Cornfields to Gold Medals: Coaching Championship Basketball, Lessons Leadership, and a Rise from Humble Beginnings

Coach Don Showalter’s rise to international recognition as a coach can be traced to his time at the helm of USA Basketball’s Junior National Team, where he went 62-0 and brought home 10 gold medals. Yet, for all his international success he remains grounded in the Midwestern values that shaped his character; principles have made him a passionate ambassador for the sport of basketball and one of its great teachers. is an all-American story that takes the reader on Showalter’s life journey through the sport he has coached for nearly half a century. It begins humbly, on a family farm perched atop the rolling hills of southeastern Iowa, and extends to gymnasiums in every corner of the world. Interspersed in this compelling personal narrative are 10 lessons in leadership, strategies Showalter employed throughout his 44-years coaching young athletes. Each is accompanied by key points in how to teach the lesson, and shares effective strategies for readers to implement in daily practice.