Doctor Knows Best, Roland Takes Leave

Basketball player Wendy Gussner will never forget the day she discovered that Laurie Roland, the Saugus High girls’ coach, was going to have a baby.

“We were so happy for her last summer when she told us she was pregnant,” Gussner said. “Then we counted up the months and said, ‘Wait a minute.’ ”

Gussner, a senior guard who averages 12 points, and her teammates realized Roland would have to give up her coaching duties in the middle of this season, which she did last week.

Roland, 40, has reluctantly taken maternity leave at the insistence of her doctor.

A physical education teacher, Roland wanted to at least continue coaching until she gave birth to her first child--which can be any day now. But because she suffers from a rare blood disorder that could threaten her health and the baby’s, Roland has turned over the team to Susie Sparks, the junior varsity coach and varsity assistant.

It was a departure that the players met with sadness and concern, and that Roland met with sadness and frustration.

“I feel like I’m quitting,” said Roland, in her fifth season.

Roland has primary benign pupura hyperglobulinemia, a condition she said could cause fatigue and thickening of the blood. The disease was diagnosed when she was 18, at a time when she said there were only 12 other documented cases.

“It could be fatal, but so is walking in front of a bus,” said Roland, who must keep her blood pressure down and stay out of the heat.

Gussner said she and teammates wept when Roland turned the reins over to Sparks during practice and told them she would see them only at games.

“I don’t like it,” said Gussner of Roland’s departure. “It’s been really emotional on all of us.”

Saugus is 5-9. But after a 2-7 start, the Centurions surged to 3-1 and a second-place tie in Foothill League play before losing to Hart, 47-27, last Saturday in a game that would have produced a first-place tie had Saugus won.

The Centurions trailed by only five points at halftime against Hart (14-7, 5-0) and played well enough to win, Sparks said. But with the usually vocal Roland sitting quietly at the end of the bench, Saugus players shot poorly and had trouble concentrating.

“They were kind of torn between me and Laurie,” Sparks said. “But they responded well.”

The Centurions, who were turning their season around after victories over Valencia, Burbank and Canyon by margins of 19, 14 and 18 points, are concerned about Roland’s health.

“I pray for her,” said Gussner, who watched Roland wince in pain on the bus ride home from a game at Burroughs two weeks ago. “I have faith that everything’s going to be OK for her.”

Said center Christine Sifferman: “She said her blood disease puts stress on the baby and she needs to relax. We understand this is something she needs and wants.”

The team threw a surprise baby shower after a recent game, presenting Roland with clothes and toys. It was a moving experience for Roland, who, after two miscarriages, said she feels blessed after being told she will give birth to a boy.

It should be easy to give up basketball for a while.

But not for Roland, even after agreeing that her employer won’t be responsible if she goes into labor during a Saugus game.

“They told me if I sat on the bench they wouldn’t kick me off,” Roland said. “But if I decide to have a baby on the court, I’m on my own. But I’ve got my husband and 12 girls’ parents keeping an eye on me.”