For fans of former WNBA star and Naperville native Candace Parker, her recent return to town was a slam dunk.
“I’ve been such a big Candace Parker fan my whole entire life, that I want to learn more about her story and kind of just emulate the great individual that she is,” said fan Maureen Volkman.
NBA star turned author
Now an author, Parker is sharing her life story in her first book, “The Can-Do Mindset,” an autobiography that takes readers through her basketball journey while sharing her life philosophy for achieving success on and off the court.
“In the book, I felt like I was in an amazing place to be able to be authentic and to share my struggles, but also share my part in the struggles,” Parker said. “Any time you take ownership of something, that’s a way to move forward.”
She took to the stage at Wentz Concert Hall in downtown Naperville Saturday for a presentation about the book and a Q&A with the audience, taking pictures with fans afterwards.
“I really like listening to the speeches. It was really inspiring and really motivated me,” said fan Iman Hussain. “Also meeting Candace Parker was really amazing. I love Candace Parker. It was so fun to meet her.”
The career of Candace Parker
Parker retired from basketball a year ago, after winning three WNBA championships, earning two league MVP’s and playing 16 seasons of professional basketball.
She first burst onto the national scene as a high school standout, winning back-to-back Illinois High School Association championships for Naperville Central in 2003 and 2004.
“At a time where womens sports was not where it is right now and at a time where it was like ‘be competitive’ but society’s telling you be not too competitive, at a time where it was like ‘go out there and lift weights and be great at basketball but don’t be too muscular, that’s not feminine enough,’ my parents were the ones that were like ‘No, go and sweat out your baby hair. Go mess up your tights. Go win kickball, go play basketball,’ and I’m super grateful for that,” Parker told the audience.
“She was one of the trailblazers to make women’s sports more mainstream,” said Volkman. “The big thing to watch as a little kid was the NCAA tournament on TV. So that’s when I really started to get interested in women’s sports and women’s basketball. Then I see this chick from Naperville just tearing it up on the scene. And I’ve been a big Candace fan ever since.”
The event was sponsored by Anderson’s Bookshop and those who attended left with a pre-signed copy of “The Can-Do Mindset.”
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