With the WNBA on its Olympic siesta, Caitlin Clark decided to channel her inner Santa Claus, making a pit stop at Des Moines North High School. But instead of reindeer and a sleigh, she had Nike backpacks and a truckload of school supplies. Move over, Santa, there’s a new gift-giver in town!
Clark, the hometown hero, waltzed into Des Moines North High School, surprising 350 unsuspecting public school kids with shiny new backpacks stuffed with school essentials. These lucky recipients hail from the Des Moines Independent Community School District, Iowa’s largest public school district, all thanks to the Caitlin Clark Foundation.
Imagine the kids’ faces! One moment they’re pondering algebra, and the next, they’re handed a Nike backpack by the record-smashing Caitlin Clark herself. Eat your heart out, algebra!
In a candid chat with WHO 13, Clark shared her delight: “This is the coolest part of what I get to do. Like, being able to give back to a place that has given me so much,” she gushed. “Obviously, the Des Moines area has meant a lot to me. So, to be able to use my resources and my platform to be able to give back to kids and families that, you know, have been an integral part of my life, is really cool.” Cue the applause, please!
Caitlin Clark, the Des Moines darling, had her roots at Dowling Catholic High School, where she was a McDonald’s All-American (talk about a Happy Meal!). ESPN ranked her the fourth-best player in her class. She then took the Iowa Hawkeyes by storm, setting the NCAA record for the most points ever. She’s basically the Michael Jordan of Iowa, minus the shoe line—though Nike seems to have her covered.
Meanwhile, in the professional world, Clark’s been busy making waves with the Indiana Fever. With the WNBA on an Olympic break from July 21 to Aug. 14, Indiana Fever coach Christie Sides has been drilling the team on defense. “We’ve gotta do a better job of keeping people in front of us. We have to do a better job of pressuring the basketball,” she emphasized (per IndyStar). “Our transition defense has a lot to do with us and our turnovers. But if we’re just in the half-court, team defense is so important.”
Last year, the Fever won a whopping 13 games, securing the 10th spot out of 12 teams. This season, they’re clawing their way to the playoffs, sitting at the seventh seed and needing just two more wins to match last year’s total. “That’s our goal. Making the playoffs is our goal. We’re sitting in a playoff position right now. We have to keep getting better to put ourselves where we’re not hoping people are losing games or waiting until the end. We want to be a playoff team this year,” Sides declared.
Clark, not one to rest on her laurels, is averaging a stellar 17.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, and a league-leading 8.2 assists per game for the Fever this season. She even set a single-game record for assists (19) and recorded the first triple-double by a rookie in WNBA history. No big deal, right?
So while Caitlin Clark is busy being a basketball phenom, hometown hero, and now a backpack-slinging benefactor, the rest of us can just sit back, watch, and maybe consider upping our own game. After all, who knew that handing out backpacks could be this cool?
What Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever are focusing on during the WNBA’s Olympic break With the WNBA on an Olympic break from July 21 to Aug. 14, Indiana Fever coach Christie Sides emphasized the team’s focus on improving their defense to make the playoffs.
“We’ve gotta do a better job of keeping people in front of us. We have to do a better job of pressuring the basketball,” she said (per IndyStar). “Our transition defense has a lot to do with us and our turnovers. But if we’re just in the half-court, team defense is so important.”
Last year, the Indiana Fever won 13 games, finishing 10th out of 12 teams. This season, they are the seventh seed and on track to make the playoffs, needing two more wins to match their total from last year.
“That’s our goal. Making the playoffs is our goal. We’re sitting in a playoff position right now. We have to keep getting better to put ourselves where we’re not hoping people are losing games or waiting until the end. We want to be a playoff team this year,” Sides said. Clark is averaging 17.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and a league-leading 8.2 assists for the Fever this season. She set the single-game record for assists (19) and recorded the first triple-double by a rookie in WNBA history.