Dawn Staley summed up Lady Vols basketball coach Kim Caldwell’s return to the court Monday with a simple statement.
“Women have the strength of 10 men, no doubt about it,” the South Carolina coach said.
Caldwell coached No. 17 Tennessee in its 70-63 loss to the No. 2 Gamecocks at Food City Center, exactly one week after she gave birth to her son. The first-year Lady Vols coach was back at practice four days after having her first child, Conor Scott Caldwell.
Staley said Caldwell has the Lady Vols “off to a great start” who play a “very exciting brand of basketball.” Caldwell led Tennessee (15-5, 3-5 SEC) to a 13-0 start before it suffered its first loss — its best start to a season since the 2017-18 season.
“When you have a coach that really wants to hang another banner, it comes as a sacrifice,” Staley said of Caldwell’s quick return. “She probably better woman than me, I don’t know if I could be detached from my little one for that long, but she’s got great help, and she wanted to be here with her team.”
Caldwell missed just one game after the birth; she did not travel to Tennessee’s loss at Texas on Thursday, which was three days after Conor was born. She said Monday that she’s back for good and plans to go to Tennessee’s next game, which is Feb. 2 at Missouri.
BABY CALDWELL: Why Lady Vols coach Kim Caldwell feels like she has ‘double life’ after birth of son
Staley, whose Gamecocks (20-1, 8-0) are the only undefeated SEC team, said the women who make sacrifices like Caldwell should be recognized.
“Women have to make decisions like that, and when they do, I feel like other women should honor them,” Staley said, “and let them know that we see you, we feel you, we hear you, and I congratulated her. But it’s going to take a lot of people to have that work-life balance that’s needed when you have a newborn child.”
Cora Hall covers University of Tennessee women’s athletics. Email her at cora.hall@knoxnews.com and follow her on Twitter @corahalll. If you enjoy Cora’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that allows you to access all of it.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: What Dawn Staley said of Lady Vols’ Kim Caldwell coaching week after birth
