“Some of My Best Work”: Dawn Staley on Chloe Kitts’ Growth, Maturity and ACL Comeback / sportsearchers.com

Staley on Kitts’ Growth and Maturation

Dawn Staley on the growth and maturation of Chloe Kitts:

“She is someone that if I had to think about where she came in, to where she is now, she’s probably some of my best work.”

From the SEC Tipoff Press Conference

Dawn Staley on Chloe Kitts’ growth and maturity:

“Chloe is, I mean, Chloe’s been very consistent with working hard. Very, like very, like she is, you don’t really have to worry about her getting in what she needs to get in. Like you actually, she’s, she’s almost obsessive with it to where you just have to, hey, take a day off. Like really, it’s not, take a day off, it’s helpful.

Just her maturation, you know, off the floor. Like, I mean, she, I mean, she is, she is someone that if you, if I had to think about where she came in to where she is now, it’s probably some of my best work. Probably some of my best work.

I mean, because I mean, I think Chloe just wants it. Like she wants it now. Like she wants to be in the, you know, the WNBA now because she put the work in. And when you put the type of work that she puts in, you know, the expectation is to be there, and for her, it’s just the other part of, I just told them, we don’t, we don’t have to have team building, like we don’t have to bring experts in because Chloe knows about our program.

Chloe is, is allowing her teammates to enter into her space of, you know, she goes bowling by herself, she goes to the movies by herself, she does all these things, pilates, boxing, like she does all these things, and now she’s sharing that space with, with her teammates. She’s bringing her teammates along, and, I’m, I’m super proud, like, to know that, you know, we lose basically the core group of the Raven and the, the players that came before Raven, and, and we know that those players left that legacy to Chloe and Tessa, and they’re, they’re doing a great job.”

Chloe Kitts reflects on her recovery from an ACL injury last season.

SEC Now, SEC Tipoff Desk Interview

Host (female interviewer):
That mental piece. Chloe, this time a year ago, you were dealing with the unexpected, right? And I’m sure it’s pretty devastating to approach a season in the way that you had to last year. What did you do to not only stay motivated, but to be prepared to be able to come back and do what you want to do this season? What have the last three hundred and sixty-five days looked like for you?

Chloe Kitts:
Yeah, I mean, I just had to learn to slow down. Like, this injury happened for a reason. Everything happens for a reason. It’s part of God’s plan for me. And, you know, I just had a great support system, teammates, coaches, everybody that they saw I was down a lot, but they just uplifted me.

Host:
Who did you lean on the most?

Chloe Kitts:
Tessa. And coach, for sure.

Host:
Yeah. Was there a moment where you remember seeing her maybe turn a corner and say, okay, I know we’re down, but this is going to be meaningful for you? Like you said, everything happens for a reason. Were there moments of you coaching her through that that come to mind?

Dawn Staley:
Chloe? Yeah. We had to slow her down. Yeah. Like, you know, I, I think what the, when it initially happened, you know, you, you take your, your, your replan what happened and why, and you’re asking all these questions, and then you, you get to work. And she’s, she’s no stranger. Like, she’s no stranger to work. And once she start applying, and again, this mentally is, it takes a toll on you. Physically, she’s, she’s able to handle the rehab and all the things that come with it. It’s just sitting, sitting and watching her teammates. It’s supposed to be her senior year. She’s supposed to have gone into the WNBA and have played a season, had a season under her belt, but, you know, I think it, everything happens for a reason. You know, we, we’re not gonna question God, but we gonna, he’s gonna, he’s gonna use this opportunity, for her to have a testimony. And, you know, I, I think she’s a, honestly, she was actually a little bit further along than Ashlyn when Ashlyn first came back, and Ashlyn was out for, you know, maybe a year and a half. So, Chloe is just like that. She’s a, she’s a dog, you know, in every sense of the, the word. Like, there’s nothing that she really takes for granted. Everything she, she wants, she goes to get it, and she, she wants no handouts.