Former International Professional Basketball Player Laurie Byrd

Former EMU Hoops star, Professional International Baller, former Assistant Coach for the 2003 WNBA Champions Detroit Shock, and current Head Coach for the Champion Mira Costa Spartans, Laurie Byrd shares her story of how Athletes In Action changed her life forever.

This week’s awesome guest and co-host is Laurie Byrd. Laurie grew up in the hard streets of Flint, Michigan and early on realized that she – like many in her family – has a natural gift for sports… but, athletic success can only go so far in life… unless it leads to learning the Gospel!

Over Shuffle Toss:
  • Laurie grew up in a family full of athletes: Dad was a champion prize fighter, Mom was a professional trainer & many of her seven siblings achieved athletic success:
    • Her sister was a collegiate hoopster and pro boxer, earning three title belts.
    • All five of her brothers were successful amateur boxers.
    • Her “baby brother”, Chris Byrd, was a 2x heavyweight champion of the world and defeated Evander Holyfield. 
    • Her little sister is a marathoner.
    • Her cousin, Lamon Brewster, was also a world champion heavyweight boxer.
  • The streets of Flint contributed to all of Laurie’s friends and family to be athletically competitive.
  • Her parents were very loving and always found the time to devote to their kids.
  • Laurie hung out with her older brothers as a little girl and they taught her how to play basketball.
  • At a youth camp, she beat NBA legend John Salley in a one-on-one match up.
  • While in high school, her brother and cousin would scam ballers all over the Flint, MI area by challenging local hoopsters to a game between the two of them and “that girl over there”… the other guys had no idea that the “girl over there” was a future pro baller.
  • Eastern Michigan University impressed her right away.
  • Laurie is the only female athlete to have her jersey retired by EMU basketball… alongside NBA great George “The Iceman” Gervin.
  • When Laurie graduated from college, the WNBA didn’t exist yet. Then came the WBA.
  • She tried out and made the Chicago Spirit and led the league in scoring, which led to many other opportunities.
  • From there, she played all over the globe: Switzerland, Spain, Italy, Sweden and China. 
  • After her playing career, she was invited to coach alongside Bill Lambier for the WNBA’s Detroit Shock.
  • The Shock won the national title in 2003.
  • Laurie followed her brother, Chris, to the San Diego area.
  • Tired of all the travel, Laurie became the girls coach at Santa Fe Christian High School in Solana Beach, where she also got to see her nephew play.
  • Her success there caught the eye of Mira Costa College in Oceanside, CA where she eventually went undefeated as League Championships.
How faith and sports have collided in Laurie’s life:
  • Before she even knew who Jesus is, Laurie was invited to play in the Philippines with Athletes in Action.
  • She got to see God’s love in action and was mentored and led to Christ by the team.
  • By learning how to weave together basketball and Christian living, Laurie was well-prepared to coach at a Christian high school – Santa Fe Christian.
  • Throughout her life, Laurie has learned what it’s like to live without anything and with everything she could want… and she has learned that the only thing she NEEDS is God’s love.
  • Living out and sharing God’s love is her number one goal as a coach, as a friend, and as a lover of Jesus.
Scripture:

…with God all things are possible. (Matthew 19:26b)

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