Friday’s Eye on the Ball radio show at KVOI (1030-AM) with co-hosts Steve Rivera of AllSportsTucson.com and Jay Gonzales focused on Mother’s Day, and as it turned out, it was a mother of a show.
Arizona coach Adia Barnes dropped the bombshell late in the show that she and her husband Salvo Coppa (one of her assistant coaches) are expecting their second child, a daughter, in September. Matteo, their son, turns 5 next month.
Arizona women’s golf coach Laura Ianello, who led the Wildcats to a national title in 2019, talked about being able to spend more time with her husband Jeff and their daughters Natalie and Joanna, including swinging the golf clubs, during this time of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s just like every mom deals with — we give the baths, we have to cook the meals, we have to wipe their butts,” Ianello said when asked how she balances being a mom and being a coach. “It’s a tough job but it’s the most satisfying job. It’s so much like coaching and helping to influence these young people. It’s the best.”
Former Catalina Foothills High School and Arizona standout Julie Brase-Hairgrove, a granddaughter of Lute Olson, discussed the life of a little league mom with her husband Mike and them divvying up the responsibilities of getting daughters Madison, Hailey and Grace to soccer and softball practice.
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“It is definitely crazy,” Brase-Hairgrove said with a laugh. “My husband and I joke around about it all the time — oh my gosh it would have been so much easier just to have two and have that man-to-man coverage. You take that one. You take that one.
“Now, we’re definitely in a zone defense. Who has this child here at this time? It’s a lot of logistics. We have good friends and parents on the teams, so they are definitely willing to help out so that makes a huge difference.”
The Eye on the Ball show is weekdays at 6 p.m. The show can be accessed online at KVOI.com.
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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon.
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