Want to fit more into Staley's schedule? Better get a crowbar
The women's coach led Temple to the NCAAs for a second time, plays point in the WNBA and trains to be in the Olympics.
By EMILY NIPPS
Published March 20, 2004
Dawn Staley was about to end her mid 1990s playing stint in Europe and head to the United States when she decided to stay up late and treat herself to a trilogy of House Party movies, starring Kid 'N Play.
About halfway through House Party 2, she was touched by a bit of wisdom that would serve as a motto to motivate her through her professional life. In the movie, Kid didn't have the money to pay for college and had to tell his work-study boss from the faculty dining hall, Mr. Lee, that he was dropping out. Mr. Lee told Kid: "Sometimes you've got to do what you don't want to do to get what you want."
"I thought that was pertinent to my situation," Staley said. "I was packed and ready to go home, thinking about wanting to be an Olympian, wanting to win a gold medal. It made everything very clear to me that this is why I was here."
Ten years later, Staley, 33, juggles an array of responsibilities, the latest as Temple coach, attempting to guide the Owls (21-9) past the first two rounds of the women's NCAA Tournament. Temple, seeded 11th in the West, plays sixth-seeded Texas Christian (24-6) today in the first round in Philadelphia.
Staley, a point guard for the Charlotte Sting, also has been training for the WNBA season and the Athens Games, where she hopes to compete for her third gold.
How does she train, coach and practice and still have time to eat, breathe and sleep? She doesn't. She gave up sleep a long time ago.
"I don't like to sleep," she said. "I might sleep, like, two hours a night. And as I get older, I don't really need as much sleep."
Sometimes she will sacrifice lunch to squeeze in a few more minutes of lifting weights or watching game tape. She might stay up until nearly daylight to get her kitchen clean or skip dinner to talk to one of her players. Napping, though, is out of the question.
It's an exhausting lifestyle, and Staley wouldn't trade it for anything. Growing up in housing projects in north Philadelphia and the youngest of five children, Staley learned to make the most of whatever she had.
It carried into her adulthood, when she got a full ride to Virginia and catapulted to the national scene as player of the year as a junior and senior.
She seized the opportunity to play professionally in Spain, France, Italy and Brazil before heading back to the United States to help the women's Olympic team win gold in 1996 and 2000. She also played for the ABL's Philadelphia Rage before the 1999 WNBA draft, when she was picked ninth by the Sting.
Staley was hired to coach Temple in 2000. Two years later, she led the Owls to their first Atlantic 10 championship. The Owls are making their second NCAA appearance under Staley after capturing another A-10 title with a 53-48 victory over Saint Joseph's on March 8.
Other than heading the Dawn Staley Foundation, a charity that sponsors after-school programs and summer leagues for children, Staley isn't left with much time for anything outside of basketball.
Fellow WNBA point guard and former Connecticut standout Jennifer Rizzotti has an idea of what Staley is going through.
Rizzotti, who plays for the Cleveland Rockers and coaches Hartford, led the Hawks to their first conference championship the same year Staley did with the Owls.
"You just learn how to do both jobs," Rizzotti said. "I think both Dawn and I have a great opportunity to do two jobs that we love. Playing isn't something you can do forever. But I think in a lot of situations we can relate to our own players, so there are a lot of advantages to being a player who coaches."
Staley won't let her players watch her work out, even though her personal trainer also trains her players. She keeps a line drawn between her WNBA life and her Temple life, though sometimes players see the point guard in her.
"She always wants to take the ball and show us how to do things," said Temple sophomore forward Candice Dupree, a former Wharton player who recently was named the A-10 tournament MVP. "(Monday) she actually put on a shirt and practiced with us."
Conversely, coaching doesn't hurt her playing, Sting coach Trudi Lacey said. While Lacey has concerns about wear and tear on Staley's knees caused by the additional Olympic training, she sees Staley's coaching as a good thing.
"She's far more sensitive to that other side," Lacey said. "She has an overall perspective to what a wing might need or what a post is looking for, and that's a great attribute for a point guard to have."
It comes at a price for Staley. And it's totally worth it.
"It's an everyday struggle," Staley said.
"Like right now, I don't want to work out. I want to look at tapes and just think about getting my team ready. But I know I have to do it all to get what I want."
