Ep 7: Small Steps with Joanne “Coach P” McCallie: How to go from Survivorship to Thrivership

Small Steps. Big Change.

Episode 6 with Chamique Holdsclaw dove into overcoming adversity and rebounding from trauma. This week’s guest, Joanne P. McCallie is also known as Coach P to her players and colleagues, has a very similar story to Chamique. As a coach, the stigma can be even worse. Coach P shows us the power of storytelling, and drives home the need for more education, action, and overall change to the stigma-filled narrative about brain health.

Joanne “Coach P” McCallie is a former NCAA Division I women’s basketball head coach for 28 years, leading teams at Maine, Michigan State, and Duke, making National Coach of the Year, and winning numerous championships at all three schools. She is the only coach in history to win Coach of the Year in four different conferences, and then achieved that five times. And she is the only Division I head coach to lead two different programs to 30-win seasons with three National Championship game appearances.

Coach P was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder at age 30 while coaching at Maine. It was something she wanted to reveal for decades but was counseled that it would be career suicide and distracting to her teams. In 2021, she decided it was time to talk and became a mental health advocate and speaker, sharing her story to inspire and educate others on how to “win without losing yourself.” The result was her best-selling book, Secret Warrior: A Coach and Fighter, On and Off the Court, and numerous speaking engagements where she shares her story.

Join us in this conversation to hear the small steps Coach P took to go from survivorship to thrivership.

Want to learn more from Joanne P. McCallie?

>>Connect with Joanne on LinkedIn

>>Follow her on Facebook and Instagram @coachp4life

>>Secret Warrior: A Coach and Fighter, On and Off the Court

Connect with Andrew Sullivan on Instagram @thesmallstepspod

Watch Small Steps, Big Change on YouTube @Small Steps Big Change Podcast