Dare to Win: The Blueprint to Building and Leading High Performance and Championship Teams

“Chantal personifies all qualities of an outstanding leader. Understanding leadership theories is only one part of the equation. Her execution and the trust of her players in both difficult and contentious times lead to the ultimate success. This book definitely gives the blueprint for winning in sports, business, and life in general.” — Paul Jones, Sportscaster, NBA TV Canada

“Dare to Win is a must-read for leaders on the court and in the boardroom. As the lines between the worlds of sport, business, and entertainment continue to blur, so too are the skill sets shared by championship-winning teams and successful businesses. Vallée and Dr. Bloom have drawn up a game-winning play for coaches and entrepreneurs alike.” — Laura Correnti, Founder & CEO, Deep Blue Sports + Entertainment

“Coach Vallée’s book is one of the most interesting books on the subject of coaching and leadership that I have read. It is a combination lecture series and novel. Most books like this lack such continuity. This book will often challenge you to evaluate what you just read and make an assessment. You will become a better student of the coach and leader game and will, no doubt, make some adjustments to your approach in the next season, or the rest of this current one.” — Del Harris, Vice President of the Texas Legends, NBA G-League, Former NBA Head Coach of the Rockets, Bucks, and Lakers

“A wonderful partnership between a practitioner and a scientist, capturing the intricacies of the many processes and practices involved in “daring to win.” In a refreshingly candid way, Coach Vallée and Professor Bloom offer brilliant insights into building and leading high-performance championship teams. This book shows both why and how to do it. Read it and reflect on its wisdom.” — Dr. Sophia Jowett, Department of Psychology, Loughborough University

“Congratulations to Chantal and Gordon for sharing their numerous insights into the world of elite sports coaching and leadership. This is a valuable resource for coaches, managers, and administrators in sport and other contexts who seek to shape environments that enable thriving for all actors.” — Dr. Cliff Mallett, OAM, Former Olympic & World Championship-Winning Coach

“This book is about much more than basketball. Vallée and Bloom outline the many challenges of coaching and leadership and provide actual examples and antidotes based on Coach Vallée’s championship-building journey. A highly recommended read for leaders in all walks of life.” — Peter Smith, Former Ice Hockey Coach, Team Canada & McGill Martlets

“This work explores the positive impact of great coaching on athletes’ physical and mental growth, but, importantly, emphasizes healthy character and social development needed for humans who work in complex, competitive, and ever-changing environments. These ideas must be incorporated into our player and coaching development pathways at every level of hockey and sport.” — Katherine Henderson, President & CEO, Hockey Canada

“Dare to Win is a masterclass in leadership and what it takes to win, whether that’s in sports or business. With a blend of practical strategies, academic insights, and stories from the incredible U of Windsor journey to unparalleled success, Chantal Vallée and Gordon Bloom provide a playbook for anyone striving to build a culture of excellence. Whether you’re a coach, business leader, or someone seeking a roadmap to do the seemingly impossible, this book will ignite your vision and equip you with practical tools to overcome the odds and achieve greatness.” — Mano Watsa, President, Point Guard College

“Chantal is one of the brightest minds and best coaches I’ve had the privilege of working with. Her success is a direct result of the well-rounded coaching philosophy along with the attention to detail she brings in all facets. Dare to Win is not only a great book for other coaches to read, but it provides a unique insight into how to build a top tier program no matter what sport, business, or organization.” — Ryan Schmidt, Assistant Coach, Atlanta Hawks, NBA

“Coach Vallee’s personal leadership journey is fascinating as she learned to marry academic research with personal ambition, operational process, personal experience, expert mentorship, and personal grit to create a culture and habit of winning. Chantal shares many processes, tools, and mindsets that others can use in their own quests to win. Her demonstration of a key leadership role being to protect her team from outside pressures is an example that all aspiring leaders need to take special note of. I will certainly make it my practice to recommend this book to aspiring and accomplished leaders, as is my habit when I come across a great book.” — Allan Conway Dba, Former Dean and Professor Emeritus, Strategy & Entrepreneurship, Odette School of Business

“Dare to Win is a unique combination of proven championship coaching lessons with insights from decades of research. Vallée and Bloom combine their unique world-class talents from the court and the classroom to provide coaches with a rare glimpse into what it takes to build a winning program. I have no doubt this book will become a trusted resource for coaches of any sport willing to invest in building better programs and better people.” — Dr. Wade Gilbert, Coaching Scientist, Author, Award-winning Professor, Department of Kinesiology, California State University

“Dare to Win provides compelling, evidence-based, practical ideas to develop, implement, and sustain successfully high-performance programs. I highly recommend it to all coaches and sports administrators.” — Dr. Koh Koon Tech, FIBA Instructor & Basketball Coach, Secretary General, Southeast Asia Basketball Association

“A great new resource that shows the value of how research-based practice can influence successful coaches — and vice versa. This gives coaches the opportunity to reflect on their performance environment at any level of competition and shows how great partnerships in coaching and academia can advance the profession of coaching. Examples of thoughtful leaders in action.” — Christine Bolger, Associate Director of Coach Education, United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee