GUNNISON, Utah — Caitlin Clark, who brought a newfound audience to the world of women's sports, went to the Indiana Fever Monday night in the WNBA draft — but her influence and others like her are being felt all over the country when it comes to girls' and youth basketball programs, including in small towns right here in our neck of the woods.
"I think it’s pretty exciting. It makes kids excited to play," said Emily Jensen of Gunnison, who helps coach her 10- and 11-year-old daughters, Maddie and Brooke. "The younger kids take a look and go, ‘Wow, look at how many people are in this stadium. It’s not what I’m used to seeing at my games but someday that could be me. I could be playing in front of all those people.'”
The 4th and 6th graders both play on Junior Jazz teams in their small town and had a great run themselves this year. Both beat out neighboring schools to win the end-of-season tournaments for their respective age divisions.
"It was really fun because we all had great shots and great passes, and I thought we all did such a great job!" Maddie Jensen told FOX 13 News on Tuesday. "It was really exciting because we worked so hard, just so we could win."
Her big sister was also proud of their accomplishments with her team.
"I was super happy. We all worked together. We all worked hard. It was fun," she said.
Close in age, the sibling rivalry between these two is strong, with Maddie joking she's the better of the two since she practices more. Her sister disagreed.
Their mom is a former high school athlete herself, and she has taught physical education and health in schools. She says she really believes in all that a young girl wins by playing sports.
"It teaches them teamwork. It teaches them things that they may think they couldn’t do at first and it builds their confidence," Emily said.
She says they spent time as a family watching women's college basketball games.
"It’s fun to watch. It’s impressive to see the skill level," she said.
Brooke added: "It kind of inspires me because I think maybe I could do the same thing, and it’s really cool to watch."
This year, the women's college basketball finals drew higher ratings than the men's — the first time that's ever been the case.
Emily says she loves raising her girls in a small town where they can try a number of different sports and activities and figure out what they really enjoy, but it also has challenges. Sometimes it's hard to field a team in certain sports for the young ladies' programs. She says she hopes the surge of popularity and stardom for players like Caitlin Clark and other female athletes will help get more girls interested in playing themselves.
