Discipline and Mental Fortitude | Basketball Coach, Dawn Staley

Dawn Staley (0:00)

If I chose to go the other route and not hurdle that, I would not be a three-time Olympian. I would not be a two-time assistant coach, gold medal Olympian, and I wouldn't be the head coach of an Olympic team today. So I chose to go the hardest route, and not the easiest route.

And I got to the other side, and it's been plentiful.

Michael Gervais (0:36)

Or, welcome to the Finding Mastery Podcast. I'm Michael Gervais, and by trade and training, I am a sport and performance psychologist. And I am fortunate to work with some of the most extraordinary thinkers and doers across the planet. And the whole idea behind these conversations, behind this podcast is to learn from people, to pull back the curtain, to explore how they've committed to mastering both their craft and their minds. And our minds are our greatest asset. And if you want to learn more about how you can train your mind, this is just a quick little reminder here to check out the online psychological training course that I've created with the head coach of the Seattle Seahawks, Pete Carroll, and that can be found at findingmastery.net forward slash course.

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This week's conversation is with Dawn Staley, the University of South Carolina women's basketball head coach and Team USA Olympic head basketball coach for the Tokyo Olympic Games. Under her leadership, the South Carolina Gamecocks have received many firsts. National Championship, NCAA, Final Fours, number one rankings, SEC regular season and tournament titles, SEC player of the year, national player of the year, WNBA number one draft pick and number one recruiting classes. I mean, it's unbelievable what she's done at this program.

And while her coaching career is in full bloom, Dawn is still recognized for her body of work as one of the most decorated participants in the United States Women Basketball history. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame solidified that legacy with her enshrinement as part of the class of 2013 And I wanted to speak with Dawn to understand her leadership style. How does she do it? How does she pull the best out of so many? And then I wanted to learn how we can all apply those same insights inside and outside the world of sport. We discussed the qualities required to become resilient, to be agile, especially when adversity strikes, and why relationships are at the center of her coaching philosophy. And with that, let's jump right into this week's conversation with the legend Dawn Staley.