New team, new life
Holmes thrives with Sun
UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Bria Holmes had no doubt she’d be back. It was the plan all along.
A guard for the Connecticut Sun, Holmes missed the entire 2018 season due to pregnancy. She welcomed her daughter Diona into the world last July 29 before beginning her comeback to the court for this season, one that she admits was challenging, but completely rewarding.
“It’s not easy at all,” Holmes said. “But when you love something so much, you do whatever it takes to come back, and I just love the sport of basketball.”
After spending her first two seasons in the WNBA with the Atlanta Dream, Holmes was traded to the Sun last April while she was nearly six months pregnant. The move helped Holmes, a New Haven native, as she cared for her newborn daughter with her boyfriend and family close by.
But her journey back to the court was anything but easy. Holmes said she continued to work out while pregnant until her eighth month, but she couldn’t do anything in the final month. After she gave birth to Diona, it took four weeks for her to slowly start working out again, and by about 10 weeks after, she was working out with full motion in the gym.
“It was definitely hard getting back in shape,” Holmes said. “I think that was the biggest challenge for me.”
Making that challenge even harder was trying to balance motherhood and training, which she knew would be difficult. Holmes actually went to France to play overseas for two and a half months during the offseason as she tried to get back into game shape. But doing everything she needed to do in order to be ready for her WNBA return included some lessons in time management with a newborn in her life.
“I had to manage my time better after I had her,” Holmes said. Sleepless nights sometimes, just being able to maintain both. …
“At first it was really tough. Me just getting up and being able to go to the gym whenever I want, I couldn’t do that with her. I had to set up schedules and stuff like that. Just time management things and just actually getting back in the groove of things honestly. It was really challenging, but I think I have it all figured out now.”
It helps that the Sun have welcomed Holmes and her daughter with open arms; Diona is a fixture as she attends practices and games regularly to watch her mom, and Sun coach Curt Miller said she “lights up the room.”
WNBA players needing time off as they pursue their plans for parenthood is nothing new, but to Miller, every example serves as a reminder of the strength of the women in the league.
“It’s pretty spectacular to watch these women come back after having a baby and their level never seems to drop, so it’s been pretty impressive and it’s empowering for our league,” Miller said. “I think it’s empowering for women to watch these women balance being a professional athlete and a mother, and being able to balance that time demand on things that are both so important.”
And though the road was challenging, Holmes wouldn’t have had it any other way.
“I knew it would be a tough journey to get back, but I’m young and I still have fresh legs and stuff, so I think it was better for me to have my child young than wait later until after my career,” said the 25-year-old Holmes. “It was tough coming back, but I’m back.”
Holmes, who Miller described is an “athletic wing player that we haven’t had in years” has played in all 14 games this season for the Sun. She admitted she’s still trying to figure out exactly where she fits in with her new team, but she’s figuring it out game by game.
And with Diona in the world, it all has a bigger purpose.
“It changed me for the better,” Holmes said. “I feel like I’m such a happier person now. I was happy before, but I’m so much more happier. She brings so much joy to me and it makes me want to play basketball even more because there’s actually somebody here that I’m a parent to, to actually watch me play basketball. She brings me so much joy.”