Women’s basketball has come a long way in the last 10 to 15 years, and Anita Kaplan Fiedel is one of the women who has helped it do so. This conversation with my friend is a touching look into what it was like growing up tall as a girl, how basketball helped her fit in and find her sense of purpose and identity, and what happens when a perceived liability is turned into an asset.

A career of distinction and dominance in women’s basketball.

Anita achieved excellence on the basketball court at every level. Even though Anita, who was 6’4” in eighth grade, was never the best athlete in the gym – not even close – Anita ran the paint with advanced footwork, I.Q., and a deadly hook shot that she practiced in sets of 100s in her driveway - a shot she made without looking so many times that her teammates nicknamed her “Radar.” Anita earned the highest of high school rankings in becoming a Kodak, Street and Smith and Parade high school American. We were on an AAU team in high school that drew hundreds of college scouts to our games. All 10 out of 10 players on our team received full Division I scholarships. During her career at Stanford University, Anita was an All-Pac 10 center on a team that appeared in the Final Four three out of four years and won a national title in 1992.

Turning a perceived liability into an asset as a dominant force in women’s basketball.

"I was tall from the get-go. By Kindergarten I was 4’ 11”. And my parents, my Dad who is 6’ 7” saw this opportunity and he said, 'You can either suffer and be the only tall girl and not make anything out of it, or you can put it to some good.' So I started playing basketball when I was 5, in the driveway with my Dad. And his thing was, just get out there and shoot, and shoot, and shoot, and shoot. He hammered it home, 'If you love something and you work hard enough for it, you can attain anything.'"

What can replace such a distinguished basketball career?

It’s hard to imagine following a basketball career like Anita Kaplan Fiedel had. How do you top it? How do you live the rest of your life knowing that the thing you loved so much and excelled at is a thing of the past? For Anita, it was not hard to find the right replacement for all of that success once she began to have children.

"Then after my MBA, I focused in finance and accounting and went to work in the finance and accounting world and didn’t enjoy that - even less than marketing. Then I had my three children. I was working when I had my twins, and felt like I was going to have a nervous breakdown because here is something that actually filled the void. Motherhood for me replaced basketball as something that I care so much about and am willing to put so much that I have into."

Outline of This Episode

• [1:28 ] My introduction of my friend, Anita Kaplan Fiedel.
• [3:10 ] Where Anita grew up and what it was like being a tall girl.
• [5:11 ] The moment when Anita knew what she wanted and that she could achieve it.
• [9:15 ] Anita’s experience in AU basketball - what she learned and enjoyed.
• [14:58 ] The pressure of the college scouting process and why Anita loved it.
• [23:23 ] Anita’s favorite moment in her college career: a tournament at UNLV.
• [24:27 ] Highlights from winning the national title at Stanford.
• [35:00 ] What Anita would change if she could: try to have a life outside of basketball.
• [37:40 ] The thing that separated Anita from everyone else on the court.

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(Thank you to Freddie Astaire for his awesome intro music.)

Full transcript Link