Marysville-Pilchuck coach balances birth and basketball
Published 3:29 pm Wednesday, February 9, 2011
UPDATED 8:13 A.M. ON FEB. 10
In spite of its injuries woes, the fourth-seeded Marysville-Pilchuck Tomahawks knocked off top-seeded and state-ranked Edmonds-Woodway last night in Edmonds in the first round of the Class 4A District 1 girls basketball tournament. Here is the story, written by my co-worker Mark Nelson.
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ORIGINAL POST ON FEB. 9
Before this season, Julie Martin had never missed a game during her career as head coach of the Marysville-Pilchuck High School girls basketball team.
Martin’s streak ended in December, but she had a pretty good excuse.
Martin, a former star basketball player at Marysville-Pilchuck and Western Washington University, gave birth to a boy on Dec. 4. She and her husband named the baby Kade. They have two other children, both boys; Ethan is 7 and Leyton is 4.
Ever the competitor, Martin quickly shrugged off her post-pregnancy discomfort and returned to coach M-P’s practice on Dec. 6. She was unable to coach the Tomahawks when they beat Mount Vernon in a non-league game on Dec. 4, the day Kade was born. The delivery occurred at 3:13 a.m. and doctors required Martin to stay overnight, regardless of what Martin had been considering.
“They wouldn’t let me go,” Martin said on Monday, laughing, “because they knew I’d go coach.”
Martin said she realizes outsiders might question her decision to coach again so soon after Kade’s birth. Martin admitted she briefly wondered, “What am I thinking?” when she was at practice two days after she delivered. But Martin said she was determined to balance her commitment to her biological family and her basketball family. M-P players are completely supportive and love Kade, Martin said. She often brings him to practice, and at games her husband or her parents watch the infant while Martin coaches.
“He’s such a blessing,” Martin said of Kade, who takes antibiotics daily because of a kidney disorder. “I can’t imagine life without him.”
Although it has been hit hard by injuries, M-P qualified for the Class 4A District 1 girls basketball tournament, which begins tonight. In one of four first-round games, Wesco North No. 4 seed M-P (13-7) plays at Wesco South champion Edmonds-Woodway (18-3) in Edmonds. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
A month ago, M-P forced overtime in a league crossover contest against E-W but the state-ranked Warriors eventually prevailed 65-60 on their home court.
As if knocking off high-powered E-W wasn’t already enough of a challenge, M-P will definitely be without one starter and most likely a second starter tonight. Senior point guard Andi Adams is out for the season with a knee injury and junior guard Becca Lentz will probably be unavailable because of a knee strain she suffered playing select soccer. Lentz had a double-double (12 points, 12 rebounds) and Adams scored 10 points last month versus the Warriors.
After returning the bulk of its team that qualified for the state tournament last season, M-P appears to have a tough road ahead but Martin and the Tomahawks are hopeful.
Said Martin, “We’re still hanging on.”
