Hokie ClubI was eight months pregnant with my son when I got a call from a donor at Virginia Tech.
My younger brother, Garland, golfed at VT, so the donor knew my brother well and was aware that I was the head women's golf coach at Old Dominion University at the time.
I was a little confused at first, but my heart dropped when he told me that the women's golf job was going to be opening up in Blacksburg, and that I should apply.
As if that wasn't exciting and overwhelming enough, I would become the first women's head golf coach in program history, if accepted.
This was late May of 2013, and if I'm being completely honest, much of it's still a blur to me because there was so much going on during that time.
Not only was I pregnant, my husband and I had just bought a house in Virginia Beach. My husband's parents lived five minutes up the street from us, so we were settled and more than content with our lives.
But I owed it to myself to take advantage of this unique opportunity by interviewing and feeling things out from there.
I vividly remember leaving the interview and sitting in my car when my husband asked me, "Well, how did it go?"
My answer was simple.
I've never made a decision in my life without knowing I'd regret it later, and I wasn't about to start with the opportunity to build a program from the ground up and create something special.
A smooth transition
After I graduated from James Madison University, I briefly dipped my toes in the coaching profession before deciding that I wasn't quite ready to hang up my clubs just yet.
I played on mini tours for about three and a half years and loved every second of it.
I learned so much about myself during that period.
It became an eye-opening experience because after a few years, I wasn't sure I wanted to still be playing professional golf by the time I was 30.
The thought of packing my bags and leaving home for six to eight weeks and traveling all over the country sounded freeing in a sense, but I also wanted to settle down and have a family.
I loved golf, but I didn't want the sport to be my entire life.
When I got back from tour, I was living in Virginia Beach at the time and was engaged to my now-husband, Jason.
Just when I was looking for a job that was consistent and would keep me around the game, an assistant coaching position opened up at ODU.
It was the perfect job for me at that point in my life.
Not only was I able to gain some valuable experience coaching both the men's and women's teams, they treated me like absolute gold.
The men's coach, Murray Rudisill, has been one of the most influential mentors I've ever had.
We still keep in touch with each other, so to form a lifelong bond and relationship with someone who's been critical to the success I've had in my career has been unbelievably rewarding.
I was fortunate enough to land the women's head job a few years later, and from a professional and personal perspective, things were coming together nicely in my life.
The players were buying into our system, we were achieving success, and as I mentioned earlier, Jason and I were ready to settle in Virginia Beach and start our family.
Then I got that call from Virginia Tech that would change my life forever.
Young and inexperienced
It wasn't going to be easy moving with a new baby to a brand new program in a place where we really didn't know anybody.
Those first six to eight months were a trying time for myself and my family, but the challenges didn't stop there.
As exciting as it is to say you're in charge of a startup program and can make it into what you want and believe in, you do so knowing you're going to have an extremely young and inexperienced team.
I don't care what sport you're a part of, teams that are successful have tremendous leadership from top to bottom, and we didn't necessarily have that luxury because everyone was new.
I preach this to our teams year in and year out.
A team where no one leads is not going to be a successful team.
A team where the coaches lead could be an okay team.
But if we have a team that's led by the players, sky's the limit on what we can accomplish.
That being said, I knew this was going to be a process.
It was going to take time to develop players and cultivate a culture that was player-led.
We had six players in our inaugural season, and the girls did great all things considered. But we weren't concerned as much with the on-field results as we were developing talented golfers that were even better teammates and people.
As a staff, we were confident that if we had the right group of girls who were willing to learn and invest in this program and each other, the results would come, and we'd continue to improve as a team with each passing year.
The process brings results
Now that I've been in this position for around a decade, it's surreal to me because in so many ways, it seems like yesterday I accepted this opportunity of a lifetime.
When I look back on all the teams and young women I've had the privilege to coach, I'm incredibly appreciative that they had the same mindset as me.
I understood that I had to work extra hard just so I could keep up and build this program into everything I wanted it to be, and our players embraced that mentality as well.
It's been unbelievably rewarding to see the gap that we've closed in the ACC in the last few years from where we started to where we are now.
The credit goes to the players – both past and present – who weren't afraid to work hard and trust the process of the program we've established together.
In addition to the success we've been able to achieve, I feel blessed that my daughter has so many talented and extraordinary women to look up to on the team.
She has a front-row seat to see what hard work looks like and the opportunities that come your way when you give everything that you have.
As she gets older, I'm going to tell her the same thing I tell my players: the process brings results.
Truthfully, that's something I wish I focused on a little more when I was playing in college because I didn't always take the time to appreciate the small things.
Sometimes, it's those small things that elicit the best results and the most rewarding experiences.
I love winning as much as the next coach, but I also love seeing my players give each other air high-fives from 250 yards away.
Or, talking with a freshman with tears in her eyes after she struggled on her first two college exams to seeing her finish the semester with a strong GPA.
These are the moments that make this job so special, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to be a part of these young women's lives and help them grow and develop into the leaders of tomorrow.