Thank God I'm a man!

Palm Coast Observer
Sports

There are a number of reasons I am thankful to God, but, after watching a video of men experience labor pains, I am most thankful, at the moment, that I can’t give birth.

In addition to walking around with a little one in your stomach as you coach, like the Lady Pirates’ basketball coach, Julie Huesser.

Huesser labored (pun intended) through all of last season during the critical stage of her pregnancy, the last few months. Nevertheless, she daily drove from Port Orange to Matanzas for practices and games, coaching her players.

“Coaching with a baby in my stomach was awesome,” she said. “Whenever I would yell down the court during a game, he would pound on my stomach, as if to say, ‘Quiet down!’ Sometimes, when my girls did dribbling drills, it was almost like he would start dancing to the beat of the basketballs. At the end of every home game, when I was the last one in the gym, he would start rolling around, as if to say ‘Hurry up with the stats, Mom. It's time for bed.’”

Now that little Luke has been out of her stomach for nearly a year, Huesser says the toughest part of coaching is being away from him, especially at a younger age.

“Coaching with a baby has been tough emotionally, but fine physically,” she said. “It's easy enough to teach and coach while sleep deprived, but the game days, when he's sleeping when I leave for school, and sleeping when I get home, are tough. Since we live in Port Orange, my husband, Josh, is able to bring Luke to away games in east Volusia County, and it's really special to see them both in the stands. It reminds me that everything I do, I do for them.”

In my shameless confession, I have no problems praising her as the tougher of the two of us. If the baby were in my stomach, I would’ve quit at the mere announcement of pregnancy, found my bed and stayed there for nine months, depended on someone to care for my every need, as I cried and ate butter pecan ice cream. I’m OK with everyone knowing I’m not tough; I can always hide behind my husky frame and manliness, I guess.