About The Winner Will

At The Winner Will, we believe that performing under pressure is something you can learn-but it takes more than just physical talent and technical skill. It also takes training the mental and emotional part of your performance.

Performance Coach. Founder of The Winner Will.

I’ve been involved in elite sport as an athlete and coach for over 40 years. I was very fortunate to have great volleyball coaches and teammates and together, we had a lot of success.

I spent 30 years as a high school teacher and coach. I took all my athletic experience along with my career as a seasoned teacher, guidance counsellor and coach to create The Winner Will which provides a simple way to improve performance. I believe you can learn how to compete with confidence and perform under pressure and reach your full potential in sport, school and life.

I live in Calgary, AB and have been married to my husband, Kim, for almost 35 years. We have two amazing adult daughters, sons-in-law, and two beautiful grandchildren who call me ‘Gigi’.

More About Gisele

Gisele has over 35 years of experience in competitive sport as an elite athlete and coach. As an athlete, she was very fortunate to have amazing coaches and teammates. Gisele’s athletic accomplishments in volleyball include:

  • Two-time CIAU (USports) Champion 1980, 1981
  • MVP at National Championship in her second year of University
  • U of Saskatchewan Female Athlete of the Year Award – 1981
  • Canada West and CIAU All-Star Team Awards
  • Induction with her teammates into 6 Halls of Fame
  • NORCECA Champion – Gisele and her teammates from the 1980 Junior National Team were inducted into the Volleyball Canada Hall of Fame in 2015.

With a passion for teaching and investing in the lives of others, Gisele pursued a career as a teacher and spent the first half of her career teaching Physical Education and coaching in elementary, junior and senior high schools. In 1995, she was awarded an Alberta Teacher Excellence Award. Throughout her coaching career, Gisele’s teams won countless tournaments and championships. She was awarded the AB Volleyball 18U Coach of the Year in 2007.

Gisele completed a Master’s Degree at the University of Calgary in Educational Leadership in 1999 and was seconded to Alberta Adolescent Recovery Centre (AARC) where she developed the Education Centre for clients in drug and alcohol treatment. The latter fourteen years of her career were spent as a high school Guidance Counselor. Gisele also served on the Critical Incident Response Team for eight years at the Calgary Board of Education and facilitated numerous professional development seminars for teachers and school leaders.

Now, retired from the teaching profession, Gisele works as a performance coach. She provides The Winner Will training for student-athletes to help them overcome physical, mental and emotional obstacles so that they can radically transform their athletic performance and excel in all areas of their lives.

Gisele’s personal life has displayed remarkable resilience. As a breast cancer overcomer, she is an individual who embraces life’s challenges as an opportunity to grow. Gisele’s unrelenting positive attitude, encouraging spirit, and unique gifts inform her approach to her work and her life each day.

Gisele and her husband, Kim, live in Calgary, AB and together they enjoy life with their two adult daughters, sons-in-law and grandchildren.