Coach Shalesa Pierce has opened three schools, captured six district titles, and been named Coach of the Year seven times.

In this powerful conversation on The Coaches Co-Op Podcast with Coach Prejean, she shares how she built winning cultures, mentored future coaches, and balanced the many “voices” of leadership, motherhood, and ministry.

In this episode, Coach Pierce breaks down:

• The “Starting Five” values that anchor her team culture (resilience, humility, accountability, service, leadership)
  The difference between mental health and mental toughness
• How to mentor young coaches and build leadership pipelines
• Why boundaries and balance are essential for longevity in coaching
• How faith and servant leadership fuel her coaching philosophy

TIMESTAMPS:

• 00:00 – Intro
• 02:34 – Talk That Talk: What makes Katy ISD special
• 03:25 – Building culture through the Starting Five values
• 07:32 – The importance of relationships among coaches
• 08:35 – How Coach Pierce got her start in coaching
• 13:00 – The Stopwatch Doesn’t Lie: Discipline from track
• 15:45 – Applying the stopwatch philosophy to basketball
• 18:10 – Opening schools and building culture from scratch

• 24:00 – Advice for young head coaches
• 27:00 – Mentorship lessons from college and beyond
• 31:10 – The Many Voices of Coaching
• 34:45 – Culture, boundaries, and communication in coaching
• 37:30 – Texas Rushmore of great coaches
• 43:05 – Coaches vs Officials: Who has the tougher job?
• 49:00 – What keeps coaches showing up every day
• 56:45 – Mental Health vs Mental Toughness
• 1:01:00 – Three in the Key: Leadership, Resilience, and Mentorship
• 1:03:30 – Two Shots: Challenges of balance and boundaries
• 1:05:29 – And One: Lessons that go beyond the buzzer

✅ **BUY THE BOOK:**

Find mentorship and level up your coaching game with "The Path for Coaches, Volume One: Mentoring," available on Amazon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://checkout.square.site/merchant/ML1D2T1YKA6AN/checkout/DHKSBTBKWURK3K4K23VQUTG7?src=embed⁠⁠⁠⁠

✅ **FOLLOW THE COACHES:**

Follow Shalesa Pierce on IG: @pierceelitebasketball

Follow The Coaches Co-op on IG: @podcast_with_prejean

Follow Coach P on X: @Coach Prejean1

"Stay ready so you don't have to get ready."

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