Friday, March 16Turner Thorne taking birth, berth in stride
Associated Press
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Two days after giving birth to her second child, Charli Turner Thorne returned to her coaching duties with the Arizona State women's basketball team. Turner Thorne occasionally relaxed in a courtside chair while overseeing a 2½-hour practice Tuesday, but seemed otherwise unfazed by the ordeal of labor. She was her usual cheerful and energetic self, although she admitted to being exhausted. But she said she wasn't going to relax -- not with the No. 25 Sun Devils, seeded 11th, facing sixth-seeded Louisiana State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday. She plans to take her newborn son, Liam, with her to West Lafayette, Ind. Turner Thorne said there is one positive side to her exhaustion; as the fifth-year coach prepares the Sun Devils (20-10) for their first postseason game since 1992, she hasn't had much chance to get caught up in it. "That's the great thing about being exhausted -- you don't get too nervous," Turner Thorne said. She found out that Arizona State got the NCAA bid Sunday afternoon heading while going through labor and delivered the 8-pound, 5-ounce infant about an hour later. Her decision to induce labor Sunday morning and to return to coaching so quickly has garnered some attention and even sparked some debate nationwide. USA Today ran a story on her March 7, she was a guest on "Good Morning America" last week and it was a topic on the "Politically Incorrect" comedy show Monday night. Turner Thorne just laughs at the criticism, saying people don't understand her profession. "Coaching is a lifestyle," she said. "These players are my family, they are my kids. I have an obligation to them. Not quite as intense, obviously, as my immediate family, but still an obligation." She called the debate healthy and said more people should be talking about working mothers. Forward Melody Johnson called Turner Thorne's return "inspirational." "She just will do anything for us," Johnson said. "She proves that over and over again. I can't even imagine, and I'm sure a lot of women and people in general can't even imagine having a baby one day, and then being in practice two days later. It's just the ultimate commitment."
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Turner Thorne: The berth and the birth ASU gets berth, coach gives birth | ||
