The Caitlin Clark Effect. Look, I know this has been covered ad nauseum, but for good reason. I got to experience it first hand this past weekend and it is real.For anyone who watched the final four game this past weekend with Iowa vs UConn, you know the call I am talking about. With mere seconds left in the game an offensive foul was called on UConn. A moving screen. Some may say the call was questionable, while others, especially when looking at different angles will say it was the right call. And then there is the third group of people who say you shouldn’t determine a championship game by calling a foul like that with mere seconds. (Don’t get me started on those opinions.)
My family was home together watching this game. Let’s be honest, a game we normally wouldn’t have cared about if it weren’t for Caitlin Clark. And please, before you come at me with it isn’t just Caitlin Clark, I absolutely agree! There are so many names and faces that have made a lasting impact on the season this year, but Caitlin is the name that takes the top tier.
When that call was made with mere seconds left, my son, began shouting. But here is the kicker, he was shouting at the women for their reaction. The fact that they had no reaction.
Ok, lets do some real talk here. If you are a parent of a student athlete, and lets be honest, it is mostly male student athletes. Their comes a time in your student athletes career that attitude becomes a major factor. Whether it is yelling at your teammates, or yelling at your referees, it becomes a thing. And preteen boys, in my opinion, are the worst.
So, back to my son. He kept going on and on about how these women must not even care. They aren’t even complaining to the ref about the call. Look at the coaches, they aren’t even reacting. They know they lost. This is stupid. Turn it off.
And as a mother, I though to myself, YES!! Enter teaching moment immediately. I stood up, rolled up my sleeves and immediately stepped on to my soap box. “Well, what is happening here, is called composure. How many times have I told you, yelling at the ref does absolutely nothing except make you look foolish and disrespectful. It will change nothing. As for they already lost? Nope the team sees they are down by 2 with 3.9 seconds left. Plenty of time to tie it up, or go for the three, as long as they KEEP THEIR COMPOSURE. I don’t see tears. I don’t see panic. No one is blaming anyone. You could learn SO much from watching all of these women”
Silence followed, and then I am hoping realization. And my realization happened as well. I realized that if it weren’t for Caitlin Clark and the hype, my family wouldn’t have been sitting in this moment. This conversation never would have even happened. And more importantly my son would not have been interested in witnessing the fact that not only can girls play basketball, they may play it better.
