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UCLA women's basketball coach Cori Close emphasizes the importance of mentoring her players, inspired by John Wooden's teachings. The documentary *You See L.A.* captures the team's journey to a national championship.
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(Alberto Rodriguez)
When allowing cameras for the Fox Sports documentary You See L.A. into the lives of her players, UCLA womenâs basketball head coach Cori Close, who just led the Bruins to a national championship, tried to stick to the wisdom of one of the schoolâs guiding sports lights.
âI had the incredible privilege of being mentored by John Wooden,â Close said during a panel at Deadlineâs Contenders Television: Documentary event, âand one of the things he taught me is, one, youâre coaching peopleâs hearts, but two, he used to say, âIf itâs not about teaching, mentoring, equipping for the next 40 years of their lives, it really doesnât mean a whole lot.â And so thatâs the kind of program that we want to have.â
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âI think what this documentary allows us to do is to show people that you can be courageously vulnerable,â she added. âYou can care about peopleâs hearts and you can compete to master your craft.â
Executive producers Kelsey Trainor and Jeff Luini, who previously collaborated on Welcome to Wrexham, envisioned the project as âa great example of how storytelling, especially around women and womenâs sports, could be done in a way that was comparable to any kind of menâs sports story that you would see,â Trainor said. âItâs not necessarily, I think we say womenâs sports wants in this documentary. Thatâs not the point. Itâs a sports story ⊠and to Corey and the teamâs credit, we were there. We were in the locker room. We were in hard conversations.â
âItâs a human story,â said Luini.â Sports stories are great. The stakes are there. You win, you lose. But who are the people behind the scenes? Who are the players and their support system? And we talked to Cori about that, and I think that is who she is as a person. Itâs like, what is the heart of the person? And thatâs what we aimed to get.
The documentary *You See L.A.* follows the UCLA women's basketball team, showcasing their journey and the mentorship provided by coach Cori Close.
Cori Close is the head coach of the UCLA women's basketball team, and her coaching philosophy focuses on mentoring players for their future, inspired by John Wooden's teachings.
John Wooden's teachings influenced Cori Close to prioritize coaching players' hearts and preparing them for life beyond basketball.
The UCLA women's basketball team, under coach Cori Close, recently won a national championship.

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âAnd these are young athletes. These are young people who are put on the biggest stage,â Lunini added. âThese are 18-, 19-, 20-, 21-year-olds who are maybe exposing themselves and making mistakes in front of the largest platform. And letâs remember that theyâre the youth and give them a chance. And I think thatâs whatâs special. Weâve seen it in professional leagues, but to see it on this level and for them to be ⊠We go back and these are authentically people who are themselves. And for them to share their true selves with us, I think thatâs whatâs unique about this.â
âI remember when Kelsey and Jeff came before our team and told them about the project and they said, âWeâre not here to have gotcha moments.â And I could see their shoulders go [relaxed], okay?â Close agreed. âAnd just over time, there just really was a trust that their desire was to tell their stories in an honoring, but real and authentic way. And thatâs exactly what they did.â
Trainor said that transparency meant seeing the team through both highs and lows. âWe hoped there would be a national championship â that was the goal,â she said, âbut it was really just âRocky doesnât win in the first movie,â So we knew that you could tell a story no matter the result, if youâre caring about the human part of it.â
âWomenâs basketball is the most diverse sport in all of college athletics and has been for over a decade,â said Close, âand so we have a phrase in our program, âAll of you is welcome here.â Despite your political background, despite where youâre from, what your religion is, whatever it is, all of you is welcome here. And I have so much to learn from you, even if weâre really different. And what a privilege to be able to be a part of that and to tell that kind of story. And weâve had so much feedback that I needed that. They didnât need our wins or losses. They needed joy. They needed hope. They needed connection and building.â
Close added that she didnât have a prediction for the teamâs next iteration, which is also going to be films, but promised âWe have no interest in rebuilding. We only have interest in reloading. So I have great expectations moving forward.â
Check back Monday for the panel video.
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