Western State College of Colorado

It is common for a husband and wife to have the same interests.

It can also be common for them to be in similar professional fields.

However, head coaches at Western State, Katie and Mike Moskowitz, are not common.  As one of the only husband and wife tandems to be head coaches at a Division II college, Katie and Mike mix family, sports, and work every day.

“It is a goal we have always both wanted, we both wanted to be head coaches,” head volleyball coach Katie Moskowitz said. “And we both understood that being able to find a place where two head positions would open up was going to be rare.”

After Mike was hired as head men’s basketball coach in 2007, Katie was an assistant for the Mountaineer volleyball team.

“When we came to Western, Mike just kept telling me to be patient. He said, ‘good things are going to happen,’” Katie said.

And in the fall of 2009, Katie’s wish came true, as she was hired to lead the Western State’s volleyball team. Mike was not shocked by the decision.

“I thought the whole time that they were crazy if they didn’t hire her, so when it happened, it wasn’t really a big surprise,” Mike said. “It was good for us in the sense that we had a growing family with two kids.”

First Comes Sports, Then Comes Marriage
For Mike, the love of basketball came at a young age. At eight years old, he played both soccer and basketball, participating in competitive leagues all the way through high school in Manassas, Virginia. According to Mike, his talent as a player did not come from pure natural ability.

 “I was the hardworking, hardnosed type of player,” Mike said. “I was always competing against better athletes, but I always held my own, because I was probably always working harder than they did.”

After playing two years of junior college basketball, Mike was injured, ending his competitive playing days. However, in 1998 he found a new passion in coaching, taking a job as an assistant coach at Steamboat Springs High School.

Katie also began playing sports at a young age, competing in junior high volleyball in the seventh grade. However, Katie’s sports career changed as time went on.

“Injuries kind of always held me back,” Katie said. “I started coaching immediately when I got into college.”

Coaching at both the junior high and high school ranks, Katie’s passion grew for teaching young people the sport of volleyball. As a senior at Black Hills State University in Spearfish, S.D., Katie went to a summer basketball camp held at the University of Wyoming. Her father, Kelly Meek, was then the head coach of the Steamboat Springs High School basketball team. It was sports that had brought Katie and Mike together.

“We just hit it off,” said Katie of initially meeting Mike. “I just think we both clicked because we both have that passion to work with young people.”

Just two years after meeting, the couple married in the summer of 2000. Since then, Mike and Katie have had two children; Miles, age five, and Elliot, age two.

A Juggling Act
If one were to walk into the Moskowitz home after practice was over, there is a good chance that you will find balls of all kinds littered throughout the house. Two young boys might be wrestling with their dad in a homemade arena composed of overturned couches and pillows. For the Moskowitz’s, sports have trickled down the family chain to their two boys. However, their goal is not necessarily to mold future all-stars.

“Mike and I just want (Miles and Elliot) to be involved in something, even if it ends up not being a sport,” Katie said. “Whatever it is, they are going to be involved. They are not going to be sitting around on the couch playing video games.”

While an outsider might see the daily chaos of coaching two teams and raising a family all at the same time a monumental task, the Moskowitz’s feel natural in coaching both on the court and in the home.

“It feels normal to us, I know a lot of people were like ‘oh my gosh, how do you do it with all of your obligations,’” Katie said. “I guess with me being from a coaching family, and being with Mike since we were 25, it’s just what we know and what we feel comfortable doing.”

According to Mike, coaching his team and being a parent are two in the same.

“A 22-year old is no different than a 2-year old; a little bit bigger, a little more hair,” Mike said. “But to teach and to learn, it’s the exact same. If you teach slow, if you are methodical and get on their level and explain it to them the right way, they are both going to pick it up the same way.”

Senior Cecilia Vollmer, a now former Mountaineer volleyball player has recognized how the family mentality of Katie’s team has impacted its success.

“I think it makes a huge difference if a coach has kids because in some ways it helps coaches treat their athletes better,” Vollmer said. “I think that when coaches have kids, they have life outside of sports and then it puts a different perspective on things.”

Just as a husband and wife work together in a marriage to make it work, Katie and Mike communicate with each other in order to help their teams’ success.

“We run things by each other constantly,” Katie said.

While both are knowledgeable in both volleyball and basketball, the advice given usually lies more with mental issues of the players. If a volleyball player is having problems getting motivated, Mike often lends Katie some inspirational quotes. And for Katie, growing up in a basketball family gives her the knowledge to understand certain situations within Mike’s team that others would not. 

Success On The Court
Last season, Mike led the Western State men’s basketball team to its best finish in a decade, finishing 14-14 (11-8 RMAC). While all five starters from last year’s squad have graduated, Mike returns seven student-athletes to the 2009-2010 season.

Katie just recently wrapped up the 2009 volleyball season, posting a 7-20 (7-12 RMAC) record. Getting off to a slow start to the season, the Mountaineers finished strong. In their last seven games, the team went 4-3. In those three losses, the matches went down to the wire, all finishing in five sets.

While Katie and Mike may differ is some things, their coaching styles mimic a resounding ideology.

“We both understand that it is a teaching thing,” Katie said. “We try to teach with a calm emotion.”