Former Hampton High School star Laryn Edwards goes from coach to player at Providence College
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Talk about a comeback story. It's been a wild ride for former Hampton High School star Laryn Edwards, who was a graduate assistant at Providence College until November when Friars head coach Erin Batth had other ideas.
"I was kind of shocked," Edwards said. "I was like, 'Is this actually happening?'"
What "happened" was Edwards showed off her skills practicing against the Providence starters.
"We were in practice and I actually played really well and after practice, coach was joking with me like, 'Hey do you have eligibility?' and I was like 'Yeah, actually, I do.'"
After starring at Hampton High School, Edwards played at Loyola in Maryland and with one year of eligibility left, she decided it was best to just start her coaching career. But she always had that itch to play again, not even knowing it was actually a possibility.
"After graduating and being a GA on the sidelines, it was very hard at first because I had the eligibility and I didn't take it and then I wished I was playing again," Edwards said.
Her wish came true this past November.
"One day, she called me into her office after one of our practices and was like, 'we want you to play, we have it all figured out,'" Edwards said. "Two days later I'm at Columbia playing again, which was wild to me."
On Nov. 29 vs. Columbia, the 24-year-old was back doing what she loved.
"In that moment, I was just taking it in," Edwards said. "And then once I hit the court, it was crazy to me, like, 'Wow I'm actually doing this again.'"
Edwards played in 15 games for Providence this season, starting nine of them, and scored a season-high 10 points against Sacred Heart. And one specific memory stands out.
"Against DePaul, we had like 3-point-something seconds left. We had the ball at the baseline and I said to coach, 'Hey, we're running four across,'" Edwards said. "I looked at my teammate and said 'Just throw it, I'll run, I'll catch it'. And that was probably the moment where I was like, 'I missed this so much.' No one gets another opportunity to play again. It was especially important for me because I wanted to show other girls that no matter what your size is, how small you are, you can play at a level where other people don't think you can."
Edwards' season is now over and so is her playing career but she still wants to pursue a career in basketball as a coach. Recently, she was accepted into the WBCA's "So You Want To Be A Coach' program.
