# Sting's Feaster seeks balance as mom, player



## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

Playing for two proved too difficult for workhorse Allison Feaster last summer.

Despite being pregnant, Feaster played the first 21 games for the Charlotte Sting. She clearly wasn't herself. Avoided contact. Her shot was off. Other things on her mind.

The mommy instinct shut down the basketball.

Feaster, Charlotte's leading scorer in 2004 and 2003, gave birth to daughter Sarah Aleece Strong on Feb. 3 in Spain. Then she got back to the diligent work that makes her one of the WNBA's top small forwards.

"It's eye-opening," said Feaster, 30, a Chester, S.C., native. "Last night was a tough night. My mother was here on the weekend, and when grandmothers are around, they like to spoil their grandchildren and hold the baby all through the night. Hopefully that won't conflict too much with my plans for the summertime to get some rest."

Feaster is married to former N.C. State basketball player Danny Strong (also a Chester County native), who is playing overseas. He'll arrive next month. Feaster skipped her normal European season, and has worked individually with coach Muggsy Bogues.

Feaster's 9.1 scoring average last summer was her lowest in five years with the Sting. She said getting her abdominal muscles back in shape will be a chore. Day 2 of camp was Monday.

"It will be a challenge, all the way up to (the opener) May 20," Feaster said.

She has tapped into teammate Helen Darling for tips on mixing basketball and parenting. Darling had triplets in 2002, after three months of bed rest beforehand, and missed that season.

"Ali's doing very well," Darling said. "She's getting a lot of support at home, and she's determined. When she was pregnant, she was still doing pushups and sit-ups, and we'd say `Relax, you're pregnant.'

"Just getting up and down will be hard. She'll be fine. She looks slimmer than she did before she was pregnant."

The Sting, which hosted media day Monday, didn't mind talking about last year's struggles, but seemed eager to begin anew.

"We're trying to put last year behind us," Feaster said, referring to the 6-28 season. "We want to build on the energy that we ended with last season. With the new coaching staff, we're going to run with that energy and try to put together a winning season."

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