The family-friendly environment has included a tight-knit group of coaches’ wives and partners. As an example of that group’s efficiency, we sent a google sheet asking for facts about all the babies to the coaches first. They’re busy preparing for their first football season with the Vikings, so it’s understandable, but it went untouched for several days. We sent the same one to the wives and it was filled out within a couple of hours.
That’s a testament to the community they’ve already built together. Again, some of them knew each other from Central Washington, but more have come in since the move and blended seamlessly.
“I think there is always a strong connection and understanding of what it’s like to be married to a football coach. But adding babies and kids to the mix brings another level of love and respect for one another,” Krista Adkins, wife of Matt, said of the community.
“It wasn’t just the fact that a bunch of us were pregnant or new moms, we also were all experiencing the move to Portland while our husbands jumped full force into a new program. It’s really nice to be with a group who understands this community and was experiencing it together.”
Krista Adkins spoke to how the community stepped up for her when she needed them a few weeks before the arrival of her third kid.
“We were about four weeks from my scheduled c-section and had no plan of who would help us out with our two older kids. Jessie [Fisk, wife of Chris] gave me a call and knew I was stressed about it and volunteered herself, Sara Tucker Kastens [wife of offensive line coach Alex Kastens] and Paige Belony [wife of defensive line coach Patrick Belony] to help out. She immediately put together a calendar, so I knew who to call if we had Lily early and the three jumped to action,” Adkins said.
“Keep in mind, I had only known Paige and Sara for a couple months, and yet they didn’t hesitate, along with Jessie, to take shifts with my kids including staying the night. We came home to happy kids, a clean house, a clean car, and I’m sure I’ll keep finding out things they did for us.”
Miranda Gallatin spoke to a similar experience when she and Olivia Torgerson were both in the hospital within a day of each other having their babies.
“Sara and Paige brought us delicious meals multiple times and goodie baskets that were from all of the ladies. Ashley [Doldolea] dropped us off a meal as well. I had a very rough recovery, so it was a huge help having meals already prepared for us. To this day, I am forever grateful for them and for their support especially while I was recovering. I feel so blessed to be a part of this group,” Gallatin said.
Sara Tucker Kastens and Paige Belony also delivered meals to Isabella Crane when she took a fall late in her pregnancy and had to be admitted into the hospital. That was when Brady Crane and all of the coaches who came from Central Washington were living and working in Portland, four hours away from their wives and partners who hadn’t yet moved from Ellensburg, Wash. Before Brady could arrive, Isabella said all of the ladies had checked in on her and offered their support.
And thankfully, everything was fine.
“I’m very grateful we all get to go through this journey together. We share our experiences and it’s nice to know we are not alone in what we are going through,” Isabella Crane said. “Pregnancy and having a baby are beautiful experiences but there are a lot of firsts that no one talks about. It is great to have a group of ladies to share all of these new experiences with.”
That community around the coaches off the field helps them lead the young men on it. Coach Fisk sets the core values of character, strength and honor within his program. Nothing quite tests your character and strength like being a dad to a newborn. But once you are, there’s no one you’ll work harder to honor.
“I couldn’t be more thrilled [for the new dads and babies in the program]. We have a bunch of really good dads on this staff. And so, it’s really great to see those guys develop into fathers,” Fisk said.
