Basketball Coach Back on Sidelines Five Hours After Giving Birth

March 15, 2007 — -- There are 80 million working mothers in this country, and it's safe to say very few of them go back to work just hours after giving birth.

But that's exactly what University of Nebraska-Kearney basketball coach Carol Russell did Monday night.

Her team was playing in the NCAA II regional championships, and just five hours after giving birth to her son isaac, she turned up at the game to lend moral support and cheer on the team from the sidelines.

Her appearance got a lot of people talking, including ESPN's sports radio talk show hosts, who debated the merits of a mom going back to work just hours after giving birth.

Is Russell, 35, an inspiration for other moms or setting a bad precedent for mothers who want to take time off after giving birth?

Russell said today on "Good Morning America" that she didn't plan to go to the game so soon after giving birth; the nurses at the hospital first suggested it.

"Actually it was the nurses that said, 'If you feel up to it, and the doctors would agree to let you go, you could go,'" Russell said.

"We weren't considering going," she continued. "We were going to watch it on the computer in the hospital room. When they mentioned that we started thinking about it. I said, 'Yeah, I'm feeling pretty good. I think this is doable.'"

Little isaac, who was born three days early, is healthy and doing well. He made his television debut today on "GMA," 66 hours after he was born.

Russell's husband, Todd Sorenson, said he left the decision to go to the game up to her.

"Once the doctors said she was OK...there was no doubt in my mind," Sorenson said. "I pretty much left it up to her. Knowing how she is, I knew we were going to be there. I was pretty impressed with her."

The couple didn't tell anyone they were coming, just in case they didn't make it.

When she walked into the auditorium, everyone was shocked, Russell said.

"My assistant coach did a double take," Russell said. "I told him to keep coaching. He actually coached the game, and I just sat there and supported and gave moral encouragement."

The team didn't win the game, but the players were happy to see their coach.

Liz Fischer, the team captain who scored 18 points in the game, said her "jaw hit the floor" when Russell walked in. But Fischer added that's the kind of coach Russell is.

"I just know how competitive she is, and it didn't surprise me at all that she showed up that night," Fischer said.

Russell is relaxing after a "surreal" week that included her team upsetting a couple of other women's basketball teams to advance to the championships and giving birth to isaac.

"It didn't seem real at all," she said. "So it's still sinking in."