Speaker 1: Welcome to Checking In with Michelle Williams, a production of
Speaker 1: iHeartRadio and The Black Effect. Hey, everybody, welcome to another
Speaker 1: amazing episode of Checking In. It's gonna be fired. Yep,
Speaker 1: it's fired before I've even asked the first question because
Speaker 1: simply of who we have the pleasure of having, y'all.
Speaker 1: She's an amazing, amazing woman. I have yet to meet her,
Speaker 1: but I can just feel she's amazing, not just through
Speaker 1: her work on the court, but the strength that she has.
Speaker 1: And we're going to get into that, but she is
Speaker 1: a retired professional basketball player from the w NBA and
Speaker 1: she is now the director of player Development at the
Speaker 1: University of Texas in Austin, which, by the way, I've
Speaker 1: gone to some of those tech relays and it's always
Speaker 1: been fun, y'all. Welcome to Checking In, Sitney Carter, Hi,
Speaker 1: thank you for having me. You are so welcome. Now
Speaker 1: I must say that, unfortunately didn't I get a chance
Speaker 1: to meet you while you were with the Chicago Sky.
Speaker 1: I don't say it a lot minority owner in that
Speaker 1: franchise because it was one place in the area. Yeah,
Speaker 1: so I didn't get a chance to meet you because
Speaker 1: I started with them and like, now I'm telling my
Speaker 1: age two thousand and five. Okay, so I was there,
Speaker 1: but year it was that was my first year out.
Speaker 1: So I was there in twenty twelve. But I started
Speaker 1: there and I did my career, my career there wasn't
Speaker 1: you started there? Yep? Yeah, so that was that was
Speaker 1: my start, yes, y'all. So she definitely definitely started there.
Speaker 1: She was selected by the Chicago Sky, played for the
Speaker 1: Connecticut Son, the Indiana Fever, and also the Atlanta Dream. Yes.
Speaker 1: I got to say this though, teams would play that
Speaker 1: Connecticut Son and I'd be like, whomade Connecticut Son? Don't
Speaker 1: be no job? Yeah, I got to play with some
Speaker 1: amazing people. I mean you're talking about like Tina Charles
Speaker 1: renee Montgomery, who is also part owner now of the
Speaker 1: Atlanta Dream, Kara Lawson, who's the coach at Dude. Now,
Speaker 1: So I got to play with some amazing people in Connecticut.
Speaker 1: Were really come on, come on, come on. Well, it's
Speaker 1: Women's History months, so we are happy to have you
Speaker 1: joining us. We love to celebrate ambitious women and learn
Speaker 1: from their journey. Can you share with us, like an
Speaker 1: unexpected obstacle that you faced when you were first named
Speaker 1: this amazing position at University of Texas an unexpected obstacle.
Speaker 1: It's kind of hard, just because this is not my
Speaker 1: first school, and so I've prided myself on at my
Speaker 1: first university, you know, making sure that I knew how
Speaker 1: to do everything. So there wasn't like I never wanted
Speaker 1: to be one dimensional. I've never been one dimensional. And
Speaker 1: so when I was at my last university, I worked
Speaker 1: for the guy that I played for in college, in
Speaker 1: Gary Blair. And you know, that's one thing he said,
Speaker 1: he said, whenever you leave a job, make sure that
Speaker 1: they regret losing you. And so here I haven't had
Speaker 1: an unexpected obstacle. But I think when I first got
Speaker 1: to my first my first place in A and M,
Speaker 1: everything was unexpected. Like I had no idea what I
Speaker 1: was getting myself into when it came from retiring to
Speaker 1: the next thing in life. And that's okay, this is
Speaker 1: a job now. And there's so many other things behind
Speaker 1: the scenes that you don't know about, Like, yeah, coaching
Speaker 1: is so much more than just drawing up a play.
Speaker 1: You know, there's so many different things we're about with
Speaker 1: like kids' mental health these days, they're housing setting that
Speaker 1: up for them or you know, just all the background
Speaker 1: stuff that a lot of people don't see. You're kind
Speaker 1: of like a parent away from their parents, and so
Speaker 1: I think that was the most unexpected thing is it's
Speaker 1: not just okay, game day, take a nap, eat, go
Speaker 1: play a game. It's a full production to kind of
Speaker 1: get ready and make sure you're prepared so that your
Speaker 1: team is so good, so good. You were born in Dallas, Texas.
Speaker 1: You stayed in Texas, right, you know, because some of us,
Speaker 1: you know, when we grew up in Illinois, but I
Speaker 1: went to university in Illinois, and so some folks be
Speaker 1: wanting to get far away from home. What made you
Speaker 1: stay in Texas? Well, I have a really big family.
Speaker 1: I am the fifth of seven, and I'm a big
Speaker 1: mommy's girl. I know, she's my everything. And so when
Speaker 1: I decided to go to A and M I knew
Speaker 1: that my mom was gonna be at every game. And
Speaker 1: she traveled with my sisters and my brothers even to
Speaker 1: games and we played at like Missouri anywhere else she
Speaker 1: was traveling. And so I knew that if I stayed
Speaker 1: in the conference that we were in, and if I
Speaker 1: stayed in Texas, my mom could come and support me,
Speaker 1: and so I wanted the support from my family. Amazing
Speaker 1: as Texas A and M coaching. Right, how has this
Speaker 1: journey been. It's been I opening, I think, is the
Speaker 1: first word that comes to mind, just because I started
Speaker 1: as a video coordinator, Like, my journey has just gone.
Speaker 1: My path has gone up and up and up ever
Speaker 1: since I started, and I'm grateful to kind of be
Speaker 1: on the fast track, I guess is what people say.
Speaker 1: So I've been blessed to work with some really good people.
Speaker 1: But I think, you know, the initial shock of this
Speaker 1: being this not a nine five job, but it's it's
Speaker 1: just been so so good because I know that I'm
Speaker 1: walking in my purpose every day. There's never been a
Speaker 1: day that I have said, Okay, maybe this is not
Speaker 1: what I want to do. My passion is to continue
Speaker 1: to be around the game of basketball, to share what
Speaker 1: I've learned. And then it just so happens to be
Speaker 1: that I, you know, I turned basketball into a place
Speaker 1: that I can also look nice and put my clothes
Speaker 1: on on the sideline and show women that you don't
Speaker 1: have to be one dimensional. You can yeah do your
Speaker 1: job well and you can also look fantastic doing it
Speaker 1: only reason why I didn't start off with that because
Speaker 1: I didn't know if people do that to you like
Speaker 1: all the time. She's so much more than that. Although
Speaker 1: as a lady, I love what you give on that
Speaker 1: chord to you, but I want to get to know
Speaker 1: the woman out and y'all, if y'all were to see
Speaker 1: her right now, she is fresh faced, hoodie, nails are done,
Speaker 1: lashes are poppy, are fresh from yours, are fully fully sculptured,
Speaker 1: an amazing hair in a bun. She's looking beautiful right
Speaker 1: So I don't want people to get a mixed up
Speaker 1: either that she just has to be glam all day
Speaker 1: every day. I was preparing for her to be a
Speaker 1: little left, y'all through a hat on, you know, let
Speaker 1: you know what I mean, a little something something. So
Speaker 1: it's good to know, y'all. I knew she had balance,
Speaker 1: but she is still beautiful no matter what. Now do
Speaker 1: you think because you as far as all around amazing
Speaker 1: basketball player and to go pro, you gotta be good, Okay? Now,
Speaker 1: do you find that you're tougher on your players because
Speaker 1: you know what it takes, especially you know what it
Speaker 1: takes to bring on my championship? Absolutely, I don't think
Speaker 1: I'm tougher because my standards. My standards are high and
Speaker 1: so I know what type of athletes we have. But
Speaker 1: I'm also very realistic in knowing that the generations as
Speaker 1: we continue to go, they're different and so everybody has
Speaker 1: to be led a different type of way. So my
Speaker 1: standards will never change, but my approach to certain people
Speaker 1: are different. And so that's the only thing is that
Speaker 1: I'm gonna I'm gonna continue to have. I know the
Speaker 1: bar of success, I know where each one of these
Speaker 1: athletes want to get to, and so I'm never going
Speaker 1: to lower that standard. I'm just going to raise the
Speaker 1: stakes as far as what I'm asking of them. So
Speaker 1: do you find yourself I don't know. Do you watch
Speaker 1: multiple teams that got the college TV for the I
Speaker 1: got the actual college for college television for college basketball,
Speaker 1: then I got this over here for the w NBA.
Speaker 1: How are you like separating the two? So I watch
Speaker 1: a lot of basketball, obviously on TV. But I think
Speaker 1: the thing I do the most is I will go
Speaker 1: back like I'm watching something and I won't do two screens.
Speaker 1: I'm not that much of a fanatic because I need
Speaker 1: to focus because I'm I'm very particular with detail, and
Speaker 1: so I'll go back and I'll watch a game on
Speaker 1: my computer, and for days, I'm sitting on my computer
Speaker 1: going back, all right, that game was played, this team
Speaker 1: is good at such and such, and so I'm going
Speaker 1: back and I'm looking back as i go day by day.
Speaker 1: And so I can't. I'm not one of those that
Speaker 1: can focus on two three games at the time. I
Speaker 1: need to make sure I get every detail. Yes, Now,
Speaker 1: are you allowed to bring w NBA stuff to collegiate
Speaker 1: as far as like the detail or like plays and
Speaker 1: stuff like, Oh yeah, I mean in the game of basketball,
Speaker 1: everybody steals everybody's stuff, Like that's that's the thing. Okay,
Speaker 1: And so okay, you know you'll you'll use drills that
Speaker 1: you that you knew when you were a professional player.
Speaker 1: You'll take stuff from people that are doing stuff in
Speaker 1: high school. So it's just a matter of like what
Speaker 1: your philosophy is and what you're wanting to do it.
Speaker 1: And I guess that's the advantage of one played pro.
Speaker 1: And then you're going back reaching back to the girls
Speaker 1: that are in college and then by the time they
Speaker 1: go pro. Shit, they choose to go pro, they gon'll
Speaker 1: be like, we ran some of this already, coach Coroner,
Speaker 1: you gotta be right, Okay, amazing. Now do you feel
Speaker 1: like there's something that women bring to the game that
Speaker 1: could be an advantage over a male coach. I think
Speaker 1: women bring so many different things, but I will touch
Speaker 1: on just the fundamentals of everything. Like we are so
Speaker 1: meticulous with the detail. This is not a not to
Speaker 1: the men's game at all, but like a lot of
Speaker 1: the men's game you'll see is they are so athletic
Speaker 1: and quick, and so a lot of it is like,
Speaker 1: all right, just gotta get to the rim. I'm playing
Speaker 1: one on one. You know. It's kind of like get
Speaker 1: Lebron the ball and watch him work because that's what
Speaker 1: he does. And the women's game, you know, we have
Speaker 1: to bring a Okay, we're running this set when we
Speaker 1: come down, so everything is obviously slowed down, but the
Speaker 1: detail is what's important and the women's game and so
Speaker 1: you'll see a lot of stuff. A lot of men
Speaker 1: appreciate that part of the women's game, and so on
Speaker 1: top of that, we bring our individuality, like we're you know,
Speaker 1: we're gonna bring so many different things to the table
Speaker 1: because women always have to do more with less facts.
Speaker 1: And when you talk about detail, I saw this thing.
Speaker 1: It wasn't to insult us or even men, but it
Speaker 1: was this thing where men's their very compartmentalized kind of
Speaker 1: like see their brains like an ice tray. But then
Speaker 1: somebody said, a woman's brain is like a pot of
Speaker 1: like macaron I mean, spaghetti noodles. Because I'm like, I
Speaker 1: can talk to you, but I can still text and
Speaker 1: still ear hustle and hear what's going on in the
Speaker 1: next room, Like we really are the bomb, We really
Speaker 1: are amazing. Do you feel like pull back? Because sometimes
Speaker 1: black women we could be called aggressive when we're really
Speaker 1: just assertive, Like you know what I mean, Like some
Speaker 1: of the same plays that somebody else calls maybe you
Speaker 1: called it in the same way. But have you ever
Speaker 1: been said, no, she was a little mean or she
Speaker 1: was a little over the top. Yeah, you know, you
Speaker 1: get that all the time. It's like people ask me
Speaker 1: check your tone or things like that, But it's like
Speaker 1: I'm not saying it any kind of way. I'm just
Speaker 1: passionate about what I'm saying. And so maybe we gotta
Speaker 1: figure out a way that you can accept it. How
Speaker 1: I'm really saying it instead of me always changing what
Speaker 1: I'm saying because I'm not saying it any kind of way.
Speaker 1: And so women just we get that, we get that
Speaker 1: we're the angry woman or the angry black woman, and
Speaker 1: we're not just like you said, We're just assertive and
Speaker 1: we're confident in what we're saying. It's like you got
Speaker 1: to walk around with the mission statement on your chest
Speaker 1: so that you can understand even though her tone might
Speaker 1: be considered tough, but what's the mission? Yeah? Right, what's
Speaker 1: the posture of my heart as I'm coaching you? Because
Speaker 1: I don't always want it sweet sometimes just tell me
Speaker 1: the truth. Did your brush thing today? Your brush things today?
Speaker 1: But I think you're an awesome speaker, Michelle, I think
Speaker 1: you're great. Okay, Now, they have only been about sixteen
Speaker 1: women coaches in the NBA. Any interested ever making that
Speaker 1: lane change. I thought about it. It would be a
Speaker 1: fantastic step in my career. It's just it's another barrier
Speaker 1: to kind of kick down as a woman, because it
Speaker 1: is a good time for women to be presented the
Speaker 1: opportunity to cross over into the NBA and learn. So,
Speaker 1: I mean, it would it would be great. I know,
Speaker 1: you know Neil Ivy, she's at Notre Dame right now.
Speaker 1: She was in the NBA Memphis Green and now she's
Speaker 1: come back to be the head coach at No. Dame. Fantastic.
Speaker 1: She's doing a great job of Her team is in
Speaker 1: the top ten I believe in the country. And so
Speaker 1: you know, she's a great example of you know, going
Speaker 1: into the NBA and then coming back and then bringing
Speaker 1: that knowledge that she learned the men's game to the
Speaker 1: women's right. I love it. As you're talking, I'm also
Speaker 1: having a flashback. I was in like the fourth grade
Speaker 1: and I remember shooting a basket in the gym and
Speaker 1: I was like, did I just make this basket? And
Speaker 1: I think I wanted to go into like you know,
Speaker 1: the kids wrecked team, but never stayed with it. So
Speaker 1: I was always in church and so I just never
Speaker 1: but I just as that little girl was this always
Speaker 1: a dream of yours? Absolutely? I. So when I was
Speaker 1: in elementary school, I was fortunate enough to see the
Speaker 1: Houston comments. They had Cynthia Cooper Shell swoops team and
Speaker 1: Thompson like that was their team. And I got to
Speaker 1: grow up and see that, and so for my Black
Speaker 1: History months school, program. When I was in elementary school,
Speaker 1: I did an outfit change. Okay, I had on the
Speaker 1: Cheryl Swoop's jersey and then I changed into the Cynthia
Speaker 1: Cooper jersey for my program, and say, y'all, she's alwaysn't
Speaker 1: been a game changer. In fact, the wardrobe changes forever,
Speaker 1: so you cut her some slack. So that was always
Speaker 1: my dream, is that I was able to see that
Speaker 1: so I could be that, and I you know, that
Speaker 1: was always my goal was to go to the w NBA,
Speaker 1: and I was blessed enough to be able to be
Speaker 1: presented that opportunity. Come on, come on. So it's awesome
Speaker 1: because first of all, it's never too late for you
Speaker 1: to see yourself somewhere and go forward. Although some people
Speaker 1: might be like Michelle, don't be selling people no false street,
Speaker 1: but I'll say, it's never too early. You're never too
Speaker 1: young to also see yourself where you want to be.
Speaker 1: And not only when you see yourself, be doing the
Speaker 1: things to get there. She just didn't see herself, but
Speaker 1: she got to. She was adorning herself in the jerseys.
Speaker 1: And that's a reason why Cindy I took the opportunity
Speaker 1: to invest with the Chicago Sky because I saw what
Speaker 1: how little girls would feel being able to touch other
Speaker 1: female players, you know, and say I can be that too,
Speaker 1: especially in the city of Chicago. Was so much going
Speaker 1: on that they've got some positive that they had something
Speaker 1: positive to look So wait, wait, wait, wait, way back
Speaker 1: at five, I said, I've got to make this investment
Speaker 1: for that reason. Like you said, you saw yourself in
Speaker 1: the w NBA, you know, and you write Houston comments
Speaker 1: that the group of women that you just named, oh
Speaker 1: my gosh, you couldn't mess with them. You couldn't, you
Speaker 1: could not, you could not. So you mentioned you were
Speaker 1: doing these wardrobe changes. So yes, we've seen headlines which
Speaker 1: I don't care about, you know, because I'm like, yo,
Speaker 1: she's into fashion, let her be right. And then you
Speaker 1: appeared on in my Explorer page and I hit that
Speaker 1: follow and I just started scrolling. I was like, first
Speaker 1: of all, does she style herself? What is going on?
Speaker 1: And I don't think you make your page about fashion,
Speaker 1: but I love seeing you in various angles, various moments
Speaker 1: looking absolutely fly. Y'all. You don't have to just wear
Speaker 1: a solid color, boring suit that ain't been tailored to
Speaker 1: work at those ear ring zone, put that makeup on,
Speaker 1: put those nails on. Miss Tina always tells us, always
Speaker 1: have on a red lip if you ain't go right
Speaker 1: now having you know, so I get that from her.
Speaker 1: You've worn sequence, the bubble gum, pink Latex. You get
Speaker 1: you a line of Latex leggings or something and really
Speaker 1: make everybody mad. Well, I will tell you I tried
Speaker 1: to put those on again just for giggles and I
Speaker 1: couldn't fiddle and could, but maybe I'm gonna can't give
Speaker 1: me another pair in black, and I'm bigger side, come on,
Speaker 1: come on. And of course the heels, because the heels
Speaker 1: on those hardwood floors, but you do it every time.
Speaker 1: Or you know, you said you all might wearing sneakers
Speaker 1: as well, but the heels on the court. The statement
Speaker 1: that you're making about the power that fashion gives you
Speaker 1: on the court, tell us about that. And I loved
Speaker 1: your statement. You was like, um, and I mean it
Speaker 1: on period. I'm not compromising. Save what you want to say.
Speaker 1: I'm wearing what I want to wear. God blessed. Yeah
Speaker 1: that was pretty much it. Um. But yeah, so I
Speaker 1: do style myself. I've never had a stylist. Um. So
Speaker 1: That's that's one thing I'm I pride myself on because
Speaker 1: that that's always been me. I've always I've had my
Speaker 1: first pair of boots when I was in third grade. Texas,
Speaker 1: y'all she gonna dress Yeah, um, But I think the
Speaker 1: power of that. I mean, I dressed for success. I
Speaker 1: dressed in and so when I step on the court,
Speaker 1: it wouldn't matter to me what anybody has to say.
Speaker 1: Like there's there's so much criticism and negativity in the
Speaker 1: world that I'm not going to give my time to ever,
Speaker 1: because I'm not going to allow somebody to box me
Speaker 1: in and say what used to be normal back in
Speaker 1: the day or when whenever they can remember, those standards
Speaker 1: are not going to be placed on me. Ever. I'm
Speaker 1: sorry that. I'm not sorry for that, but there's never
Speaker 1: gonna be anybody to tell me that I'm not dressing professionally.
Speaker 1: That I am exactly who I think I am, and
Speaker 1: and that's always going to be the case because I
Speaker 1: was raised by a very independent, strong woman and my
Speaker 1: mother who always taught me to be confident in the
Speaker 1: talents that I was gifted by God with that the
Speaker 1: beauty that I was given, the gifts that I was
Speaker 1: given in that favor is not fair, and so that's
Speaker 1: gonna stick with me forever. Y'all. Hear this, This is
Speaker 1: almost what a mic drop's gonna sound like. So you
Speaker 1: know that's that's where it comes from. And you're right.
Speaker 1: I'm not changing for nobody. I'm not going to stop
Speaker 1: posting any of my pictures, my videos or anything because
Speaker 1: at the end of the day, that's my lane that
Speaker 1: I want to continue to drive in and nobody's gonna
Speaker 1: bump me out of that lane, y'all. I hope y'all
Speaker 1: take this for every factor in your life, not to
Speaker 1: let anybody box you in the favor on your life.
Speaker 1: Sometimes it is just not fair. Favor can come by proximity.
Speaker 1: Favor can also come by the work that you put in, right, y'all.
Speaker 1: Her statement, so let me tell you what that happened
Speaker 1: was there were some fashion choices that coach Sidney Carter,
Speaker 1: you know, I had been making on the court and
Speaker 1: people were complaining, and so she wrote a statement that
Speaker 1: said thank you to everyone for your supporting kind words
Speaker 1: over the last few days. Representation matters. As a black
Speaker 1: woman in coaching, I take pride in showing that people
Speaker 1: who look like me don't have to diminish our light
Speaker 1: to appeal to others whose opinions never mattered anyway. I
Speaker 1: will continue to unapologetically be myself, apply pressure, and show
Speaker 1: that black women can express our individuality while doing our
Speaker 1: jobs at a high level. I think I need to
Speaker 1: frame this just for like words of affirmation during the
Speaker 1: day that is absolutely amazing. Thank you. You know, have
Speaker 1: you seen other female coaches kind of you know, say
Speaker 1: you gave me the courage to pull my heels out
Speaker 1: or to wear a tighter skirt. I for sure have.
Speaker 1: I've seen so many women that have come out and
Speaker 1: have had the confidence to wear what they feel that
Speaker 1: they are comfortable in. And it has just been coaches.
Speaker 1: It's been there's somebody in the Navy that sent me
Speaker 1: her TikTok or that tagged me in it. You know,
Speaker 1: There's a little girl named Rose who I want to
Speaker 1: highlight here. She's dressed up as me twice. She she
Speaker 1: wore some pink pants and a turtleneck last year, and
Speaker 1: then this year I've wore some brown cowprint pants and
Speaker 1: a turtleneck, and she put that outfit on this year.
Speaker 1: And so it's people that are all ages, all colors,
Speaker 1: different professions. I mean, so many people have been inspired
Speaker 1: by just the fact that I've you know, I've worn
Speaker 1: something and they wanted to do the same. Listen, I'm
Speaker 1: sitting up here thinking, I was, like, man, she should
Speaker 1: have like a limited edition like capsule collection. I don't know,
Speaker 1: like how Amazon lets people like curate their own like
Speaker 1: collection or something. Now, I don't know if that goes
Speaker 1: against regulations and cold and sports, I don't know, but
Speaker 1: I'm like, she's loved fashion all her life. I just
Speaker 1: want to see you. I'll a coach carter suit. Oh well,
Speaker 1: I can't say very vaguely. I got some things coming,
Speaker 1: so say what but I got I think people are
Speaker 1: gonna be happy with with Say but I got some
Speaker 1: things in the works. Okay, you can put it in
Speaker 1: the zoom chat or D and me and Nina. Okay,
Speaker 1: I got you. You're gonna be fun. Well, I'll say this.
Speaker 1: I love suits now. I love how you do separate.
Speaker 1: You'll wear a blazer with some jeans or a separate
Speaker 1: pant that don't necessarily match. But I love a good suit.
Speaker 1: But that's feminine, you know. And the boxing stuff I
Speaker 1: don't that's not my thing either. I like form, I
Speaker 1: like form fitting. I like my jacket if I'm wearing
Speaker 1: a jacket to kind of curve around the waist, and
Speaker 1: I like my pants to be fitted. So for the
Speaker 1: month of March, the first time people hands for the
Speaker 1: month of March, it's power since all March. Yeah, come on, now,
Speaker 1: come on, well, I am so excited about that and
Speaker 1: how you are inspiring people in all facets of life
Speaker 1: do not stop at all. Sometimes disruptors or the people
Speaker 1: that could be considered troublemakers. I don't know. I wouldn't
Speaker 1: say you're you're considered a troublemaker, but definitely a disruptor
Speaker 1: as far as what stuff is supposed to look like.
Speaker 1: But disruptors often are trailblazers and they lead you, blaze
Speaker 1: the trails and before you know what, you look behind
Speaker 1: you and you've inspired a crew of other folks to
Speaker 1: do what it is that you do. Just been having
Speaker 1: a great time talking with you. I've had several I
Speaker 1: guess athletes come on here on checking in who have
Speaker 1: shared the importance of mental health practices that they usually
Speaker 1: address stuff like anxiety depression after they've retired. But it
Speaker 1: seems like you've been able to make a singless transition
Speaker 1: from retire into coaching. And the foundation of checking in
Speaker 1: my podcast is about mental health. But as you can see,
Speaker 1: we talk about so much. We try to keep the
Speaker 1: topic light, but shed light on the topic of mental
Speaker 1: health even making the transition. How was that for you
Speaker 1: as it relates to your mental health or maybe not?
Speaker 1: Don't make me make you. I love this question. Yeah,
Speaker 1: So it's not a lot of people that ask, even
Speaker 1: because they see something on socials and they just assumed that, Okay,
Speaker 1: she used to play and now she's coaching. That was
Speaker 1: easy for her. When I retired from basketball, it was
Speaker 1: about a year before I got into coaching because the
Speaker 1: transition was so hard having something. I mean, I started
Speaker 1: playing basketball ops four and I got injured and I
Speaker 1: did not in my career the way I wanted to.
Speaker 1: And so I can remember being close to thirty. I
Speaker 1: had to be about twenty twenty eight, maybe twenty. I
Speaker 1: think it was about five years ago that I retired,
Speaker 1: so how to be about twenty eight, And I can
Speaker 1: remember being in my mom's had I had just you know,
Speaker 1: had my own place for a while, was traveling the world,
Speaker 1: playing basketball droom I love, and now I'm in a
Speaker 1: position where I'm forced to retire because my body can't
Speaker 1: do it anymore. And I'm at my mom's house and
Speaker 1: tears every day, not knowing what's next. I knew that
Speaker 1: I wanted to coach, but you never know how you're
Speaker 1: going to get into it, and you just can't let
Speaker 1: go that now I don't have something that I've always had.
Speaker 1: I'm not waking up and I'm going to the gym
Speaker 1: and I'm working on my game. I'm not completing anymore,
Speaker 1: so I'm not having the competitive edge and factor anymore.
Speaker 1: Put me in such a the lowest part of my
Speaker 1: life I think so far. I'm still still young, but
Speaker 1: that was one of my lowest moments, was the transition,
Speaker 1: because I didn't know what was next and I didn't
Speaker 1: know how it was going to look, but something had
Speaker 1: been taken. So I'm glad that you asked, because a
Speaker 1: lot of people. I hope That's one of the things
Speaker 1: that I can share with student athletes is that it's
Speaker 1: never too early to start thinking about other things you're
Speaker 1: passionate about, because I don't want people to deal with
Speaker 1: with the same thing that I dealt with not knowing,
Speaker 1: like dang, like what is really next even though you
Speaker 1: know for sure, like, okay, I want to do this.
Speaker 1: What are you truly passionate about? What are the other
Speaker 1: things in life that you want to do? And I
Speaker 1: didn't know at that time? So I want to be
Speaker 1: able to help other athletes or you know, just young
Speaker 1: women in general. Start thinking now, like what are the
Speaker 1: other things you're passionate about, and how can you start
Speaker 1: to build on those? Right now? That's so good and
Speaker 1: thank you for sharing. Transition is never fun, right, and
Speaker 1: your identity can be so sold into the ball that
Speaker 1: she carried. Yea, some people might even get offended. What
Speaker 1: you mean, plan B? What you mean? Basketball is my life?
Speaker 1: I'm ever gonna do this? Well? Well, studies have show
Speaker 1: I don't know, like be like, well basketball all, it's
Speaker 1: still your life, Sitney, but just in a different way.
Speaker 1: But even if you didn't coach, even if you decided
Speaker 1: after you retired to become a counselor yeah, you might be.
Speaker 1: I don't know. This ain't a job, y'all. I don't
Speaker 1: know a horse wrangler. I don't know. Well, first of all,
Speaker 1: you do what you want to do. But what I'm saying.
Speaker 1: It's never like an easy transition, and you do have
Speaker 1: to kind of start thinking, you know, thank God for
Speaker 1: someone like me that was in music. We had shows
Speaker 1: like Behind the Music or where are They Now? That
Speaker 1: like shook me, like, yep, I never want to be
Speaker 1: on a show like this. You know. Well, tell me
Speaker 1: about that from the time where you made the decision
Speaker 1: to coach. Did you have a dream one night and
Speaker 1: say I'm gonna culture? Did somebody approach you? How did
Speaker 1: that happen? No, So I had to start praying. That
Speaker 1: was the first thing I went to because I was
Speaker 1: such in a low moment that only God could get
Speaker 1: me out of. And so I realized when I asked
Speaker 1: for guidance that was something he put on my heart,
Speaker 1: was that I always knew I wanted to coach, and
Speaker 1: so he led me to reach out to my college coach.
Speaker 1: And then a piece came over me that I still
Speaker 1: can't explain to this day about retiring, and so I
Speaker 1: did what I had to do. I went and I
Speaker 1: was actually practicing with the team the year before I
Speaker 1: took the job, just kind of like playing basketball and
Speaker 1: being able to be an example on the court at
Speaker 1: that time and putting myself in a position to learn
Speaker 1: about that transition from playing to coaching. But I think
Speaker 1: even still people don't understand with the transition. Maybe I
Speaker 1: would have gone into who knew if I would have
Speaker 1: gone into a low point saying now I'm in coaching
Speaker 1: and I'm back involved in basketball after a year of tragedy,
Speaker 1: I guess, and getting injured and having to retire, how
Speaker 1: am I going to know if I'm going to be
Speaker 1: good at this job. Because I had plenty of days
Speaker 1: where I'm like, because my first year at working there,
Speaker 1: I was also still practicing with the team. It was
Speaker 1: during the COVID year, and so we needed practice players
Speaker 1: to go against our team, and I said, okay, I'll
Speaker 1: do it. And so you know, I had times even
Speaker 1: when I was on staff as a coach, that I
Speaker 1: was practicing and I was like, I can still play,
Speaker 1: Like what am I doing? And so so many times
Speaker 1: I teetered the line of going back and forth, maybe
Speaker 1: I should come out of retirement, maybe I should stick
Speaker 1: to coaching. But prayer fixed all it for me. I
Speaker 1: was like, all right, now I still got it. I
Speaker 1: ain't gonna lose it, but I'm gonna stick to coaching. Yeah, yeah, Well,
Speaker 1: we're so thankful that you know you are here showing
Speaker 1: us another side of you that is still part of you. Right.
Speaker 1: I love Jennifer Lopez or Queen Latifa. Queen Latifa for sure,
Speaker 1: because she was known as a rapperer actress, a jazz singer,
Speaker 1: doing voiceovers for like Pizza Hut or during Gambol. And
Speaker 1: it's like, you don't let anybody make you feel like
Speaker 1: you can't have It's like when you see a wheel
Speaker 1: on a tire. There's multiple spokes, but it still makes
Speaker 1: that tire turn, It goes around, and it's all it
Speaker 1: all makes sense. So I am so looking forward. Everybody
Speaker 1: that is listening to checking in. We are behind you.
Speaker 1: We are looking forward to everything that you got going on.
Speaker 1: Thankful for your heart and your spirit. Hopefully one day
Speaker 1: I'll meet you in person. Tell me when your birthday is.
Speaker 1: I have to send you some shoe since I know
Speaker 1: you shoe girl like me sizing all that good stuff.
Speaker 1: So thank you so much, and thank you for sharing
Speaker 1: your story about transition and encouraging people. I promise you
Speaker 1: you can have a smooth transition into what's next. Yeah,
Speaker 1: thank you thank you for asking a lot of people
Speaker 1: don't ask, and so I hope that when people hear this,
Speaker 1: a lot of people do check on people and ask
Speaker 1: this a simple question of okay, how I just I'm
Speaker 1: doing a mental health check on you, Jay, how are you?
Speaker 1: That's good? That's good. But I'll be doing the same
Speaker 1: for you. I'll be checking in on you. Thank you, right,
Speaker 1: all right, Sydney, thank you for being here today. Thank
Speaker 1: you for having me. I enjoyed it. You got it. Wow.
Speaker 1: This interview has definitely left me making sure that I
Speaker 1: don't coward to how other people think I should be
Speaker 1: a nor should you. That takes some courage and that,
Speaker 1: and it's kind of risky because you don't know. And hey,
Speaker 1: if I decide to go against the grain, will people
Speaker 1: continue to support? Will they follow? Heck, well they cancel you,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean. So, yeah, this was an
Speaker 1: amazing conversation and I just loved how she says she'd
Speaker 1: been playing bassketball since the age of four years old
Speaker 1: and it's truly her passion. It's still her passion. So
Speaker 1: I hope y'all were inspired today just as much as
Speaker 1: I have been. Y'all inspire me as well. Thank you
Speaker 1: for always checking in with your lovely messages, your dms,
Speaker 1: your comments, your downloads, y'all. I can't have a season
Speaker 1: three without the continuous downloads of checking in. All Right,
Speaker 1: I'll see y'all soon. Wait, I'll talk to y'all soon.
Speaker 1: Do y'all know what I mean by checking in? With
Speaker 1: Michelle Williams is a production of iHeartRadio and The Black Effect.
Speaker 1: For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast,
Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.