KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Six days after taking her very first head-coaching job in 2016, Kim Caldwell sat in her new office at her alma mater in West Virginia and took out a black notebook.
On the inside cover, she wrote down a Pat Summitt mantra she had read in the legendary coach’s book, “Reach for the Summitt.” The daily reminder would help as she started at Division II Glenville State.
Left foot, right foot, breathe, repeat.
Then, she added her own quote across the top:
Terrified, she accepted the challenge …
The first journal entry is dated April 12, 2016.
Eight years, two schools, 217 wins and a Division II national championship later, Caldwell pulls the journal out of a desk drawer in her latest office, the same one Summitt used to build the Tennessee Lady Vols into an eight-time national champion.
Left foot, right foot, breathe, repeat.
A surprise choice to replace Kellie Harper, who was fired last spring after five seasons, Caldwell remains as shocked as anyone that she is here. When her agent told her that Tennessee wanted to talk to her, Caldwell looked at her phone, saw it was April 1 and asked, “Is this an April Fool’s Day joke?”
