# Tennessee Lady Vols Coach Kim Caldwell's SEC Tipoff Statements > Tennessee Lady Vols coach Kim Caldwell outlines team culture, player development, and SEC challenges ahead of season. - Title: Tennessee Lady Vols Coach Kim Caldwell's SEC Tipoff Statements - Summary: Tennessee Lady Vols coach Kim Caldwell outlines team culture, player development, and SEC challenges ahead of season. Tennessee Lady Vols coach Kim Caldwell… - Keywords: tennessee, lady vols, kim caldwell, sec, basketball, coaching, team culture, player development, sec tipoff, sports, Lady, Vols - Source: Tennessee Volunteers On SI — https://si.com/college/tennessee/women-s-basketball/everything-lady-vols-coach-kim-caldwell-said-during-sec-tipoff-01m4xe9qcsn9 - Published: 2026-10-14T15:46:04+00:00 - Read time: 2 min - Topics: tennessee, lady vols, kim caldwell, sec, basketball, coaching, team culture, player development, sec tipoff, sports ## Kim Caldwell's Opening Statement Tennessee Lady Vols coach Kim Caldwell begins year three at the University of Tennessee, expressing excitement for the new team and staff. > Thank you, Tiffany, for the introduction. I’m very thankful and excited to begin year three at the University of Tennessee. I’ve loved our players and our new staff members so far this season. Let’s get right to it ## Kim Caldwell on New Team Foundation Caldwell stresses setting team culture and standards early with new players who want to please coaches and improve daily. > I think when you are building a team at any time this time of year, it’s really important to set your foundation, make sure you have your culture, make sure you really set your standard. ## Kim Caldwell on Effort Plays The team excites over effort plays like 50-50 balls, charges, and rebounds, which Caldwell says match her coaching mentality. > The thing about this team is they really like, and they really get excited about the effort plays. So being the first to a 50-50 ball, taking a charge, saving the ball from out of bounds, maybe an offensive rebound kick-out three, that’s really what excites our team. ## Kim Caldwell on Selfless Culture Caldwell describes a selfless, hard-working culture where players show up early and compete for rim time with coaches. > Yeah, we haven’t got to game preparation yet, but I think the most important thing, again, matching both of those questions was really setting the standard the way that I want it to be set, and that’s it’s going to be a selfless culture. ## Kim Caldwell on 30-Minute Practice Rule Players must arrive 30 minutes early for practice to earn rim time, with coaches working on countermoves before games. > I think that’s the standard that we want to set, and we wanted players, we wanted to recruit players that wanted to be in the gym and that wanted to get better. ## Kim Caldwell on Rylie Theuerkauf and Kaylene Smikle Rylie Theuerkauf and Kaylene Smikle embody the team's work ethic, being experienced, competitive, and focused on improvement. > I think the two players, K.K. and Rylie, do a really good job of embodying that for our team. They’re both older. They’re experienced. They know what it takes at this level. ## Kim Caldwell on Coaching Evolution Caldwell balances returning to her younger coaching style with adapting to changes in college basketball. > I think it’s a fine balance between trying to get back to who I was and maybe at a lower level and who I was as a younger coach when I was at my prime and we were winning championship after championship. ## Kim Caldwell on Offensive Strategy The team maintains fast offense but must score consistently against pressure from bigger SEC teams. > That’s a really good question. One thing we always want to do is keep moving our floor up, up, up. We have great pace on offense. ## Kim Caldwell on Team Defense The team uses ball pressure and outside help to counter larger opponents, avoiding one-on-one struggles. > Yeah, we are definitely undersized, and that’s something we can also add Zhen Craft to that mix. She has SEC experience. ## Kim Caldwell on Schedule Most of the team's schedule was set early, with few games added after the initial planning. > Yeah, the majority of our schedule was already done. Return games, maybe a few years out. So we didn’t have very many games to add after our schedule was already set. ## Kim Caldwell on Team Cohesion Players gel through selflessness, willingness to play any position, and commitment to winning regardless of minutes. > I think we’re close, and then we’ll probably switch it halfway through the preseason. I’ve never had a team that you can really pick it right now because a lot of things arrive in game situations. ## Kim Caldwell on Kaylene Smikle Kaylene Smikle is a competitive, scrappy defender who excels in rebounding and ball recovery. > I think what impresses me the most about her is her mindset. She’s a competitor, and she’s a winner. That’s just who she is, and she brings people up with her. ## Kim Caldwell on SEC Media Day Caldwell focuses on seeing players' excitement at SEC Media Day, especially Rylie's first experience. > This year is more about I’m excited to see the excitement on my players’ faces from being here. It’s Rylie’s first time at an SEC Media Day. ## Key takeaway Tennessee Lady Vols coach Kim Caldwell emphasizes selfless culture, consistent effort, and team growth for SEC competition.