Saturday, December 25, 1999
She’s Got Game
Balancing motherhood, marriage,
By Al Chase
school and sports keeps Kylie
Galloway on her toes
Star-BulletinBABY, basketball and books.
Those are the demanding and time consuming priorities in Kylie Galloway's life these days. She admits family suffers a bit sometimes and perhaps books should be ahead of basketball.
Each one involves a challenge, but meeting challenges head on is nothing new for the 6-foot junior forward on the University of Hawaii women's basketball team.
Her life has revolved around setting high standards and usually experiencing success in reaching or surpassing those standards.
Taking last season off to have a baby, rehabilitate an injured right ankle and remain solid academically was just another set of challenges to meet.Galloway left Australia in 1995 to pursue an academic and basketball career in the United States.
The first stop was at San Jose State. That didn't work out, so she transferred to Hawaii, redshirted a year, then became a first team all-Western Athletic Conference player for the Wahine in the 1997-98 season.
But, the basketball wasn't bouncing her way on Nov. 10, 1998 when she dislocated her right ankle in practice. The injury forced her out for the season. That meant her mother, Helen, who she hadn't seen in four years but who planned a Christmas visit, had to cancel the trip.
And the day before her injury she found out, much to her surprise, that she was pregnant."I went for a doctor's check up because I was feeling tired and couldn't eat. They asked me if there was any possibility I could be pregnant and I said 'No way,' " Galloway said.
"Then Dr. Nichols (the UH team physician) came in and said I was pregnant. I kind of punched him like Elaine on 'Seinfeld' and said 'get out of here' and started laughing because I thought he was joking with me. But he got all serious and said I was pregnant.
"All these things started rushing through my mind. What am I going to do? What about playing? That's what I thought about first, what about basketball?"
At the time, Galloway didn't know being pregnant meant she automatically qualified for a medical hardship year under NCAA rules. She didn't know how UH head coach Vince Goo would react. She found out a week later that the doctor would have let her play up to five months, but the dislocated ankle eliminated that decision.
She waited until after the Wahine had defeated Kansas in the season-opening tournament before telling Goo."He was great, told me to think through it. I was very surprised at how he handled it. I didn't know how he would react and I think I might have been a little more scared if I hadn't hurt my ankle," Galloway said.
Still, her world was rapidly changing. She turned the ankle injury into a positive, viewing it as a sign not to play but to have the baby. Galloway and her then boyfriend, Erin Galloway, knew they would get married when she finished school.
"My life just did like a 180. I don't think I was in any way prepared for what was ahead of me," Galloway said. "I just thought, I''ll give birth and everything will be back to normal and I'll just go back to practice. I really, really didn't consider just how much time a baby takes. I didn't know what to expect.
"Everyone tried to tell me. Erin tried to tell me. My mom tried to tell me but I was like, I can handle that. Whatever it is, I can handle it. When I have my mind set on something, that's what I'm going to do, there's no giving up."
There was a lot of support, from Goo, from UH Wahine trainer Tara Humphreys, from teammates -- especially then roommate Hedy Liu and her parents.
"The Lius are great. Hedy's dad (Peter) is pretty much my dad because my dad hasn't been a factor in my life (Galloway's parents separated when she was 12)," she said.
Kylie and Erin were married last May and son Kyrin was born July 10.
Getting back into shape, preparing for a fall semester of classes that included immunology, French, genetics, independent study and a parenting course all had to be balanced with motherhood.
Erin, who spent every night at Queen's Hospital while Kylie was there, provided her and Kyrin with a super surprise about a week after delivery. He told his wife he had to go to the airport to pick up a computer late one night.
"He actually did pick up a computer, but he also had paid for my mom to come here and never said anything to me," Galloway said.
"I was already asleep when she came into the room. I didn't recognize her silhouette and thought someone was trying to steal my baby. Then she spoke and I knew who it was right away. I think when you become a mother you become very protective.
"There was a lot of joy that came once the baby was born. Erin never wanted children so he had to adjust. We didn't know what to expect and then when Kyrin came, we knew we wouldn't change anything. I knew that's what would happen, but I wanted Erin to be excited before that (the birth), but he wasn't. Now, he's so good, so affectionate with Kyrin, but he's always been good with kids."
Recognized as a prestigious student-athlete when she graduated from MacRobertson Girls High School in Melbourne, Australia, Galloway has maintained a 3.18 grade point average while majoring in biology.
During the spring semester her courses will include trigonometry, analytical geometry, French and animal physiology. The medical hardship year has allowed her to spread out her classes until she graduates in May 2001.
Her days start at 5:30 a.m. and Kyrin commands all her attention until it's time to go to class. Fortunately, her mother will be here until the semester is over. Erin left Wednesday to rejoin the Harlem Globetrotters and won't return to Hawaii until April.
Galloway makes excellent use of the required study halls.
"I try to do all my studying then. It's hard at home. During the day when Kyrin sleeps, I try to sleep, too," she said. "If I can get an hour studying each day and really concentrate, I can usually get everything done.
"Then there's practice and everything else is put out of your mind. But when Vince says 'see you tomorrow,' I rush home and hopefully Kyrin is still awake. A lot of times he's not and I try to get some more study time in.
"It's all about time, because it's my family that pretty much suffers the most. At times you wonder if it's all worth it because my family should be No. 1. Before, basketball was my life and I'm not going to change that. It's all about balancing and sacrificing on other things, like a social life. You can't just go out.
"It's hard to fit them in when I'm tired. But when I come home from basketball, I try to include Erin and my mom. Erin is having a hard time adjusting because he used to be like the center of my life and now he's kind of off to the side. You know how men are."
Once determined to pursue a professional basketball career, Galloway doesn't harbor strong desires for that now. Ultimately, she will be where Erin is playing.
All those questions that whirled through her head a year ago have been answered. She is comfortable with her situation, but says she still isn't completely satisfied with the way she is playing this season.
"After basketball, I plan on being family orientated. I don't think my body can take any more either," she said.
"Kylie has never asked for anything special. There were a couple of times, when we had evening study hall, that she had to go home to be with the baby, but she made the time up," Goo said. "We try to treat everyone as individuals, but at times it has to be team. She has a huge responsibility and she has handled it well."
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