Thursday, January 18, 2018

How a Coach’s Wife Survives Recruiting


One of the hardest parts, in my opinion, about being married to a college football coach is the time he spends on the road recruiting. Weeks apart in January, December, or May can be tough for any wife; it’s hard not having your partner there....kids or not. With kids however (four boys for this Momma πŸ‘¦πŸΌπŸ‘¦πŸ»πŸ‘¦πŸΌπŸ‘ΆπŸΌ)   recruiting gets extremely hectic when he is not around!  I miss the little things he can help with....taking kiddos to school, changing our babe’s diaper in the morning, or some much needed adult conversation after a day spent with toddlers. Don’t get me wrong....I am used to handling the majority of responsibilities that keep our family/home afloat during the football season. But at least we are seeing each other every day during the season (albeit sometimes in passing).  We can go to practice, stop by Daddy’s office for lunch, and it’s even reassuring just to have him sleeping next to me every night. The weeks can get long during recruiting....there is not even a game to look forward to on Saturday. It’s a conflicted feeling because I understand recruiting plays a HUGE part in the success of our future football seasons....but that doesn’t make the time alone any easier. 



With 3 more weeks to the late signing period, I wanted to share with you my top 10 ways to survive recruiting......

1. FaceTime. It’s a way for you to see each other and check in. Plus if you have children it’s so important for them to see their Dad. He can hear about their game, how that test went, or just hear how their day went at school.



2. Me Time. Recruiting is my time to do the things I love to do....but never have the time to do (we all know how crazy life gets during football season). For me, it’s scrapbooking (I love capturing major milestones of my kiddos growing up), catching up on my favorite shows he does not enjoy watching (Real Housewives of Atlanta isn’t at the top of his listπŸ˜‚), or reading a new book. 



3. Get Organized. I am overloaded after Christmas with “stuff”, and during recruiting I feel the urge to go through closets, both organizing and purging. You can donate items you don’t use anymore to a charity, or sell things on one of those Facebook rummage sights.


4. Movie nights. Living in South Dakota, January is the coldest month of the year. Being cozy at home watching a movie with the boys is a favorite pastime when Dad’s gone. Pizza + movie candy + pajamas = happiness at this house.



5. Travel to visit family/friends. Before my kids were in school and busy with extracurricular activities, I frequently took flight or fired up the car for a road trip during recruiting . It’s much harder now with 3 kiddos in school and playing basketball, but I highly recommend this for wives with no kids or young kids.



6. Relax. This goes hand in hand with #2 (Me time.) Give yourself a pedi/mani....even better go get one. Take baths and give yourself a mini facial with a great mud mask. I found one I swear that is available at Walmart or Target for under $4. A little R&R is good for anyone.



7. Exercise. I bet half of you stop reading this post nowπŸ˜‚. While it’s not everyone’s favorite, I know that after Christmas I always feel fuller and I can use some extra workouts to burn off all the Holiday treats. Plus, it’s it’s always great to get a head start with spring and summer around the corner.

8. Do something different. You can tell I’m a total Mama because my “something different” this January was buying tickets to a Paw Patrol Show. I took my two youngest sons to dinner at McDonald’s, followed by the show...it was a perfect recruiting season diversion.



9. Night out. Now you finally have the opportunity to catch up with friends that you had difficulty making time for during the football season. Who would say no to some good convo and a glass of wine? If your are lucky enough to be at a school where wives get invited to the recruiting dinners on weekends (thanks Coach Stig), consider yourself lucky, it’s as close to a date night as you are going to get during recruiting!




10. Prayers. With my husband spending long hours on the road with all kinds of Midwest winter road conditions, I’m saying extra prayers to help me get through the uncertainties and my worries.



So as my husband is on the road currently, I making the most of my days during recruiting season. Signing day is less than 3 weeks away....here’s to hoping the sacrifices our football families make will help our teams have amazing seasons in the years to come. GO JACKS!!!