Ally Obermeier has always had a love for books.
She also adores the sport of basketball, and her biggest joy comes from being a mother of four children.
In the fall of 2023, Obermeier decided to combine those three passions. She began writing a children’s book that uses basketball as a learning tool about succeeding in life.
“It kind of became a dream of mine as I’ve become a mom,” said Obermeier. “I love books and all that they can do for kids from an education standpoint and dreaming standpoint. They’re beautiful.”
And what better subject to focus the book around than the most famous player in women’s basketball history — former University of Iowa great and current Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark.
“The platform and her level of popularity is crazy,” Obermeier said. “It’s hard to grasp sometimes.”
More:Caitlin Clark builds on 1999 U.S. soccer team’s moment in lifting women’s sports
Obermeier said the process of getting the book published went quickly, with one door opening after another.
Last week the book became a reality.
Obermeier’s self-published book, titled “Just Like Caitlin”, was launched on June 11. It is 40 pages and fully illustrated.
Makenzie McCarthy was the book’s illustrator, and Tim Palin was the art director. “Just Like Caitlin” is available at www.justlikecaitlin.com.
“The goal of the book is to help kids,” Obermeier said. “To tell Caitlin’s story and to help kids. Obviously parents, grandparents and whomever is reading it will hear the story, but specifically we wanted to reach out to kids.”
Obermeier said all of the book’s profits will go to the Iowa Youth Athletic Foundation.
“We’d love to raise money to help more kids play (basketball), but also from the author side of it, I’d love kids to learn life lessons and have great conversations about life’s story,” Obermeier said. “Everything is family that we do with (All Iowa) Attack (club team) and the Iowa Youth Foundation. I’m just excited to continue to push that message that family is important, and that we love kids and want to help kids.”
Obermeier has special ties to Clark.
Her father, Dickson Jensen, runs All Iowa Attack, one of the top youth basketball programs in the country. Attack is based out of Ames, and both Obermeier and Clark are alums.
Obermeier became an all-state guard at Ballard, where she helped the Bombers win their first state title in 2009. That earned her a chance to play Division I basketball at Creighton University in Omaha, Neb., where she played for four years before graduating in 2013.
More:Meet Dickson Jensen, the youth coach behind Iowa girls basketball stars like Caitlin Clark
As a coach for Attack, Obermeier coached Clark when she was in seventh grade. Clark later helped Attack win the Nike GEYBL national championship in 2018, and place second in 2017 and 2019.
“The Clarks are an incredible family who we have had the privilege of developing a close relationship with throughout Caitlin’s time with All Iowa Attack, and we have continued that close relationship to this day,” said Jensen. “We shared Ally’s book with the Clark family, and they supported and approved it.”
Clark was a high school star at Dowling Catholic before leading Iowa to back-to-back national championship games in 2023 and 2024. She is the all-time leading scorer in Division I basketball history with 3,921 points.
Clark was selected No. 1 overall in the 2024 WNBA draft in April.
Clark’s unique talents and remarkable accomplishments have resulted in record television audiences and live attendance crowds for women’s basketball. With her huge global following, Clark has become an inspiration for children, especially young girls.
“Caitlin is wonderful with kids,” Obermeier said. “She does a great job giving back to kids and the kids are attracted to that and her style of play. She loves kids and they love her.”
Clark’s story is not all about glory on the hardwood. She has dealt with adversity on many occasions, and overcoming obstacles is one of the lessons Obermeier stresses in the book.
“She is under a lot of scrutiny,” Obermeier said. “She’s not perfect and she knows that. She makes mistakes and that is all human. I’m trying to teach those lessons to kids — that you can be great and still make mistakes.”
The importance of friends and family is also a central theme to the book.
“I did want to play into the fact that people have more value than just the wins and the losses,” Obermeier said. “People and the relationships and memories along the way matter just as much as the results.”
Obermeier’s own family is proud of what she has accomplished with the release of “Just Like Caitlin”.
“As a parent of young children, we get the privilege of being an integral part of encouraging and helping them make and fulfill their dreams, and there is a great sense of pride in that process,” Dickson Jensen said. “That sense of pride is only magnified when you get the chance to watch your adult child continue to pursue their passions and ambitions. We admire her greatly for her desire to encourage and positively influence children through literature.”
Joe Randleman covers high school sports for the Ames Tribune. Contact him atjrandleman@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at@JoeRandleman
