Back at work, new mom Kim Caldwell wants more learning from her team

Following the birth of her son, Conor Scott, on Monday, Lady Vol head coach Kim Caldwell was back on the practice floor on Friday as her team began their preparations for No. 2 South Carolina. 

Sunday, Caldwell spoke for the first time following the birth.

“I feel good. It’s nice to be back,” Caldwell said

When asked the highlight of week one, Caldwell gushed as a new mom.

“It’s just how cute and little he is. You can just stare at him all day,” Caldwell offered.

From home, Caldwell watched her team fall 80-76 Thursday night at Texas and admitted it was not a lot of fun.

“It was not great. It was uncomfortable but you get to see it from a different perspective,” Caldwell said. “I was proud of our team, but it was not my favorite thing to do as a coach to stay home and watch my team.

“It does give you a little bit of a different view maybe, but not really because you always kind of go back and watch the broadcast anyway. So you will watch it clipped up and kind of in live stream. It was more of a helpless feeling than anything else.” 

As for the return to the practice floor, Caldwell said it was good to be back around her players and is grateful to be able to do so with the help of her support at him in her husband, Justin, and her mom, Linda Stephens.

“It’s hard to leave your little one but you missed your team and you kind of feel like you were not there for them. So to be back and be around them and in your routine was good.” 

With the return to her team, Caldwell and the Lady Vols prepare for Monday night’s challenge in a deep talented South Carolina team that has beaten every team they have played in the SEC by double digits

While the challenge is a big one for the Lady Vols, the bigger picture challenge is to get over the hump in close games. Tennessee’s four losses have come by a combined eight points. To get over that threshold, Caldwell said her team needs to learn better.

“I think you have to learn a lot of things,” Caldwell said. “I think you have to learn how to lose. You have to learn how to win. You have to learn how to win big. You have to learn all of those things.” 

“We don’t learn very well. We don’t learn. We will make the same foul every game. We will late in the shot clock. We will foul jump shooters. We will foul when we don’t need to. Again we are so close, it is maddening. You will drive yourself crazy as a coach. Hey let’s just fix the fouls. Forget the rebounds. Forget the offense and the defense. Forget anything else. Forget the foul shots. Just fix the fouls. Fix that one thing, learn from it and maybe our record is different. Then you can down that rabbit hole with every single thing and put it all together.” 

The impatient Caldwell acknowledges learning to win and developing the mental toughness needs is not a cover times process but it’s one that needs to be sped up. 

“It does take time and you have to be open to learning from your mistakes,” Caldwell said. “You can’t continue to go on the floor and not adjust to officials. You see someone get a moving screen then you go on the floor and get a moving screen. To see someone get a clamping call then you go in and get a clamping call. You have to be able to learn from those things.

“I would imagine as coaches we need to do a better job. We just talked about teaching. Instead of instructing and telling, it’s explaining the why, teaching and showing better. I do think as a team we are getting better, but just breaking things down a little more and explaining the why.” 

Tip off Monday night is set for 7p.m. ET at Food City Center.