JoKaFan sanoi:
Vai, että Perkinsin tyttöystävä pelaa WNBA:ssä mestaruudesta taistelevassa Sacramenton joukkueessa.
Mitä ilmeisemmin DeMya Walker, ei mikään ihan rivipelaaja:
http://www.wnba.com/playerfile/demya_walker/index.html?nav=page
Mother knows best
After giving birth to a girl in April, forward DeMya Walker stunned many with her quick return to productivity for the Monarchs, proving ...
By Melody Gutierrez -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:01 am PDT Sunday, August 13, 2006
Her teammates have called her "Diva" since she arrived in Sacramento four years ago sporting heels and a halter top, hair and nails done, lip gloss firmly applied. DeMya Walker, 28, has always been able to jump between in-depth analysis of the Monarchs' defense to a play-by-play of her trip to the mall.
These days, her teammates call her "Mommy," and Walker admits much has changed since giving birth to daughter Zachara on April 11. She says she no longer sleeps in or cares for late nights on the town. She has learned patience and time management.
But don't think Walker has retired her heels. There's just less time for the "I" in Diva.
"My daughter comes first," Walker said of the 4-month-old, 16-pound, 10-ounce girl she adorns with designer threads.
Walker not only returned to the team two months after undergoing a Caesarean section, she continues to make progress at regaining her stamina and athleticism. She is averaging 9.4 points a game this season and has led Sacramento (21-12) in scoring three times.
"I've got a lot of faith in myself," said Walker, who is playing her seventh season in the WNBA and helped the Monarchs to the championship last season. "I didn't let anyone in my circle tell me I couldn't do it."
Zachara has become the focus of Walker's life. For the first time, Walker says she has found something she loves more than basketball.
"I was concerned for her sake when we first found out she was pregnant," boyfriend Ben Perkins said. "I know how dedicated she is to basketball, but she handled it better than I thought she would."
Walker was playing for Samara in the Russian League and on a visit home learned she was four months pregnant. Her $300,000 contract with Samara allowed her monthly visits to the United States to see family.
"My immediate reaction was like, Yeah, right," Walker said during an interview at Arco Arena in January. "I mean, wouldn't I know before this?"
Walker said after the initial shock wore off, she was ecstatic -- and considered her pregnancy another gift from winning the WNBA championship in September. She had always wanted to have a baby before she was 30, so she figured the timing wasn't too bad.
Her toughest task, she said, was informing Monarchs coach John Whisenant that she'd be a little late returning to the team.
"I kept thinking, We've got to win a championship again, and I'm an integral part of it," she said. "Then I started counting the days and said, I can do this."
With a little help from family, friends and Perkins. Perkins, who has a 3-year-old son, Chanse, from a previous relationship, has been Walker's rock.
"From the top to the bottom, my boyfriend is the best boyfriend ever," Walker said.
They both expect Zachara to be tall, given that Walker is 6-foot-3 and Perkins 6-8. Zachara is already 24 inches long. A future WNBA player, perhaps?
"I don't know if she will have a choice," Perkins joked. "She will be around basketball so much, she may not know anything else."
During a 17-day stretch when Walker was getting into playing shape and receiving more and more minutes on the court, Perkins took care of Zachara in Houston. Walker said she received video clips of her daughter three times a day on her cell phone to keep her connected.
Such is the life of a professional athlete who is also a parent. Beyond the support of family and friends, Walker credits teammates and Monarchs staff for making it possible to be an athlete and a mom. Monarchs staff can be seen scurrying around Arco Arena with Zachara in a car seat during games. Walker's mother took 2 1/2 months off work to help her daughter adjust to parenthood in Sacramento.
Walker returned to the Monarchs on June 14. She says she was about 20 pounds over her playing weight from last season. She returned to the court on June 23, the 12th game of the regular season, and went 2 for 2 for four points in a little over five minutes. When she continued to lose the extra weight and produce on the court, Whisenant began playing her in longer spurts.
"It was more quickly than you would expect, but she's not the same as when she was named an All-Star," Whisenant said.
In her fourth year in Sacramento, Walker resumed her place as a starter on July 30, a timetable of improvement that shocked Whisenant, but not Perkins.
"I had to hold her back," Perkins said. "Two weeks after (she had Zachara), she was working so hard. She is a very focused person. She actually thought she would start earlier."
Now weighing 182 pounds, Walker is 14 pounds heavier than she was listed at last season.
After leading Sacramento in scoring last season at 14.1 points per game, Walker has averaged 9.4 points and 3.9 rebounds in 22 games this season.
She doesn't plan to get down to her previous weight, saying she likes the way her backside looks with a little extra cushion. Those are the kind of comments Walker is known to make.
So when Walker said she'd be back early in the season, many thought that was just her optimistic personality talking. Returning for 23 of 34 regular-season games didn't seem possible.
While two dozen WNBA players are moms -- including Monarchs teammates Yolanda Griffith, who has a 17-year-old daughter, and rookie Scholanda Dorrell, who has a 3-year-old daughter -- Dorrell said she is amazed at how quickly Walker came back.
Dorrell noted that neither she nor Griffith was a WNBA player when they became pregnant. Dorrell was a sophomore at LSU when she had Aishida.
"I think that would be really tough," Dorrell said. "It's a higher level of competition."
Walker admits the transition has been more difficult than she anticipated but says she couldn't be happier with where she is -- a new mom headed back to the WNBA playoffs.
Lähde: www.sacbee.com
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