Coach Forward Podcast

Jessie Ivey - Mastering Relationships Within Your Team, How to Create an Energy-Rich Culture, Taking Care of Yourself as a Coach, and More.


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Coach Forward is an interview-style podcast hosted by Jason Mejeur (Coach J), accomplished Coach, Mentor, and Founder/CEO at OWN IT.

Highlights from the episode:

  • [09:22] - Writing Personal Notes For Each Game
  • [16:51] - Taking Care of Yourself as a Coach
  • [23:58] - The Lesson Coach Ivey Learned The Hard Way
  • [26:10] - Protecting Relationships w/ Players and Staff
  • [29:27] - The Differences Between Head Coaches and Assistants
  • [32:09] - Bringing Energy to Your Staff and Players

I’m excited to be joined today by Coach Jessie Ivey. Coach Ivey is entering her third season as associate head coach at The University of Toledo Women’s Basketball. Last year she helped lead Toledo to one of their best seasons in program history, tying the school record for wins in and setting a MAC record for most conference victories in a season on their way to winning the 10th MAC Regular Season Title in school history.

Ivey came to Toledo after two seasons as head coach at NCAA Division II Tiffin University and served as an assistant before that at Bowling Green University.

As you’ll here in this episode, Coach Ivey’s approach really sets her apart as a coach who cares deeply about her players and goes the extra mile to build relationships with them based on trust. 

This approach has led to national individual honors of Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Division II Assistant Coach of the Year - and Ivey was also named to the WBCA’s inaugural Thirty Under 30 honoree list.

Here is the list of books Coach Ivey suggested reading for coaches:

  • Walk On- Alan Williams
  • Eleven Rings- Phil Jackson
  • Legacy- James Kerr
  • Wolfpack- Abby Wambach
  • It takes What It Takes- Trevor Moward
  • The Culture Code- Daniel Coyle
  • Atomic Habits- James Clear
  • Leaders Eat Last- Simon Sinek
  • Outliers- Malcolm Gladwell
  • Dear Coach- Sara Erdner
  • Dare to Lead- Brene Brown
  • The Energy Bus- Jon Gordon
  • The Tough Stuff- Cody Royle
  • Emotional Intelligence for the Modern Leader- Christopher D. Connors
  • Heart of a Husky- Mel Thomas
  • What Drives Winning- Bret Ledbetter
  • Be an Impact Player- Liz Wiseman 

About Jason Mejeur (Coach J)

Jason has 15+ years of experience coaching basketball at the college and high school level and has lived on the sidelines and in the locker rooms working to build teams and inspire athletes. His mission is to build authentic relationships with his players so that he can impact them beyond the basketball court.

More recently, Jason founded the OWN IT System to help bring data-driven sleep and health coaching to student-athletes and their teams.

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Coach Forward PodcastBy Jason Mejeur