“That was a Polaroid moment that I’m going to cherish,” Screen said of the picture.
Edith’s arrival was 12 years in the making – Screen has used her social media presence to talk about her battles with endometriosis and struggle to get pregnant.
“It took us 12 years to get her, so it’s been a long journey and I’m grateful that she’s here,” Screen said.
“My body will never be the same, but I have a greater appreciation for the female form and Neil as he had to go through all this while supporting me.”
Her players have kept their focus on the plays rather than the baby during timeouts although Screen admits she has had to remind herself to shield Edith’s ears when she needs to yell out an instruction.
Helping coaches such as Screen stay on court is important for basketball as many governing bodies are struggling to retain or regain their female coaches after they have babies.
“I think it’s a great opportunity for these girls to see someone like me not only coach but be able to multitask and, somehow, be a mum at the same time,” Screen said. “Why do you have to choose?”
Screen, who also works as a Basketball Victoria high performance head coach, said her early playing years in the WNBL with Adelaide Lightning showed her it was possible for mums to remain in the sport with teammates such as Jae Kingi, Rachael Sborn and Michelle Brogan.
“We always had kids around, [coach] Jan Stirling always seemed to have a child under her arm or they were running around the court, but they were never a distraction,” Screen said.
“If anything, they made the team gel more and we still worked hard – they were never used as an excuse and I think it’s good for Edi that she gets to see this – she will probably end up hating the game, but I now know she will sleep anywhere and I have about 100 babysitters who I can palm her off to.”
Screen also pushed her comfort boundaries in her television work as a sideline reporter at NBL and WNBL games when she covered an NBL game as a sideline reporter 20 days after giving birth to Edith.
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“At the time I said ‘yeah I’ll be fine’ but, in hindsight, probably not,” Screen said with a laugh.
“My boobs – I was miked up and I said I have to go into the toilets and express as my boobs were about to explode. I did that for about 15 minutes and then went back on court and did the pre-game coach interviews and the ball went up and we played the game.”
Roy Ward traveled to the NBA Basketball Without Borders Asia Camp in Canberra courtesy of the NBA.