Up until the last few days, Vermont Frost Heaves head coach Joe Salerno had double the stress - his wife, Darci, is due to deliver their first child any day now AND he had to worry about the possibility of that birth occuring during the Premier Basketball Playoffs.
Well, thanks to the league reinstating Puerto Rico and thereby eliminating Vermont, this week Salerno just has to worry about coaching his wife, who he met while both were students at Plattsburgh State College.
"It’s stressful but it’s a good stress," Salerno said after a recent game. "I am so excited and so looking forward to having our first-born. For me, it’s really not not knowing what’s going to happen, I know what’s going to happen. My family and my son are obviously my first priority. Mike Healey and the Frost Heaves obviously know that. It’s more excitement and a little bit of nerves than stress."
Should Vermont have been eligible for the playoffs and a baby-emergency presented itself, Salerno had planned to hand over the team to assistant coach Nick Foster, who also served as an assistant under Salerno at Montpelier High School.
"We’ve talked about it and he’s prepared for it," Salerno said. "I’m comfortable with it, the team is comfortable with it, and they’re on board and they understand Nick is perfectly capable. Hopefully I don’t have to miss a game."
Salerno was promoted to head coach after Jeff Strohm was fired in late January, but at that point a potential conflict didn't seem too likely.
"We’ve had that date circled on our calendar for a while, and before it didn’t seem like a problem, like we could (make the playoffs), but maybe not," Salerno said. "It’s definitely been in the back of our minds for a while, and we just have to see what happens. When’s the baby going to come, where are we going for the playoffs, there’s a lot up in the air right now."
"We obviously know it can happen at any point in time as you get closer to the due date, and we just said, ‘Alright, what are we going to do if…’ and went from there and said we can’t really get too worked up about any decision yet," Darci Salerno said. "It’s not here, so you can’t really get all worked up when you have no control over the situation."
They can prepare for one thing: the baby is a boy, but as of last week they were still undecided on a name.
Still, the stress wasn't just on the dad-to-be. Mom-to-be felt a little guilty, too.
"I think I have a sense of guilt because I know how much he wants to be coaching the team and be with the team especially making the playoffs, and especially working as hard as he and the team have," Darci Salerno said. "The chance that he may have to be here coaching me, there’s a little bit of guilt."
Well, as it turns out, Baby Boy Salerno can make his appearance when he pleases, but Darci is hoping that's sooner rather than later.
-Anna Grearson
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