Get to Know Kate Paye
Jenifer Wana
Issue date: 11/12/01 Section: Sports
|
Paye, a WNBA professional basketball player and full-time JD/MBA student, occasionally receives cards from fans requesting autographs, complete with self-addressed, stamped envelopes.
A point guard for the Minnesota Lynx, the 5’8” point guard is currently ranked 17th in the WNBA in assists per game. She is one of the first female professional basketball players in the United States.
Now in her third year of the four-year program, Paye has never had to look for a summer internship. Instead she plays with the Lynx every summer for the full WNBA season.
Beginnings
The Paye family never strayed too far from home. Born at Stanford hospital, Kate grew up in Palo Alto and attended Stanford as an undergrad, following in the footsteps of her parents, brother, and sister.
“I’ve been playing basketball as long as I can remember,” says Paye. Claiming to be a “classic tomboy,” Kate started attending Stanford basketball camps at the age of nine.
As a kid, her dream was to play for the Stanford team. Despite state championship wins in high school, the Cardinal team did not come calling. Ye,t Paye did not let that discourage her.
“I knew what I wanted, I knew I was capable. I also knew I would have to overachieve,” she said. “I wanted to work with the best coach and the best players so I could reach my potential. I was not the best athlete but thought I had tools in other areas to make up for it.”
As a freshman she made the Stanford women’s basketball team as a walk-on and impressed the coach, Tara VanDerveer, with her perseverance and hard work. The next semester, the coach offered her a scholarship. That year the team won the NCAA championship.
Professional Basketball
The American Basketball League, the first women’s professional league in the U.S., launched its first season in 1996. Paye was drafted by the Seattle Reign and played as a point guard until the league folded in 1998. During the off-season she ran her own basketball academy to give teenage girls the chance to learn from professional players.“It’s a tremendous experience to be part of the beginning of professional women’s basketball,” says Paye with enthusiasm.
”I’ve talked to 40-year old women that wish they had the chance to play professionally when they were younger, and I’ve also talked to young girls who are aiming for basketball scholarships and don’t know what it’s like not to have the opportunity.”
The end of the ABL was a mixed blessing for the athlete. The feelings of disappointment were combined with excitement about graduate school, for which she had already applied. Furthermore, the launch of the WNBA by the National Basketball Association in 1997 allowed Paye the opportunity to continue playing during school, since the games were scheduled during summer, unlike ABL’s winter schedule.
Balancing School and Sports
Balance is a constant that every MBA student struggles with, and JD/MBAs perhaps even more. Yet Paye is undaunted by all the juggling that comes with school and work.
Says Paye, “It’s easy for me because I did it as an undergrad. The academics are just harder now. I train 20-25 hours per week, and I know I have to make sacrifices. I can’t join clubs, see speakers or go to FOAM a lot. I haven’t had a summer internship. My life is about school and basketball. “It’s worth it to me. In some ways it helps me. The pressure can become intense at the law school, and basketball is a good release.”
There are also logistical issues that come with being a professional athlete, as Paye found out her first year of law school. Training for the Lynx started in May, and coincidentally so did spring semester finals. The law school registrar was supportive and arranged for a local law school to administer the exams.
Heidi VanDerveer, the assistant coach for the Lynx and Stanford Coach Tara Vanderbeer’s sister, has her own hypothesis of how Paye keeps balance. “I don’t think she sleeps. I don’t know how anyone can balance a full-time job and a challenging curriculum, but she’s very committed and does a great job at both.”
Business School
When asked if the GSB has influenced how the approaches the game, Paye remarks about the parallels between business and sports. For instance, Paye recalls how Tara Vanderbeer insisted on providing players constant feedback at Stanford.
“After practice, we each got an index card in our locker with three things we did well and three things we needed to improve. I took it for granted and later realized other coaches didn’t give any structured feedback to players. In O.B. class, we learned that in order for a team to be successful, there needs to be a clear vision and expectations have to be defined.”
As a team member, Paye is regarded by her colleagues as someone with a great knowledge of the game and the person to approach for good advice and an honest opinion. According to Heidi VanDerveer, “Whenever someone has a question, they yell, ‘Ask Kate! She’s the smart one.’”
She also says the teammates turn to Paye for business-related advice. Says VanDerveer, “If the team is out to dinner and people have to chip in money, they let her figure out the bill.”