How was your year 2024? Indiana fever star Caitlin ClarkIt was “life-changing,” she told Jason and Travis Kelce on an episode of “New heights“Podcast released Thursday.
It comes from becoming a university record breaker, No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft, Rookie of the Year And Time Magazine Athlete of the Year.
“It’s life-changing. All in a good way. Things are changing very quickly,” Clark said, noting the influence of social media. “But that’s why it’s fun.”
Clark said the quick change from her senior college season in Iowa to the WNBA kept her from enjoying a “last few” in Iowa City, but that “you don’t have time to think too much.”
She wasn’t named to the U.S. Olympic team that won a gold medal in Paris, but she “really needs” a break from the WNBA season.
Clark said part of the quick adjustment was finding his voice in a locker room with established veterans and younger players trying to stay in the league.
“You come in as a rookie and you’re in a new environment. You have new teammates. You don’t want to say too much. You don’t want to say too little. It’s so difficult. In my situation, people are already looking to you to be something. That’s what I struggled with at first,” she said. “I had a lot of good veterans around me. We also had a very young team. … You’re there to learn, but they’re looking at you to be what they drafted you to be.”
Clark said the Fever’s 2012 league championship trophy was near his locker, probably not by accident.
“The coaches probably put it there on purpose, so I have to watch it every day,” she said.
Clark has help from the Fever legend who led this title run. Tamika Catchings, whose number hangs in the rafters of Gainbridge Fieldhouse, remains in frequent contact with her.
“She’s the one who made the Indiana Fever really good,” Clark said. “She’s still very important in the Indianapolis community. She was one of the first people to text me after I was cast. She still checks up on me.”
Order IndyStar’s Commemorative Book of Caitlin Clark’s Rookie Year
Caitlin Clark on basketball vs. golf
Clark competed in a tournament sponsored by golf legend Annika Sorenstam in November, and it humiliated her. She said standing on the first tee in front of a gallery makes her infinitely more nervous than standing at the free throw line in a clutch situation (“It’s not even close”).
“I’m not good enough to hit a par 3 200 yards, so I take out my hybrid club and put it right at fan level on the left,” she said. “I nailed someone on another part 3, right on the shoulder. I saw on a TikTok, she had a black mark on her arm.
“Golf makes me even crazier because I’m not good at it. It’s like average golf. … It’s also that it’s an individual sport, and that’s what makes me annoying. It’s all on me and it’s all my fault.”
Caitlin Clark’s advice to basketball players
Clark covered a lot of ground in about an hour with football and media stars: Taylor Swift’s Eras tour, her “welcome to the WNBA moment,” choosing between Iowa and Notre Dame for college, when colleges started recruiting her, the NBA’s new All-Star Game format and the advice she gives to aspiring basketball players.
“Enjoy every moment because it goes by so quickly. Life changes so quickly. You can only do a lot of things once. Have fun. Enjoy it. Remember why you’re doing it. Don’t take this too seriously,” she said. , fully aware that she has moments when her emotions escape her.
This article was originally published on the Indianapolis Star: Caitlin Clark talks WNBA, golf and advice for kids with the Kelce brothers
