It seems to be no coincidence that roughly 20 second-generation athletes followed in the footsteps of their parents and now play sports at Hillsdale College, after hearing stories about legendary glory days and Alma Mater pride while they were growing up.
Sophomore basketball player Michael Furlong said that his respect for his dad is one of the main reasons he decided to come to Hillsdale and participate in athletics.
“I look up to my dad. He’s my hero, I guess kind of like my idol,” Furlong said. “I just want to try to follow in his footsteps. That’s why I came here and chose to play basketball.”
For many of these athletes, the decision to play for Hillsdale has been a part of their lives ever since they were little.
Senior baseball player Scott Lantis said he can still see himself running around in his backyard with a Hillsdale jersey on.
“You know, people ask you what you want to be when you grow up, and I wanted to be a Hillsdale College athlete. I was just consumed with Charger athletics,” Lantis said. “So from a really young age, I knew that if I was good enough and if I got the opportunity, that there was nowhere I’d rather be than playing football or baseball at Hillsdale College.”
Like Lantis, sophomore volleyball player Caitlin Kopmeyer also said she knew immediately that she wanted to come to Hillsdale and play sports.
“I have been coming to volleyball camps here ever since [I was] really little. So just coming to camps every summer and being around Hillsdale, I knew I loved it,” Kopmeyer said. “And I committed in October of my junior year, so pretty early. I got letters from other schools, but I knew I wanted to go here, and I knew it was a great school. I didn’t really look around other places.”
But senior softball player Miriam McKay said she initially felt hesitant about coming to Hillsdale.
“Originally, when he (McKay’s dad) said he went here, the college was smaller than my high school and I didn’t really like it. But when I was going to camps everywhere he had me go here, and at least check it out,” McKay said. “Even though at first I was like ‘No, I don’t want to go there,’ I just fell in love with the coaches and the team and the girls.”
Ken McKay said that whether or not she had chosen Hillsdale, her dad’s main concern was that she would be happy with her choice.
“Her decision gave me a huge sense of satisfaction and pride. Her original impression did not leave me with the greatest hope that she would select Hillsdale College, so I did my best to avoid trying to influence her,” Mr. McKay said. “I know she is very happy being a Charger.”
Freshman tennis and basketball player Sydney Delp said she can understand her father’s support for her attending Hillsdale and knows that he cares only to see her happy.
“It’s obvious that he enjoyed his time here so much, especially as an athlete and his times with the baseball team. I think he enjoyed it so much that that’s what he wants for his kids,” Delp said. “He wants us to have that awesome experience and I think he is just like living the dream, you could say, being able to watch Morgan and I play tennis at his Alma Mater.”
With a common affection for athletics at Hillsdale College, sophomore thrower Heather Lantis said that it really benefited her relationship with her father.
“If you have a common interest with either of your parents, obviously that’s something that really influences your relationship,” Heather Lantis said. “But with athletics it’s a very special bond: they can be a coach, they can be an encourager, they can give you advice in different situations, and I think it can be very helpful.”
Scott Lantis said that despite the difference in time and sport choices, he feels proud and blessed to have the opportunity to participate in athletics like his father and represent his family decades later.
“I think we have definitely bonded over the fact that, just because I’m putting on a baseball jersey and he’s putting on a football jersey, it’s that Hillsdale Chargers is across the chest,” Scott Lantis said. “So it’s been something special, to put on the same school’s uniform as my father, and [it’s something] I take a lot of pride in.”
