CHICAGO — On Monday, the Chicago Sky held training camp practice at their temporary home, the University of Illinois at Chicago, as work continues on their new training facility in the suburb of Bedford Park.
Inside UIC, it was a normal training camp scene, but not one that would’ve been possible at the Sky’s previous training hub, Sachs Recreation Center. On one court, the Sky held a full, five-on-five scrimmage, while on the other, veteran point guard Courtney Vandersloot was spotted running sprints as she continues rehabilitating the torn ACL she suffered early last season.
In between the two courts, Sky owner Michael Alter watched the team practice while general manager Jeff Pagliocca kept an eye on all the players training as he spoke to staff and media.
UIC offers a more expansive and professional site, located right in the heart of Chicago. However, the Sky don’t plan to stay long: team officials have said the timeline is still to get into their new facility this season.
But the change in location has already had palpable benefits, and players who previously practiced at Sachs are noticing it. For one, the Sky have their own locker room. At Sachs, they shared one with the general public.
Veteran guard Rachel Banham told The IX Sports how much of a difference the move has made as the Sky work to become a team.
“We hang out a lot after practice and just sit and talk, or we sit and talk in the training room a ton, or in the locker room. We talk about crazy stuff,” Banham said. “We never did that up at Sachs because there wasn’t really a space to hang. It was like a regular locker room with other people. Now we have a couch and a locker room that’s all facing each other, so we all just sit and chat. My favorite time is in the locker room. It’s when you talk about wild stuff, and it’s just fun. You get to know people really well.”
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Creating those bonds as quickly as possible is important for the Sky. The team brought in several free agents during the offseason, including Skylar Diggins, Azurá Stevens and Dijonai Carrington, and traded for Rickea Jackson and Jacy Sheldon.
With so many new faces and the WNBA’s short window for training camp, the Sky have to find a way to turbocharge connection.
Hailey Van Lith, who is in her second season with the Sky, said that the new location allows the team to get to practice early and spend more time with each other.
“Being in a facility that is a lot closer for everyone on the team, we get to practice earlier, and we’re hanging out in the locker room earlier. Especially with a group that has so many new pieces, getting that off-court time can really speed up on-court chemistry, and it’s been great,” Van Lith explained. “We have a variety of personalities, and it’s been cool, even over the course of training camp, to see some of the rookies come out of their shell and have jokes with them. Who gets aux in the morning is a big topic, and what type of vibe we set, and we love to see the fit that Skylar [Diggins] walks in with. So there’s always something going on in the morning that just gets us excited to practice and excited to be around each other.”
Forward Maddy Westbeld has been known to be a great cook since her days at Notre Dame, where she would often make team dinners. She’s thrilled that the UIC location has a kitchen where she can make her recovery smoothies right after practice.
“Having our own kitchen, we have food before practice, and it’s restocked every day, and I’m just so grateful,” Westbeld told The IX Sports. “I love making smoothies, so that’s what I’m most excited about: my smoothie before practicing and post practice.”
(For the record, Westbeld’s post-practice smoothie is what she called a chocolate-covered cherry: chocolate protein, cherry juice, banana, strawberries, sometimes an avocado and sometimes almond butter.)
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The players aren’t just practicing in the heart of the city; they’re being housed there, too. In previous seasons, the Sky housed their players in the northern suburbs of Chicago, but now, they are staying within city limits, which allows them to have fun while exploring the city.
“Last year, I loved the city, but we just didn’t get to spend a whole lot of time here because we lived outside the city, and because we practiced outside of the city. Getting an opportunity to get in the mix of the real Chicago has been so much fun for me,” Van Lith said. “I enjoy just walking around the different neighborhoods and the different areas of the city, and getting to really be a part of the culture. I think Chicago has a really cool culture.”
Still, even with better amenities and the promise of a new facility just for Sky players, Westbeld said she is grateful for her time at Sachs, a park district facility.
“I’m really grateful that I got the opportunity to practice at Sachs. I know maybe a lot of people don’t say that, but there was, there was definitely a sense of gratitude walking in there every day,” she said. “A couple weeks ago, before training camp started, going into Sachs for the last time. Everybody there was so embracing of us … it was bittersweet. They won a championship there. There’s a banner on the wall. And so it just reminds you every day of the perspective of, it doesn’t necessarily matter where you do it.”