Sep 7, 2025; Baltimore, MD, USA; Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) looks on from the bench against the Washington Mystics during the first quarter at CFG Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images

Fever Guard Reveals Advice for Caitlin Clark to Avoid 'Wasted Season'

Originally posted on Indiana Fever on SI | By Grant Young | Last updated Oct 9, 2025 10:56 PM ET

Indiana Fever star guard Caitlin Clark never missed a game due to injury during her four seasons spent playing college basketball with the Iowa Hawkeyes. She also didn't miss a single game during her WNBA rookie season in 2024.

Therefore, it's no surprise that Clark having been limited to 13 games in the 2025 WNBA season because of various soft tissue injuries to her lower body took almost as much of a mental toll on No. 22 as a physical toll.

While Clark always put on a brave face and continued to support her Indiana teammates as they made their run to Game 5 of the WNBA Semifinals, fans who kept an eye on her during games could clearly see how badly she yearned to be back on the basketball court, helping orchestrate the Fever's offense.

Sydney Colson Shares Leadership Advice Given to Caitlin Clark

Luckily for Clark, she had numerous veterans around her who could give her words of wisdom and help her navigate through handling being sidelined, which was completely foreign territory.

And Fever guard Sydney Colson (who was also sidelined because of a torn ACL she suffered in August) shared some of the advice she gave to Clark last season during an October 9 episode of Good Follow.

"It was good to see a lighter side of her," Colson said of being Clark's teammate. "Especially when she was injured, you're having to adjust your mindset, you're having to get mentally tougher, because she [didn't] have a bad injury before. So you're having to watch your team from the outside.

"I would be talking to her a lot, 'Make sure you're still being vocal. You don't want to lose this time with your teammates. Because you're injured or sidelined, you're not still using that opportunity to lead or to grow relationships. Don't let it be a wasted season because you can't physically contribute,'" Colson added.

"I think her desire to become a better leader, and to come back — because there were times where she thought she was coming back, and then it wasn't happening, or another little thing would happen that turned into a big thing. But to see her fun side, that was an important part. To see her being jovial, and lighthearted, and having fun with her teammates, I don't think that was a side people saw a lot last season.

"And so I was telling her, 'More of that,'" Colson concluded.

It's awesome to see a league veteran like Colson being willing and able to impart this type of wisdom on Clark during what was a frustrating second WNBA season.

This article first appeared on Indiana Fever on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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