All About Caitlin Clark’s Coach, Christie Sides, Head of the Indiana Fever.
The rookie, chosen first overall by the Indiana Fever in the 2024 WNBA Draft, is now coached by Christie Sides.
The basketball superstar, who was taken first overall by the Indiana Fever in the 2024 WNBA Draft, is currently under the direction of Christie Sides, the team’s head coach.
Clark’s move to the WNBA follows a successful season at the University of Iowa, which set records and made history for women’s basketball and the NCAA in general.
Sides, a Baton Rouge native, started as an assistant coach for the Ruston High School varsity women’s basketball team in Louisiana in 2000. After coaching collegiate teams, she joined the Chicago Sky of the WNBA in 2011.
She has since worked on four other teams over the years. Among them were the Indiana Fever from 2017 to 2019, with a return to the team in 2022 as head coach.
Clark, the team’s head coach, will make her WNBA debut against the Connecticut Sun on May 14 at Mohegan Sun Arena.
Read on to learn more about Caitlin Clark and Christie Sides, the Indiana Fever’s head coach.
Christie faces the Indiana Fever in May 2024.
Sides is a former college basketball player who played guard for two teams throughout her college career. She started at Ole Miss and concluded her student-athlete career at Louisiana Tech, where she helped the Lady Techsters reach the NCAA Championship Tournament’s Final Four in 1999.
She coached college basketball earlier in her career.
Before joining the WNBA, Sides worked as an assistant coach for many collegiate basketball teams in the early 2000s. She returned to Louisiana Tech as an assistant coach during the 2003–2004 season, having previously coached high school basketball.
Between 2004 and 2007, she worked as an assistant coach at LSU under head coach Pokey Chatman. Her stint with the Lady Tigers was fruitful, as she helped lead the club to three Final Four appearances and two Southeastern Conference regular-season titles in three seasons.
Sides spent the 2011-2016 seasons with the WNBA’s Chicago Sun before returning to coach collegiate basketball with Northwestern in 2016, the Indiana Fever in 2017, and Louisiana-Monroe from 2019 to 2022.
Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever poses for a portrait alongside Lin Dunn and Christie Sides.
After playing for the Chicago Sun from 2011 to 2016, Sides pursued a college basketball career before returning to the WNBA as a coach with the Atlanta Dream in 2022.
In the same year, Sides became the ninth head coach in Indiana Fever history.
Related: Learn More About Caitlin Clark’s Coach Lisa Bluder, former head coach of Iowa women’s basketball,
She coached professional basketball globally.
From 2009 to 2013, she worked as an assistant for Spartak Moscow Region in Russia with Chatman, a former colleague at LSU. They guided Spartak to consecutive FIBA EuroLeague Championships in 2009 and 2010, as well as five Final Eight finishes.
Caitlin Clark and Christie Sides, head coach of the Indiana Fever, in May 2024.
Sides has remarked in press conferences about how fans have reacted to Clark’s basketball prowess, as well as having the star newcomer join her squad before the WNBA season begins.
While excited about the new addition to the Fever’s squad, she has also been vocal about what she wants to see from the No. 1 overall pick throughout her transition to the professionals.
“I think she’s used to some shots that she’s taken in the last few years that are just those long jumpers,” Sides said after the Fever defeated the Atlanta Dream on May 9 during the WNBA preseason.
“She’ll get open looks. She’s got to work it out—I gave her a rule the other day. “She has 0.5 seconds to make a decision.”
PRAGUE (AP)— The Czech Republic defeated the United States 1-0 at the ice hockey world championship on Thursday, advancing to the semifinals.
Boston Bruins forward Pavel Zacha scored a power-play goal in the second period, while Anaheim Ducks goalie Luke Dostal stopped 36 shots in front of the home crowd at Prague Arena.
Zacha and Bruins teammate David Pastrnak were participating in only their second game of the tournament. Following Boston’s elimination from the NHL playoffs by the Florida Panthers, they joined the Czech team.
The US attempted to equalize by pulling goaltender Charlie Lindgren, but the Czechs maintained their lead and will face Sweden in the semifinals on Saturday.
The Americans had stopped all 13 power plays in the preliminary round.
“It was a beautiful hockey game with a fantastic atmosphere. Unfortunately, we fell short, but it wasn’t for a lack of effort,” U.S. coach John Hynes stated.
In the other quarterfinals Thursday, defending champion Canada defeated Slovakia 6-3, with Nick Paul scoring two goals.
Canada will face Switzerland in the semifinals on Saturday.
“We had a wonderful start and just kept building,” Paul added. “We were winning our battles, putting pucks in the net, and getting second opportunities.”
Canada, a 28-time champion, had goals and assists from Dylan Guenther, Jared McCann, Pierre-Luc Dubois, and Brandon Tanev.
Early in the first period, McCann and Dubois scored in a 90-second span. Peter Cehlarik made it 2-1 when Brandon Hagel deflected his feed into his own net.
Canada stretched their lead to 5-1 with Paul’s second-period goal, which was followed by two goals in 20 seconds in the third, one by Guenther and the other by Tanev.
Milos Kelemen and Marek Hrivik scored to cut Canada’s advantage to 5-3 before Paul’s second goal went into an empty net.
Sweden defeated Finland 2-1 in Ostrava, thanks to a power-play goal from Joel Eriksson Ek at 5:54 into overtime.
Finland’s Hannes Bjorninen drew the game 1-1 with 58 seconds remaining in regulation, four minutes after Rasmus Dahlin gave Sweden a 1-0 lead.
Earlier, Switzerland eliminated Germany by defeating last year’s runner-up 3-1 in Ostrava.
Christoph Bertschy led Switzerland with two goals. He gave the Swiss a 1-0 lead with a short-handed goal before Nico Hischier of the New Jersey Devils scored the second.
Bertschy scored his second goal in the third period after Dominik Kahun cut the margin to 2-1 during a power play.
