Think about what you spend on your Christmas shopping.  Consider donating a small portion of that amount to help those in need. 

The Catch the Stars Foundation believes in supporting our future stars through the provision of positive academic and sports related programs.  We are dedicated to motivating youth to reach their full potential, set goals, dream bigger and achieve more.

We are happy to partner with Pacers Sports & Entertainment to host the third annual Catch the Holiday Fever Christmas program. Our goal together is to make Christmas memorable for 100 Indianapolis youth.

Please open your hearts and team up with us. Make a difference by sponsoring a child for Christmas. For just $50, you can make one child's holiday dreams come true. In addition to gifts and clothing, each child will attend a Holiday party hosted by Tamika Catchings followed by the Pacers vs. Nets game on December 11th. *All youth chosen by United Way of Central Indiana's United Christmas program. All contributions are 100% tax-deductible. Click here for more information on how you can donate!!!

I can't believe that we're entering into the final few days of Training Camp!! I'm looking forward to heading to Texas to finish out our Preseason schedule, then we'll head off to Atlanta this weekend for our season opener. I am so excited about this season and absolutely love my team!!! 
 
We’re down to 13 people, and it's really tough that we have to cut the roster down by 2 more spots. This year with the league rules each team is only allowed 11 players. It calls for a more competitive league, but unfortunately a lot of great people and players are getting cut. Booooooo!!! 
 
So, what have I been up too? Other than the 2 pre season games (both of which we've won!!!!) and helping out with a team sponsored Habitat for Humanity build a few days ago,I am just laying low and resting my body. Although we have only been practicing once a day, it has been very tough and super intense. Other than that, nothing else has been going on on my end- watching movies and chilling. Lovely!! Oh yeah… watching the NBA Playoffs. I was really pulling for… Denver and Cleveland because I wanted Melo and Bron to have a shot at a title. Oh well, both teams fought hard but it just wasn't their year.  There's always next season!!!
 
Well, my goal is to check in more this year throughout the season!! As always, thanks for all of your support!! Let’s go FEVER!!!= 

Thanks to all of you who have consistently stayed by my side and supported me on and off the court!! This new website is for you!! I will write more soon, but until then... ENJOY!!! Best wishes and God Bless!!

May 18, 2009: Tamika checks in from Training Camp

Hey everyone!!! 
 
I wanted to write a quick note to kick off Fever training camp. Today was Day 2 and we were super busy.  The morning began with media day from 10a-12:15p, Lunch from 12:15p-1p, weights and shooting from 1p-2p, and practice from 2p- 4:30p. WHOOOOOO!! It's been one busy day!!

The first two days of camp have been UNBELIEVABLE!! I'm so excited about the players we have here in camp, and I'm ready to jump start the season with a bang!! We have 15 players in camp, and while I wish we could keep everyone, unfortunately we have to get our final roster down to 11. It's going to be hard for the coaches to decide, but I tell you what, this is definitely one year that I'm so glad that I'm just... a player. LOL!! 
 
Well, I hope that you have gotten your Fever season tickets. If not... make sure you go get them. And, if you're in a different city- make sure that you get to a game when the Fever's in town. With the talent that we've added this year, it's going to be one hot season!!!Hahaha!! Thanks for all of your support! I'll write more later this week. I have to get some zzzzz's... God Bless! 

Thanks to all of you who have consistently stayed by my side and supported me on and off the court!! This new website is for you!! I will write more soon, but until then... ENJOY!!! Best wishes and God Bless!!

April 2009: Happy Easter from Poland

Hello and Happy Easter to All!!!! I hope that everyone is having a blessed 2009 and looking forward to celebrating another very special holiday with family, friends and loved ones.  Keep in mind that the most important part of Easter isn't just the good food, bunnies and baskets.  It's about giving thanks to God for dying on the cross and rising up again for each and every one of us and our sins!! God is great all the time!!!

Well, I'm down to the last few days of my Polish basketball season. The finals ( best of 7 series) start next week and our games are set for the 14th, 15th, 18th, 19th, 22nd (if necessary), 24th, (if necessary) and 26th (if necessary). As always you can check out the games and the schedule at http://www.lotospkobp.pl/. Thanks so much for ALL of your support!!!

Things have been going well over here. I've had a bunch of visitors during my time over here and can not complain about the city. Things have been absolutely beautiful, and my teammates, coaches and the Lotos organization are awesome!! Everyone speaks English for the most part so that helps too. When we aren't playing or practicing, I hang out with my American teammates Alana Beard and Monique Curry. We enjoy eating at different restaurants.  They've helped me expand my horizons so I've been trying new foods. I met an American-Polish family when I first got here so I do some things with them and LOVE it!! It's just great having someone that understands me and can communicate it for us too. Thank God!!! Other than that, I read a lot, am on the computer a lot, and am ALL about connecting with my friends and family via webcam.

Another thing I'm having a blast with is connecting with friends, family and fans on Facebook. Super fun!! Become one of my Facebook friends so you can keep up with my updates and pictures. Just make sure that you're on my Official Tamika Catchings page.

Lastly, I did keep an eye on the WNBA Draft and want to give a shout out to my new teammates- Briann January, Christina Wirth and Danielle Campbell... I'm looking forward to playing with you guys this summer!!!

1) Where exactly are you? What part of Poland?
I am in Gdansk, Poland. It’s part of Poland’s tri-city which includes Gdynia, Sopot and Gdansk. You actually fly into Gdynia and in about 40 minutes you've made it through all 3 cities.

You can catch that at http://www.lotospkobp.tv/. You can click on the news tab and then click on the picture of me and it takes you to a little video. Very interesting.

2) What was your first impression of Poland?
I have enjoyed Poland from the moment I arrived. Getting off of the plane completely caught me off guard because I found myself in the midst of a media blitz.  There were cameras and reporters everywhere.  I felt like a "true" superstar stepping off the plane into the paparazzi frenzy. I have never experienced anything remotely close to this before, but it was a blast.

Another interesting thing about my arrival was that we didn't have to go through customs or security.  Being that things are so different in the US following 9/11, it was neat to be back in an environment where friends and family could greet you at the gate. 

3) What's it been like over there?
I have really enjoyed my time over here thus far. I haven't had a chance to get out and do much exploring between basketball practices and traveling, but we did find the Galleria mall, and we've eaten at a few of their local eateries. I haven't tried any Polish food yet. But, I promise I will!!!

4) Have you done anything fun while over there? What do you do in your free time?
So far we've enjoyed hitting the local grocery stores, finding a movie theater and going down to the Port to look at the Sea. I am looking forward to doing lots of sight seeing as my family and friends visit. 

5) Is it lonely over there? Do you have family and/or friends along with you?
I haven't been lonely over here. My best friend from High School and my godson are over here with me now. I have a few friends and family members that will be coming to visit too. It also helps that my Polish teammates are lots of fun and Alana Beard and Monique Curry are my teammates too. We hang out quite a bit.

6) What are your teammates and coaches like?
I love my team. We have an assortment of players from other European countries and the best thing about my team is that everyone speaks a little bit of English. That helps to be able to understand what's going on. I think I'm picking up on the language a little bit too. I can't necessarily speak it, but I feel like I can understand certain things.  I've also enjoyed playing for our coach. I think we're both still trying to figure each other out, but for the most part we are getting along very well and I'm learning a lot!!

7) What are the biggest differences between playing overseas vs. playing in the WNBA?
I think the obvious biggest difference is not being in the states in front of family and friends. Within the game, I would have to say that this league is a bit more physical than in the states. I hope to get a lot tougher over the next few months! Smile!

8) What other WNBA players have you played against since you've been there?
After tonight, we will have only played 3 games all against the same team. So the only players that I've played against are Katie Smith (Detroit Shock) and my teammate from the Fever, Tammy Sutton-Brown. But, at the first game in Istanbul, Turkey the WNBA was represented well with all of the players that came out to support the "Americans."

9) What are you missing the most being away from home?
I miss not being able to see my family when I'm away from home. Sometimes that's the hardest part about being overseas!!

10) What are you looking forward to this WNBA season? What does it mean to be entering into the Fever’s 10th season?
I'm definitely looking forward to getting all of us back together in training camp and being able to grow as a team from the beginning. We had a lot of unfinished business last year, and I'm hoping that this summer we can put the past in the past and advance from where we were as a team at the end of the season last year FAST.

It is awesome that we are embarking on our 10 year anniversary this summer. It's amazing to think of how far we've come as a team, and I'm looking forward to having our best season yet. I believe that we have all of the right pieces, now it's just a matter of working hard to bring a WNBA Championship home to Indiana!!!

Thanks to all of you who have consistently stayed by my side and supported me on and off the court!! This new website is for you!! I will write more soon, but until then... ENJOY!!! Best wishes and God Bless!!

Despite losing the Eastern Conference Finals and tearing my Achilles, the 07 Indiana Fever season was hugely successful.  I will never forget the way that Indy fans embraced us during the playoffs and especially during that final home win vs. Detroit. I’m especially looking forward to this upcoming season.  Rehab is going very well. Though I’m not allowed to do court drills yet, the doctors are impressed with my progress!!!

Thanks to everyone who made both of these new events GREAT!!!

As we embark on this wonderful New Year, my goals are:

1. To continue to build on my relationship with God. I need to make more of an effort to get to church no matter what city i'm in.

2. To spread the word about the Catch the Stars Foundation and all we do!

3. Get back on the court and not just have a good year, but a great one!

I have a few more personal goals, but these are the ones at the top. If you haven't taken time to sit down and write out your goals, I'm encouraging you to do the same. I’ve always been a firm believer in setting goals and dreaming big.

Well, as I sign off, I hope that you guys are enjoying the new website partnership with Apparatus. We continue to look for new ways to make this one of the freshest sites out there. If you have any suggestions or ways to make this site even better, please e-mail us at catchthestars24@aol.com.

We read and listen to every e-mail we get. Thanks for all of your support, and I look forward to taking this journey into '08 with each of you!

I would like to thank each and every one of you for your thoughts and prayers as I'm recovering from my Achilles injury. The surgery went very well and I am in great spirits. Everything happens for a reason and this setback will allow time for me to refocus and strengthen my relationship with God.

I truly appreciate all of the cards, emails and gifts I've received!! You guys truly are the best!!

Love,

Hello to all!! I must say that is super exciting to have my first journal of the 2007 Fever season be on our BRAND NEW WEBSITE!! We are so excited about everything that we have going on in 2007, and all of the new pictures and information that we have added to allow you to better follow and keep up with me and my whereabouts.

Thanks to all of you who have consistently stayed by my side and supported me on and off the court!! This new website is for you!! I will write more soon, but until then... ENJOY!!! Best wishes and God Bless!!

I can’t believe that New Year’s has come and gone and that February is right around the corner. Time has flown by and in the past month, I haven’t had a chance to do much of anything aside from playing basketball and planning our Catch the Stars Foundation goals for 2007.

I know it’s been a few months since I posted my last journal, so I’ll recap what I’ve been up to.

First off, I teamed up with the Pacers again for their annual “Come to Our House” Thanksgiving Dinner. This year’s dinner was sponsored by Stephen Jackson and Marquis Daniels, and hosted 600 homeless people from local shelters and missions to enjoy a delicious meal at Conseco Fieldhouse. Catch the Stars Foundation donated $1,000 to purchase hats and gloves for all that attended, plus I was there as a server. It’s always a great time.

Our Fall STARS program was a huge success. We had a great group of around 20 girls. The sessions were very productive as we had a group called the Peers Project speak to the girls about abstinence and a corporate banker from National City come in and talk to the girls about career planning and resumes.