Dr. Ivan Joseph is a six-time Coach of the Year recipient and Director of Athletics at Ryerson University. He is a sought-after speaker on developing personal and organizational leadership. His popular Tedx talk on the skill of self-confidence has garnered over 7 million views. Dr. Ivan Joseph leads individuals, teams, and organizations to success.
An award-winning coach and educator, Dr. Joseph is a sought-after speaker on developing personal and organizational leadership. Dynamic and inspiring, he speaks about self-confidence, embracing the “grit” to persevere in spite of setbacks, and leading teams to success, drawing from the lessons he’s learned from a life in sport.
In his current role as Director of Athletics at Ryerson University, Dr. Joseph is guiding the transformation of the Ryerson Rams athletic department, while raising the academic average of his athletes and increasing team performance. He also recently completed a $100 million dollar renovation of historic Maple Leaf Gardens–a project so big and inspiring that Prime Minister Stephen Harper himself showed up to turn on the lights.
While serving as a professor and soccer coach at Graceland University, Dr. Joseph developed the school’s soccer program from the ground up, leading both the men’s and women’s teams to a #1 national ranking–and the men’s team to a national championship–in just five years. The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics recognized Dr. Joseph as their National Coach of the Year in 2006, and he received Coach of the Year recognition from the Heart of America Athletic Conference three times. He was recruited to Graceland as a student-athlete in 1993.
In addition to coaching and teaching, Joseph spearheaded the creation of a premier multi-field soccer complex at Graceland. He raised significant private and public funds to build the facility, endow scholarships, enhance programs and organize international matches for his teams in Brazil, Canada, and Europe. He has traveled domestically and internationally to recruit student athletes, and is a sought-after speaker on leadership and confidence development.
His book, You Got This: Mastering the Skill of Self-Confidence, takes uplifting stories, and lays down a step-by-step process and exercises to develope positive thinking, resilience, and focus which all lead to a deepening of self-confidence.
Born in Guyana, Ivan Joseph grew up in Toronto where he was a nationally ranked high-school track and field athlete. He has a BA in Physical Education and Health from Graceland, a MS in Higher Education Administration from Drake University, and a PhD in Sports Psychology from Capella University.