ILLAWARRA Hawks co-captain Oscar Forman is now going to have to contend with dribbling both on and off the basketball court.
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Clearly filled to the brim with pride, Forman and his Italian partner Gaia Ferrari welcomed their little Aussie battler into the world on Thursday.
Olivia Charlotte Forman was born at 9.42 pm weighing in at 3.485 kgs after a prolonged labour for mum which saw dad and daughter share some early quality time together.
“I just find myself staring at her,” Forman said on Saturday.
“I had to teach (Olivia) to wait for her first meal while mum spent a couple of hours in recovery which was tough. We talked a lot and we understood each other ….. eventually. The second Gaia came back into the room Olivia stopped crying and started feeding.
“It absolutely beats everything I’ve ever done.”
Forman, who recently re-signed to the Hawks for the 2017-18 National Basketball League season, predicted he would be flooding social media with images of Olivia and thanked all the wellwishers for their thoughts.
“Our phones have been running out of battery with people wishing us well,’’ Forman said.
“That’s why we love it here. We don’t have family here but the amount of people saying we’ll babysit or we’ll be ‘aunties and uncles’. It’s amazing really.”
Little OIivia will have to wait a little and prepare her cheeks for a good pinching before travelling to meet her Gaia’s family in Italy, while Forman’s parents flew in to meet their new granddaughter at the weekend.
And while Olivia shares the “OCF” initials of her father, it was pure coincidence.
“Olivia was the only name we could agree on,” Forman admitted with a chuckle.
“Oh well, when the mail arrives for ‘O Forman’ at our place I’m guessing the pink envelopes will be for her and the bills will be mine.”
The new addition firmly cements the Illawarra Hawks reputation as the league’s “family club” with Forman joining co-captain Rhys Martin, Tim Coenraad, import Rotnei Clarke and Cody Ellis all with young families.
The 35-year-old Forman, considered one of the league’s greatest ever shooters, will have a chance to break the 500 game NBL barrier this year after signing for his eighth season with the Hawks.
