“I have monthly zoom meeting with all of them”: When Dawn Staley explained how she kept parents in loop about her players' mentoring

Dawn Staley is big on staying in touch with parents, relatives and close connections of her student-athletes. The championship coach has shared the approach several times, saying that it not only helps her deeply understand the players and but also keeps the parents on the same page as her.

In an interview with "What Drives Winning" released on Jan. 23, 2023, Staley shared insights on the practices she pursued to ensure the smooth sailing chemistry between athletes, parents and her coaching staff.

"I include them in how I'm coaching and mentoring their daughters," she said (at 4:25). "I have monthly Zoom meetings with all the parents, all of them, just to check in and make sure that this is what's happening here at the beginning of the season."

Dawn Staley then shared there is another Zoom meeting conducted to give parents an idea of their daughters' emotions and mental frame. A third meeting occurs before the season to summarize the team's preparation and prepare the parents for what to expect from the season.

"... some of them will go through some things that they haven't gone through before, some of them won't play ...and that's something new for them. As parents, you're used to seeing your daughters play and play a whole lot ... some of them are just gonna have to help us prepare to win instead of really getting out there."

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Dawn Staley previews matchup with No. 4 Texas

Dawn Staley highlighted the potentially game-changing factor from Sunday's contest against No. 4 Texas. While expressing her gameplan for preventing turnovers, Staley pressed her players a bit more to crash the board.

"I used to say rebounding isn't a skill set, it's a decision - you're either going to do it or you're not going to do it," she said (at 1:10). "We got to put some bodies on some people, got to control the paint. You do that by rebounding the basketball."

"You do that by defending as well but it's no good to defend as well as we defend and give up 22 offensive rebounds. That puts too much pressure on us having to defend another 20 seconds."

South Carolina faces Texas for the second time this season, winning the previous contest 67-50 on Jan. 11.