Gatlinburg-Pittman basketball's Katie Moore gives birth just hours after coaching a win

Aaron Torres
Knoxville News Sentinel

The only way Katie Moore wasn't going to coach in Gatlinburg-Pittman's 50-39 win over Pigeon Forge on Friday night was if she went into labor before or during the game. Moore was 40 weeks pregnant at the time. 

"I had intentions all along to coach until the end," Moore said. 

The game ended at 7:20 p.m. Thirteen hours later, at 8:31 a.m. Saturday, Moore gave birth to her second son, Ja'kee Ralos Moore, at Parkwest Medical Center. It was the her and her husband's, Rashid Moore, second son. 

It was also her second child who was born around basketball season. In 2017, she gave birth to her first son, RJ, a few weeks after coaching in the state tournament. 

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"My team is important to me, I didn't want to necessarily walk out on them," said Moore, who was released from the hospital Monday. "Even though it was a very important time, I felt quite capable of doing both." 

Haley Warner, one of Gatlinburg-Pittman's assistant coaches, will serve as interim coach while Moore is on maternity leave. Moore said she will try and return in two or three weeks. She teaches physical education at Caton's Chapel Elementary in the morning and advanced physical education at Gatlinburg-Pittman in the afternoon. 

As Moore went into the last trimester of her pregnancy, coaching became more challenging. Her ankles and feet were swollen. Sometimes, she would feel exhausted as she led a practice. 

"It was kind of hard to come into practice and be upbeat when you're really tired from working all day," said Moore, who's been the Lady Highlanders coach since 2010 and led them to the state tournament in 2017 and 2018. "The biggest struggle was trying to find the energy."

In the game against Pigeon Forge, Moore said she had a couple of contractions that were "pretty mild." 

"It was just more, I think, tightening, trying to get me prepared for delivery," she added. 

Moore and her husband went to the hospital Saturday at 6 a.m., which was the plan all along. Her son was born less than three hours later. 

"Just depending on how I feel, I may go back at the end of next week if I feel like it," said Moore, who's coached Gatlinburg-Pittman to a 10-7 record. "We'll see, it's really hard for me to stay away."