00:03We've seen her outfits go viral on social media.
00:07She's NCAA Women's National Champion on the basketball court.
00:11WNBA star as well.
00:12And she's also the assistant coach at the University of Texas.
00:15But do we really know who Sydney Carter is?
00:17Beyond the nails and the fashion, who is she?
00:20What's her mindset?
00:21I wanted to know, and I want you to know as well.
00:24So, Sydney took me along for just a short run on her day.
00:27Her busy day, that is, as her team prepares for the March Madness craze.
00:30So, take this ride along with me.
00:32It's another edition of Essence Black Women in Sports presented by Coca-Cola.
00:42Sydney, I figured we could take a little step back in the past.
00:46So, we're out here with the double rims.
00:48Yep.
00:49The hard court, you fall on it, you need a few Band-Aids.
00:52We got nets today, though.
00:53We do have nets.
00:54We didn't have nets.
00:55Sometimes we didn't have nets.
00:57But I do want to ask you, because I think everybody has a story, but what brought you to basketball?
01:02So, I come from a really big family.
01:04I have four sisters, two brothers.
01:06And so, I grew up being able to watch what they were doing.
01:09Some ran track.
01:10We tried everything.
01:11T-ball.
01:12And then my mom was like, okay, I want to put you on an all-boys team when I was
01:15four.
01:16And I just ran right past them all.
01:18It was really, really fast.
01:19I'm super competitive.
01:20So, I realized basketball was, like, my thing that I loved.
01:23I do want to ask you about just the March Madness craze.
01:26What does this entire season of the year for you mean, as a coach specifically?
01:32It is stressful.
01:34It is chaotic.
01:35But it is so rewarding because everything you do up until that last game that has been
01:41put into perspective.
01:43Like, okay, this is why I threw up in the trash can, you know, on that second workout.
01:48Or, you know, this is why I left home so angry at Coach and I was crying because I didn't
01:53understand why he or she was on me so hard.
01:56And then it all comes to a realization, like, this is what I worked for.
01:59That's the end goal for me is I want to help young people get to where they're trying to go.
02:02I love that.
02:03You talk about being super competitive.
02:04You told me you're competitive in literally everything.
02:08Everything.
02:08It's scary because I want to win the walk to the car.
02:13Like, I got to be the first in the office.
02:16I got, you know, like, I just, I have to be first at everything.
02:18And it really is hard managing that every day because I'm going to go through adversity.
02:24I'm going to experience failure.
02:25But I learned the most in those, in those moments of failure or adversity.
02:29Many say the lessons are in the losses.
02:31And in Sydney's case, the missteps have certainly led to some of her greatest comebacks.
02:36But beyond her achievements, she's anchored by the little things.
02:40So Sydney, I asked you who you were as a coach.
02:43But I feel like there's a lot of layers to you that people may not see or know.
02:46So who are you? Who's Sydney Carter as a person?
02:50Sydney is a lot of things.
02:52Like, I'm a dog mom.
02:53I'm a sister.
02:55I'm a business owner.
02:56Like, I love a good adventure.
02:58I can't golf, but I try.
02:59Golf is fun, though.
03:00I like the outfit.
03:02So I want to wear the skirt and everything like that when I go play golf.
03:06So it's really just about the aesthetic for me.
03:08Yeah. Okay.
03:08Let's get into the aesthetics.
03:10We got to talk all things style and fashion.
03:12That's how a lot of people have fallen in love with you.
03:15So some people may think you have a stylist.
03:18From my understanding, you do not.
03:20I do not. Never have.
03:22Really?
03:22Mm-hmm.
03:23And just in case telling me wasn't enough,
03:26Sydney took me up to her beauty loft to show me just how much she runs the show
03:30when it comes to her style.
03:32Okay. So we talked a little bit about fashion.
03:34Okay. So this is our, this is another part of our grand tour.
03:37Correct. So I'm bringing you to my wardrobe room.
03:40Okay. This is where I say, okay, you the one.
03:43Okay.
03:43So this is a little bit of what I've worn in the past.
03:47I see in the last maybe two, two years.
03:50Okay. Okay.
03:51Okay. So this one right here is different because this was specifically for a theme game.
03:57We played on Valentine's Day last year.
03:59And so I actually paired this with a white button up underneath.
04:02And then I had a white heel with red hearts on it that I paired with this.
04:06I remember those.
04:07Yeah. They were a big hit.
04:09This was a championship game.
04:10So I feel like when I'm playing for a championship, you can only wear two colors.
04:15White when you're ready to win.
04:16Mm-hmm.
04:17Black when you're ready to kick some tail.
04:19So what about black and white when you're ready to win and kick some tail?
04:23You figure out how to mix them both.
04:26Everything about me is intentional.
04:27Do you donate at all?
04:29I do. I do actually.
04:31To me.
04:31Would you donate to me?
04:33We can talk about some things after this.
04:36And aside from talking about what I could take from Sydney's closet before I left,
04:40we also had to get into what completes her look.
04:43The nails, of course.
04:46So when did you decide, okay, long nails is what I'm doing and I'm going to get my nails done
04:50top tier.
04:51We're going designs down.
04:52We're turning up.
04:53So I've been wearing my nails like this since high school.
04:56And then when I played in college, I remember my first day stepping on campus.
05:00I had really long nails and they were like, mm-mm, that is not going to work.
05:03And I knew I couldn't play with that.
05:05So when I did play, I just painted my real nails and then I would always get like designs.
05:10But then I knew afterwards when I stopped playing, I was going to go back to being me.
05:13Like this is legitimately just who I am.
05:16Phenomenal coach, fashionista, and shooting specialist.
05:20There simply isn't anything that Sydney Carter can't do.
05:23Sydney, playing with nails is not my ministry, but apparently it is yours.
05:27Do you have any advice for me?
05:29You might have to end here instead of there.
05:31That would feel crazy.
05:34Let's see.
05:36There we go.
05:37No!
05:38That's robbery.
05:38But that's that double rim.
05:40It's a double rim.
05:41That's a triple rim.
05:43We both have to make one before we leave because you're highly competitive.
05:45I can make a layup.
05:46Yeah, I ain't going without it.
05:47I ain't leaving what I don't make.
05:50There we go.
05:51There you go.
05:51There we go.
05:52All right, let's see.
05:56Boom.
05:56There we go.
05:57Slide work.
05:59Let me ask you as a black woman, how important is it for you to show up authentic and fully
06:04you and how you want to make sure that that looks on the outside?
06:07I just want to continue to be an example, especially in a time of a lot of self-doubt,
06:12mental health, and I am in charge of so many young women.
06:16I want them to be able to see what's standing in your truth and your confidence in your womanhood,
06:21what it really looks like.
06:23Do you consider yourself a trailblazer?
06:25I'm going to go with yes, because I'm seeing more people showing up as themselves.
06:30Like I'm seeing more people with their coaching videos coming out.
06:33You know, when I started doing coaching videos, everybody was like, oh, that looks ridiculous.
06:37But I'm seeing more people like I don't care if they said Coach Carter looks ridiculous.
06:41I'm going to have my coaching video.
06:42I'm going to put my heels on.
06:44I'm going to wear this dress because she had it on.
06:46Or maybe it's not because I had it on.
06:48But it's because maybe it's because that's what they've always wanted to do.
06:51And they've seen somebody else do it.
06:53Yeah, I feel like I'm going to comfortably say yes now.
06:56I'm going to say yes.
06:59Okay, so I have a game for you.
07:01Okay.
07:01It's called Blow the Whistle.
07:02Okay.
07:03Okay, I'm going to throw some scenarios at you.
07:05If you're cool with it, we're going to keep playing.
07:08Okay.
07:08If not, you're blowing the whistle.
07:10Okay.
07:10Okay.
07:11Socks with flip flops.
07:13I'm going to blow the whistle.
07:15Because I don't want to see a flip flop at all.
07:18What about solo trips?
07:20We're going to keep playing.
07:21Keep playing?
07:21Okay.
07:22What about bus rides to games that are over three hours?
07:26I'm going to keep playing.
07:27Well, people try to pair different prints.
07:30To me, that's just a showcase of style.
07:32Like everybody can't pull it off.
07:33But when you can pull it off, we're going to keep playing.
07:36Ice baths.
07:37Blow the whistle.
07:38Awesome.
07:38I don't want to be cold.
07:39I like heat.
07:43People don't know how to play spades.
07:46Blow the whistle five times.
07:49Just keep blowing, actually, until they learn how to play.
07:52So you're blowing the whistle at me because I don't know how to play.
07:54Yes.
07:55Okay.
07:56What is the deal with your...
07:57Technical foul.
08:01Win a national championship.
08:02We're going to keep on playing until we win one.
08:04Well, I believe it's going to happen soon.
08:06Thank you for this.
08:07It's been great.
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