Goal setter: Atlanta Dream's Lindsey Harding Speaks to Stephenson Middle Students

Before students from a class could ask a question of Lindsey Harding, point guard for the Atlanta Dream visiting their school Thursday, she wanted to know something from them first.

"Where do you see yourself in ten years?" she asked.

She was impressed with the answers: Behavior analyst for the FBI. Oncologist.

Instead of heading overseas to play basketball during the Dream's off season, Harding -- who is in her fifth season in the WNBA -- is taking a break, which includes speaking to young people about the challenges she's faced, setting goals and how to reach them.

Lindsey was traded to the Atlanta Dream last spring after being with Washington Mystics.

"She's out and about, really getting to know Atlanta," said Atlanta Dream account executive Jessica Madison.

Harding shared with the students that, like some of them, she was once interested in becoming a doctor, too -- and being in a movie. Those were two big goals. But when she took up basketball at age 13, she kept it up.

"I used basketball as an outlet, as a safe place," she said.

Harding also recalled how at age 14, she received a letter from the University of Texas, praising her abilities and encouraging her to consider the school someday.

Wow, the young Harding thought. Maybe I could play college basketball. "I made it a goal to get a scholarship," said Harding, who chose Duke University.

"I wanted to get the best education possible," she said.

She acknowledged to the students that when she first started, "I was terrible." She was fast and could steal the ball, but when she went for a lay-up, the ball would take a serious bounce. "They had to tell me, 'slow down,' " she said.

Later on in life, tearing her ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) during her first season playing for the Minnesota Lynx was another obstacle she had to overcome.

The students had questions on everything from the diet of a professional basketball player ("When you play, you don't eat pizza," Harding said) to how could she pick Duke over University of North Carolina  -- from a UNC fan.