Amber Mock, a young mother and volunteer coach for the Hillsdale women’s track and basketball teams, moved to Hillsdale last July with her husband and daughter. Originally from Chicago, Mock explains her transition to Hillsdale and what it’s like to coach while raising a young child.
So tell me about yourself
My husband and I moved here last July. We both graduated from Grand Valley, and we both coached at Grand Valley as well. I have a daughter; she’s 14 months now. She’s our first. She’s in the gym every day. I’m from a really big family; I’m one of nine children, and all of us were involved in sports.
What’s your choice sport?
I played basketball through high school, and track is actually what I did in college. I ran track at Grand Valley – the sprints and the hurdles. Anything that’s not distance pretty much is kind of my thing.
What do you do here at Hillsdale?
I volunteer help out with track as well as basketball. I’ve recently taken over the women’s basketball strength and conditioning, so I’ve been working with them since their season started this year.
What brought you to Hillsdale?
My husband took the assistant women’s basketball coaching job. He was pretty excited about the opportunity.
Was he looking to come to Hillsdale specifically, or did the opportunity just present itself at the right time?
It was just an opportunity that kind of presented itself. One of the coaches that Coach Charney coached with actually is an advisor at Grand Valley and kind of heard about it through her. We knew about Hillsdale and how hard it is to get into Hillsdale, and when he found out they were looking, he kind of jumped on it.
Are you happy with the decision to come here?
Yeah, so far. It’s a big change for me; I’m originally from Chicago, so it’s a lot smaller than I’m used to, but we’ve really been enjoying ourselves. Met a lot of really nice people. All the staff and the athletes here are amazing.
What would you say is your favorite aspect of Hillsdale?
I like the environment. There’s not many places you can go to and feel completely safe, welcome, not have to worry about walking in and setting stuff down. My husband and I talk about it all the time. We’re so surprised that you can go into the cafeteria and people have their bags and their computers and everything sitting around. You don’t have to worry about that sort of thing. It’s nice to not have to worry about that which is definitely not the case in most places.
Is it challenging with all of the coaching while having a young child?
It keeps me going! It’s a lot of fun, though. She’s been at practices since she was two weeks old. She went on her first recruiting trip with her dad and I started with track last year in September, so she’s been at a practice pretty much every single day of her life. She loves it. It’s her favorite place to be. Leaving the house now, she knows where we’re going, and all she says is, “ball, ball, ball,” because she knows when we come inside, she will get a basketball or a volleyball.
Has she started playing any sports?
She’s not in any sports yet. She plays with basketballs quite a bit. She tries to dribble. She’s got a Little Tikes hoop at home that she dunks on because it’s just her height, and she gets pretty excited about that. But that’s about the extent of her sports experience. We’re hoping for a point guard in her.
How does your common interest in sports enhance your marriage?
As far as athletics, my husband and I are both very passionate about sports, both the coaching aspect as well as the working out aspect. He’s actually a beach body coach and I do a lot of the stuff with him, so we do all our workouts together. Being involved in doing all that together is definitely a big part of our marriage.
