Skip to main content

Finding Balance in Basketball

Women’s Basketball head coach Joanne McCallie shares her mantra about life balance

Joanne “Coach P” McCallie, head coach of Duke Women's Basketball, courtside in Cameron Indoor Stadium. Photo courtesy of Duke Athletics
Joanne “Coach P” McCallie, head coach of Duke Women's Basketball, courtside in Cameron Indoor Stadium. Photo courtesy of Duke Athletics

Name: Joanne “Coach P” McCalliePosition: Head coach, Duke Women’s BasketballYears at Duke: 8

What I do at Duke: It’s a constant in and out of the office. I’m constantly recruiting, and we’ve got a great staff and everyone’s working really hard. We’re always in different places recruiting, looking for great players and great students. I woke up at 6 this morning and at 7:15, I was in the gym working out the kids (Women’s Basketball team) from 7:30 to 8:30. It’s a lot of running around. You work by objectives. You don’t work by a clock.

Read More

My dream job: This is the most wonderful place because you have true student-athletes, and we’re trying to make history. We haven’t won a national title here, but it’s the ultimate challenge and one that I enjoy. I love trying to get these women to not only be great students and great basketball players but to recognize what they can do to impact their communities as powerful, strong women.

My first ever job: When I was in high school, I worked at a deli in Maine and made sandwiches. I could never get the onion smell off my hands. 

The best advice I ever received: Balance your life. I do believe in moderation and nothing in excess. People think balance is this state that occurs naturally. My experience has been you have to fight for it. Women, I think, overdo because we multitask so well and then we get out of balance because we just keep going and going and going.

How she got to Duke: I’m kind of a unique story because I came from Maine to Michigan State to Duke, so I didn’t have the privilege of being at Duke for an extended period. I was recruited by Duke and I got accepted to Duke (as an undergraduate, but instead went to Northwestern University). I had an official visit here back in the day as a student. It’s just a full circle kind of thing. Duke has always been in my mind and my heart. It’s been an amazing experience.

When I’m not at work, I like to: Do anything with my kids or with our family. I’ve played enough golf to have two holes in one. I have a green belt in yoshukai, which is a form of Japanese martial arts. I’ve grown to love playing tennis and I’m now completing my third summer of tennis at Duke. That really helps me during the season to keep on point and to keep focused. Tennis makes me a better person. When I was a young coach, I thought you just gave up stuff. ‘Oh, I can’t run. I don’t have time.’ It’s quite the contrary. Everyone’s busy, but how can you make your life more interesting and more balanced?

Something most people don’t know about me: I love to dance, but I have to be in a place where nobody can take a picture.

An interesting/memorable day at work for me: Coaches really love practice. A memorable day for me is a day where I have my office work done, and I wrote up a fantastic practice (She writes out her practice plans by hand every day). Then I would have a wonderful tennis lesson or match, have a great practice where the team is awesome and doing well, and then go to a team meal. That’s an awesome day, in which you get so many opportunities to communicate and help people grow, and that doesn’t even require a game. Of course, the ultimate memorable day would be having our special Duke Women’s Basketball team make history and win our first national championship, and then build from there.