10 days after having a baby, she’ll coach for another state championship

“I preach to my girls about perseverance and battling adversity and handling things when they get tough and not quitting,” Bailey said. “And I feel like I cannot preach to kids about doing something if I don’t practice what I preach. And that’s in, like, everything I do. So I really want them to also see that you can do both, like you can be a mom and you can still have your career, and you don’t have to let that stop you.”

She also wants to be present, given the way last season ended, a Sweet 16 exit that fell short of the team’s goal. The year prior, Kell defeated Warner Robins to win the 5A state championship.

“I feel like it’s super important for me to finish the job with them,” Bailey said. “Those were really my first babies, and I don’t ever want to do them a disservice, and they would completely understand. But they know who I am as a person, like, I’m going to do whatever it is I have to do. And I want them to see that.”

Despite having to undergo an emergency C-section, Bailey says she’s recovering well. She is moving a little slower than normal and still has to be cautious but started to feel like she was healing well soon after the procedure. She gave credit to the staff at Piedmont Atlanta: “I just felt very much like heard and seen, and anything I asked for, they were immediately there.”

It also helps, she thinks, that baby Kaycen is a good sleeper so far, getting longer stretches of sleep at night, which allows her to rest, too. The first week and a half of motherhood has been surreal but so good.

“That’s all I do, I stare at him all the time,” Bailey said. “I’m like, oh my gosh, just crazy, because for nine months, you’re going through so much emotionally and physically, and then at the end, you’re ready to meet your child.”

Kaycen sleeping well has also helped her prepare for the championship, watching film while the baby is down.

From the hospital, she FaceTimed with her team after the quarterfinals win over Dalton, and she went to the final four win against Jones County but didn’t coach (assistant coach Cheyenne Daphney has filled in the past two games).

Bailey and her team knew she’d likely miss time during the playoffs, so they had planned and prepared accordingly.

“The girls, everybody, like, I’ve been giving everybody little quizzes, little tasks, just to make sure everything is still good, because I’m very much a type-A person, and need things to run a certain way. … Shout out to my staff and my kids, because they really did a really good job of handling everything that was thrown at them, and holding it down while I was gone,” Bailey said.

Bailey also appreciates all the people who are in her corner, from family to fellow teachers at Kell who have given gifts for the baby or checked in on her: “It’s also super important to have a really good village, like my mom, his dad, everybody’s very supportive and willing to help.”

In order for Bailey to coach, Kell had to get a waiver from the Georgia High School Association and permission from Cobb County, according to Kell athletic director Oneisha Young.

After the title game, Bailey will return to maternity leave.

Young is not surprised that Bailey, who is also a health and P.E. teacher, is choosing to coach in the championship, with how dedicated she is.

“That’s just the person that she is,” Young said. “She is 100% down for her students, whether they’re her students or her student-athletes.”