UT's Pat Summitt finds she's 'mom' to many

Coach continues to support players long after they leave

NASHVILLE — Pat Summitt guesses it was about 20 years ago when she took on another role with her players.

Until then she had been the University of Tennessee women's basketball coach, teacher, disciplinarian and something akin to a sister to her players.

In fact, because she was so young her first year as the coach in 1974, her players just called her Pat.

"When I first started coaching and I was only a year older than my seniors, I was probably too tough and probably distanced myself too much from them so that they would recognize me as their coach," said Summitt, who guided the Lady Vols to their eighth national championship this past season.

"Now that's not an issue," she said. "That's probably been the case for the last 20 years. Now it is more of a mother-daughter relationship. We try to have a family atmosphere so those roles come naturally."

As the seasons came and went, Summitt says, her relationships with her players became more protective, more passionate, more maternal.

That is why she will spend time Sunday answering phone calls and opening Mother's Day cards from so many former Lady Vols. And from her son, Tyler, of course.

Coach reaches out

The close-knit bond lasts long after many of the players leave school. Summitt said she routinely gets visits or calls from former players seeking advice on everything from what to do about a work-related problem to when to start a family to matters that are best kept private.

Sounds like an added hassle for a coach trying to keep her program at its peak. Who has time to deal with a former player's stress or mess?

"Oh, I love it," Summitt said. "I think it's more fun for me. Now that I'm more secure in what I'm doing as a coach, and what I want to continue to do is to help these young women be successful. That was the problem when I was a young coach; I wasn't secure and so I kept that distance. I like it much better this way. You don't just say goodbye at the end of their playing careers and end it there."

Nikki Caldwell is thankful her relationship with Summitt lasted after she graduated from Tennessee in 1995. In fact, Caldwell followed in Summitt's footsteps and became a coach.

She spent the last six seasons as one of Summitt's assistants and recently was named head coach at UCLA

"Pat has played many roles in my life, and one has definitely been like a mother," Caldwell said. "I called her my agent when I was going through the process of getting the UCLA job. She was so helpful in that. She has worn so many different hats as a coach and now I am looking to her to help me to learn how to do the same."

Summitt became an actual mother during Caldwell's freshman year at Tennessee. She was pregnant with her only child, Tyler, and Caldwell says it was interesting to see her motherly instincts take over.

He became the top priority in Summitt's life.

"Anytime the baby sitter brought Tyler to practice, we knew practice was almost over," Caldwell said. "During those really hard practices, we would be looking around and saying, 'Where is Tyler?'"

Of course, Summitt did not allow the changes in her personal life to affect her professional life.

"I'll never forget when we were on the track running, and of course we had to be there at 5:30 in the morning," Caldwell said. "They told us Pat wasn't going to be there one morning. She had gone to the hospital to have Tyler. So we're thinking we can leave the workout and go to the hospital. But that was incorrect. She sent word for us to finish the workout before we came to visit."

Following in her footsteps

Tyler, now 17 and finishing his junior year in high school, and his mother are headed into an interesting time in both of their lives.

"He's at the same age now as the kids I've dealt with throughout my career," Summitt said. "This is the age when I start recruiting players. He just took his ACT and is getting ready to take his SATs. It's a little bit different. I am usually the one doing the recruiting. Now I'm just trying to help him sort through what he wants to do, if he wants to continue to play basketball after he graduates from high school or whatever."

Tyler recently informed his mother that he eventually wants to be a basketball coach.

"I'm trying to discourage him from that," Summitt said with a laugh. "But whatever he wants, I just want the best for him."