina Game Caps.

Dawn Staley (0:09)

I think I'm a master in basketball. I think I'm masterful when it comes to knowing certain things on the floor. But that doesn't make me a great coach, because I know more than other people. What makes me a great coach is I know how to meet people where they are, that take them where they need to go.

Michael Gervais (0:36)

Okay, welcome back or welcome to the Finding Mastery podcast. I'm your host, Dr. Michael Gervais, by trade and training a high performance psychologist. And today, I am super excited to share a fresh version of our previous conversation with the 2024 National Championship winning basketball coach, Dawn Staley.

As you might know, this past Sunday, Dawn led South Carolina to their third National Championship in the past seven years to top off a, and I don't use this word lightly, perfect undefeated season. Dawn also rightfully earned the 2024 Naismith Coach of the Year Award. I mean, come on, like, what a year. And as if that wasn't enough, South Carolina became the first team in the past 25 seasons to reach the final four, let alone go undefeated without returning any starting players from last year. What an amazing testament to Dawn's leadership and the culture that she has built.

When you listen to this conversation, it will be no surprise to you how and why she is considered one of the best ever to do it. I think we all have a lot to learn from Dawn's insights, like the qualities needed to build resilience, how to develop psychological agility in the face of adversity, and why relationships are at the center of her coaching philosophy. So with that, let's enjoy this incredible conversation with three-time national champ, three-time Olympic gold medalist, Hall of Famer, and your 2024 Coach of the Year, Dawn Staley. Dawn, how are you?

Dawn Staley (2:23)

I'm doing great.

Michael Gervais (2:24)

Where are we living right now? Where are you?

Dawn Staley (2:28)

I'm in Columbia, South Carolina, where it's pretty hot, pretty humid. But I'm enjoying being home.

Michael Gervais (2:42)

So I know that the intro that I just read gives a nod to how much you've done.

And so I just want to start off by saying congratulations on everything. You're one of the rare few that have really blazed the trail, and the rest of the folks that get to look at you, to what you've done, to say, ooh, how? And so that's what I want to focus on this conversation. Like you have created something that is hard to get my arms around because you've had so much success so often.

And so I can't ask you the question how. It just doesn't quite work like that. But if we could just set a little context up quickly. Where did you grow up? What was it like?

Dawn Staley (3:29)

Well, I grew up in Philadelphia, North Philly, specifically, in the housing projects called the Raymond Rosen Housing Projects. And the housing projects was when I grew up, it was comprised of a circular like row homes. And in the middle of that circle was a big field where it was big enough for a softball field, a baseball field. We created a track and then it was a baseball, I'm sorry, and a basketball court. So it was huge field that then it was just space.

But there was a fence for a baseball field. And then it was just in the basketball court. And then it was just wide open space.

And then looking out into the field were the start of some high rises.

And if you grew up in the projects and you lived in the row homes, we thought we lived in suburban America. Because the high rises were filled with some of everything. You could smell the urine as you get on the elevator to walk through the halls or get on the elevator. You can encounter anything in the high rises. So in the row homes, we had three rooms, small kitchen, small living room, small dining area. But it was like your own home. And I thought we had a lawn.

Our block was the fourth block and we had a block captain that, I mean, she did not let anybody not mow them on or plant flower. I mean, it was beautifully done by everybody that lived in their house. Now, her grandchildren used to live in a block, a neighboring block. Like we were the fourth block, her grandkids lived in the fifth block, and the fifth block did not look as nice as our block. So even her grandchildren were under her wrath when it comes to coming to our block and not treating it like they lived there. So we had that and the dynamics of living in the projects are so great because we did not know life outside of the projects. And we felt like we had everything that we needed to arm ourselves, to be survivors. We knew we were surrounded by a lot of negative, a lot of crime, but we also were protected by the people in our neighborhood that wouldn't allow us to stray off the, you know, straight to the wrong path.