Choice Not Chance
Rules for Building a Fierce Competitor

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

JOANNE P. M^CCALLIE is Head Coach of the Duke Women's Basketball team. The ACC Coach of the Year in 2010 and AP National Coach of the Year in 2005, she's in her fifth season at the helm of the Blue Devils' program. M^cCallie 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. She has accumulated more than 450 wins as a head coach at Maine, Michigan State, and Duke. As a coach and player, M^cCallie has led her teams to nineteen conference titles, three NCAA Final Fours, and three NCAA National Championship Games.

ROB RAINS is the author of twenty-eight nonfiction books including autobiographies of Ozzie Smith and Jack Buck. He is currently sports editor of the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, an online daily newspaper, and an adjunct professor in the school of communications at Webster University.