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

by Don Showalter, Pete Van Mullem

Blending personal narrative with practical guidance, Cornfields to Gold Medals delivers well-traveled leadership principles for on and off the court.

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.

Cornfields to Gold Medals 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.

Rooted in heartland principles of community, hard work, and service, this essential book offers leaders insight into guiding others and time to reflect on what is truly important.



 

272 pages, Hardcover

Published June 27, 2023

Reviews

[marcus miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable book describing a small town Mennonite kid who loved basketball, and his journey from being a high school coach to coaching for the USA basketball program. It shows the power of hard work, being a nice guy with the ability to schmooze, and the willingness to stick one's neck out when networking. I first got to know Coach Showalter through church about the time I started coaching soccer. It was always good to talk with him and hear his perspective on working with teens, dealing with parents, and making the most of the opportunity when you knew you had a good and talented group of guys. Later, when Mid-Prairie started a soccer program, he hired me to be the first coach for both the boys and girls teams. Teaching at one school and coaching at another can be difficult but Showalter was good to work with. You knew he was going to be gone most of March and April but he was quick to respond to emails. Some things I remember him telling coaches, - choices have consequences, set standards and hold kids accountable, do things the right way, don't cut corners just to win, if you're a teacher and coaching, you shouldn't work on coaching plans during class time. Don't be afraid to ask for equipment that would make things better for the program, in other words, don't try to make do.