Local Lancer Coach Publishes Book
on the Scientific Theory on How to Win
Story by Alysia Therrien
Photography by Agatha Knelsen
It takes grit to accept the offer to coach a losing team. The team who, season after season, came in last in the country. Whose future seemed bleak, but for coach Chantal Vallée, it was her only option.
Yielded, but ready with her years of leadership research and a scientific accepted model, she begrudgingly took the job in 2005. She became the head coach of the University of Windsor Lancers women’s basketball team.
The next steps were imperative, as Chantal was weighted with her decision and the need to “turn this around”. Her investigation and collaboration with world-renowned coaching success leader, Dr. Gordon Bloom, was finally getting its chance on the court.
They based their research on what makes coaches successful. As Chantal states, “We created a model that explains what leaders who have been successful at winning or transforming businesses do on a daily, weekly and yearly basis.” After it was confirmed and published in science, Chantal ironically found herself in Windsor, with a team who needed such a model.
“I knew the theory and I put the data together myself, but nobody had applied it,” Chantal explains. The theory had come from the experts, but now it was time to put the method into practice exactly as the science said to.
The pitch was to turn the team around in 5 years, but Chantal did it in 6. In 2011, the Lancers women’s basketball team won their first national championship.
The book, Dare to Win, is the product of the research and data application of Chantal Vallée and Dr. Bloom’s proven leadership and coaching strategies. The hands-on application is recorded throughout the manual, as Chantal utilizes theory and personal insight to drive the guide. “Like a basketball game, the book is divided into four quarters,” says Chantal, “Each quarter represents one of the four categories the research shows a leader has to put an emphasis on in order to transform an organization.” With 20 years of applying this model, Chantal had used it, “through different generations and I still have successful teams,” she exclaims. “So, why don’t I take this and put it into a book, so there is a story telling how the underdog can win.”
Although Dare to Win uses sports psychology as its example, the blueprint is pertinent to any type of leader. It goes deeper into life transformation and how to improve the self. Whether you own a business, have children, work in education or health care, any human can use this model and apply it. The book itself is a quick read, but the insights cross all fields.
Chantal herself is no stranger to transformation. A French speaking Quebec native, who at the age of 24 only learnt English so she could remain enrolled at university, who survived a life-threatening motorcycle accident, which ultimately forced her to have a spiritual awakening. In her many years dedicated to leadership, some of them were spent as a church leader during her time as a pastor.
Chantal took her persistence and spiritual practices to develop tools that help keep her centred and grounded. Her personal experiences have become the foundation for her leadership, as she now ensures her coaching methods are balanced and healthy. “Coaches used to push you to do more, be more physical, stronger, faster. A new way of thinking in sports psychology is that you have to train your mind,” she explains. She continues about the need to remain mentally strong so that you can become spiritually sound. Although this is not the focus of the book, it is an important underlying message. There is great value in showing up to a stressful situation with your mind centred so you can show up mentally for your goal.
Dare to Win encompasses the research, but also the depiction of what it takes to succeed holistically. Taking 7 years to write the book in English, Chantal admits how at times she did get fed up. After a lot of back and forth with Dr. Bloom, a final draft was finally ready. In just the pre-print form, Chantal had copies of the book circulating the hands of NBA coaches. Professional coaches such as Nick Nurse, who won a championship with the Toronto Raptors, quickly endorsed the book. Multiple responses came in soon after with one main consensus: “It is one of the best leadership books they’ve ever read.”
“The feedback was so good, so we were excited to put this product on the market,” says Chantal. Officially published on March 18th, the book is now available worldwide.
As positive feedback keeps coming in, Chantal was invited by Deep Blue Sport Entertainment to go to New York this April to help promote women’s sports across the world. Here in Windsor, the official book launch date is May 14th and it will be held at the Windsor Club on Riverside Drive East. Chantal is looking forward to sharing the book and meeting those who want to learn more about transforming their lives.
Chantal hopes to continue building a future that furthers professional opportunities for women in sports. Having been the first woman to coach and manage a men’s professional team, she did have the opportunity to continue coaching men’s sports. However, she purposely chose the path of being a woman who could help and teach women. She has taken this a step further by starting her company, SheSports, to help foster opportunities for women in sports. “I became a professional coach and that is really rare in Canada, and even more so for a woman. I feel very blessed and want to open more opportunities for the next generation of women to do that,” Chantal affirms.
Chantal continues to coach her Lancer team. Through her multitude of pursuits, she asserts that all her practices are not just focused on winning. It is the pursuit of personal development, as she explains, “When I have the opportunity to connect with my players, it is always about something bigger.”
Published in the May/June 2025 Edition.
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