How a Championship Coach Prepares for the Work

Dawn Staley, the coach of the University of South Carolina women's basketball team, which won the national championship last year, begins each season by putting her team in the most challenging situations. Instead of practicing ideal scenarios, they practice the toughest ones. In basketball, the worst position is being trapped in one of the four corners of the court, where players face both defenders and the out-of-bounds line as an “invisible defense.” Staley trains her players to escape this position and advance the ball up the court successfully.