Hours of preparation, constant pressure to perform well and hectic schedules.
These are just some of the challenges faced by NCAA Division I coaches in any sport. Being a collegiate coach is a huge time commitment, and time spent away from family is a part of the job.
Missed family time can have large mental impacts on coaches, no matter the institution. Penn State is no different, as women’s soccer head coach Erica Dambach and associate head coach Ann Cook have their own respective trials and tribulations when balancing work and family.
For Cook, who’s in her 12th year with the program, finding time to be with her family is extremely difficult because all of her family resides in Missouri, which is “hundreds of miles away from Happy Valley.