Olympic beach volleyball player Nicole Branagh had her phone interview perfectly timed to occur during her daughter's nap. 

That was optimistic. As the mother of a two-and-a half-year old, she knows that precise timing of anything generally gets thrown out the window with the arrival of a child. 

Sure enough, her daughter Tegan toddled out of the bedroom early in the interview, her sweet inquiries audible over the line: "Mommy…Mommy Mommy Mommy Mommy Mommy…Mommy? What are you doing? I want some water. Can I talk to the lady on the phone?" 

Branagh's dreams as a kid were going to the Olympics and being a mom. Having achieved both, she's going for more. Her second child is due this summer and she hopes that another shot at the Olympics is within reach. Either way, she's sure to stay involved with the sport. 

While on maternity leave from the AVP circuit, she's en route from her Southern California home to Gulf Shores, Alabama, for this weekend's inaugural NCAA collegiate beach volleyball championship. She'll be reporting from the sidelines with fellow top pro and mom Holly McPeak for TruTV and TBS' live coverage. She's excited about that, but sorry to miss a special Mother's Day-themed edition of this year's AVP Huntington Beach Open. 

Up-and-comer Sarah Day, on the other hand, will be contesting the HB Open, one of her first big appearances on the sand since delivering her first baby last December. FloVolleyball talked to both volleyball moms about how they're juggling their family lives with their professional goals. 

Strong Moms

The fitness routine before and after pregnancy is different for Day, a 26-year-old first-time mom, and Branagh, a 37-year-old getting ready for her second child.

In advance of the December birth of Piper, Day maintained her normal routine with gradual modifications as the delivery date neared. Along with her budding beach career, she works as a private fitness trainer, so a rigorous program is her norm. 

"I worked out my entire pregnancy," she says. "I was out doing sprints the day I went into labor." She maintained her core-focused lifting program and finished each day with deep sand walks on the beach on front of her Newport Beach home. She feels like that exercise in particular helped stave off back pain that is common in the later stages of pregnancy and helped her keep her sand legs.

Day's plan was great for her late-pregnancy state of mind, too. "It was so much better than just sitting on the couch waiting for the baby to come," she says.

Staying in shape during pregnancy meant a quicker recovery coming after Piper's birth. Although Day's obstetrician, who is also an elite athlete, didn't necessarily condone Day getting back to running two weeks after delivery, Day says, "She wasn't surprised when she learned about it."

For Branagh, having a toddler has its advantages from a fitness standpoint. "Chasing a two-and-a-half year old around all the time is a lot of exercise," she jokes. It's also exhausting. Her focus is overall body strength and well-being while accepting the fact that she can't work out as much she did pre-kids. Pregnancy loosens ligaments and triggers other changes, so her priority is paying close attention to her body and adjusting her workouts accordingly.

"It's a new reality," acknowledges Branagh, who played indoor volleyball at the top level in college and for Team USA--including winning bronze at the 2003 Pan Am Games--before taking up beach and going all the way to the 2008 Olympics. "It was difficult for me at first because I had played at a high level for so long. Coming back after Tegan, I had to realize that I might not make the finals of every tournament."

Mentor Moms

Both Branagh and Day credit mentor moms for helping them adjust to these new realities--those they've already encountered and those still to come. 

In between pregnancies, Branagh partnered with Jenny Kropp, whose twins are just a month younger than Tegan. "I was so fortunate to play with [Jenny]. She's another top player at a very high level and we had the same goals for both volleyball and our families. Also, the feeling we got from our fans--it was nice to feel that we might be inspiring a whole other group of women by showing them you can have kids and come back to the top of your game."

Fellow mom and NCAA broadcaster Holly McPeak has also been a great role model and mentor in thinking beyond the court.  

Mother of three and Olympic gold medalist Kerri Walsh Jennings (set to play in Huntington Beach this weekend) is, of course, a huge inspiration, Day says. So is close friend Jen Kessy. "[Jen has] the balancing act down with her husband and daughter Aila Anne," Day explains. She's most impressed by Kessy's gift for "being truly present when she is home" even in the midst of international goals that have her frequently on the road. 

An unexpected benefit of motherhood is sharing the sport with and seeing it through the eyes of those not involved in it. "Mommy & Me" type activities put Branagh and Tegan in touch with people outside the volleyball world, where it's been easy and enjoyable to strike up friendships with other moms. Branagh's Olympic appearance is a nice calling card and an easy segue into promoting the beach game. "It's fun to tell people about what's going on in collegiate beach, with so many opportunities for girls." 

It's too early to tell whether Tegan and Piper will follow in their mothers' footsteps. Tegan favors princess-ey playtime at the moment, but is happy to spike a ball at Branagh's prompting.

Kids are great cheerleaders, even when sacked out in the sun--coated in sunscreen, encased in rash guards and sheltered under beach umbrellas. Branagh has always hated to lose and still does, but Tegan tempers that. "Having Tegan there at the games takes a little bit of the edge off," Branagh says. "She makes me realize that she's the real prize."

By Kim F. Miller