For almost 18 years Kelly Packard, Ball State's recently hired women's basketball coach, has lived in the balance of two families.
In one, her role has been that of a wife to her husband Rich Packard and a mother to her sons, Derek Packard, 13, and Evan Packard, 9.
The second one exists within her career, where she serves as a coach and stresses family values to her team that she works to guide to success both on and off the hardwood.
Recently those two family circles are starting to loop together more than ever.
At a recruiting stop in late July, each recruit's graduation year dwelled in Packard's thoughts more than their statistics. The recruits will graduate in 2012, the same year her oldest son, Derek, graduates from high school.
"When my kids were younger, there really wasn't much correlation between working with 18-22-year-old girls and raising toddlers," Packard said. "Now there is a lot of carry-over between talking about your character, talking about putting yourself in situations where you can make good decisions, talking about how your friendships influence decisions and talking about how we carry ourselves in public. All of the sudden, the conversations I could be having with the team are very similar to the conversations I am having with our kids."
As Packard approaches a new job, community, administration and players, she said she wants to share her two worlds with those associated with her.
"You didn't just get me [with this job]," Packard said. "You also got my family."
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Getting the job
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When Packard first heard about a possible coaching job opening at Ball State, she was more than 1,000 miles away from Muncie.
Watching a basketball game from the Colorado State University stands, a gentleman sitting next to Packard informed the Anderson University grad of the head-coaching vacancy.
Acting hastily, Packard took what she felt was an important next step to obtaining the position.
"She sent me a text message right away telling me the Ball State job became available," Rich said. "We knew it could be a great opportunity, and we were about as excited as we could be knowing she could be one of a possible 40 applicants for the job. We knew something special would have to fall into place for her to get the interview and an extended offer."
The application process began after former coach Tracy Roller, the program's all-time wins leader, resigned her post April 2 citing manic depression, Ball State athletics director Tom Collins said.
The 40-day ordeal came to a close with Packard's hire as the 10th head coach in Ball State women's basketball history on May 12.
Collins said he was surprised to see Packard's resume among the pool of applicants.
"It was one name I hadn't heard in a while," Collins said. "But as we went through the process, her resume kept floating up to the top. The more people we called, the more good things we found out about Kelly. Then, when she came in to do her interview, she did an outstanding job."
In her previous 18 years with basketball, Packard had experience coaching at the collegiate and professional levels, as well as working for a short time in marketing with Triple Crown Sports.
Working for Triple Crown, Packard was executive director of the WNBA Expansion Team for Colorado. Acting as the Colorado Chill's head coach from 2004-2006, Packard posted a 34-12 record that claimed two championship trophies in her final two years.
At the college level, Packard was an assistant coach Colorado State University for five seasons. The Rams were guided to a 99-49 record, reaching a No. 5 national ranking in 1999.
Packard played four years of basketball at Anderson University before she graduated in 1990 with a degree in mass communications. Her mark remains in the school's record books after becoming the programs all-time leader in points and rebounds during her collegiate career.
Despite her long-standing connections with central Indiana, Packard still had a difficult task ahead of her. After her resume passed the test, Packard had to prepare her family for the move that would take them halfway across the country.
"We started talking to [Derek], who's going to be a freshman in high school, early on," Packard said. "He understood that the possibilities for me to continue coaching probably weren't in Colorado."
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Rethinking the balance
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The Midwest was not a foreign place to Packard and her husband. With Packard growing up in Ohio and Rich raised in Indiana, the couple still had numerous family ties in the area.
"It'll be nice not having to go throw metal detectors at the airport just to visit your family," Derek said.
However, Packard's new coaching post will require a steady balance between her office and her home to be recalibrated.
In the three months since she has started the job, Packard said she has been restricted from practicing with the Cardinal team but has taken the time to chat with them about the women's basketball program.
During Roller's six years at the Ball State, the former head coach placed a strong emphasis on family atmosphere within the players, coaches and administration.
Taking her post, Packard said when there is a coaching change there are changes in personality and approach, but she hopes to continue the feeling of family in the program as long as both sides understand she has to be "socially selective".
"There are times when I'll be able to talk and catch up to with the players when they are around my office, and there are times when I tell them I have to go back in my office and make us better today," Packard said. "The players understand that there is only so much I can do socially and still keep our program on track."
However, when she leaves her office and the court, the title 'Coach Packard' shortens to 'Mom.' Throughout the time spent between her career and her home life, Packard said there have been times when Rich has had to handle the majority of the parenting until the basketball season concluded.-á
Packard said she hasn't made her husband pull all the weight, however. She said the jobless holes within her resume were because of time she felt was necessary to spend with her family.
"I hope [having a family] has kept me balanced," Packard said. "It's very tempting to think that the formula for success at the college level is number of hours in equals success. I think that my family has made me be balanced, so I have to step away from the office, I have to step away from e-mails, I have to step away from everything the job requires because I absolutely will parent. Because of my personality, my outlet is my family, and I get refreshed when I am with them."
Rich said Packard's personality stays the same on and off the court.
"The nice thing with Kelly is what you see is what you get," Rich said. "A lot of people in the work place behave and act differently than they do at home, and that's unfortunate. Kelly's not like that. On the court she might be loud when she gets after a ref, but she has also gone after the boys like that."
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Bridging the gap
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To keep the balance in tact, Packard said her two families would have to converge outside of Ball State.
"I've told the players that there will be times when I want you to come into my world," Packard said. "There will be times when I will see if you can come watch my sons play a sport. I want you to step into my world every so often, too because those are things that are important to me, and I'll try to step into their world with things that are important to them."
Seeing both sides co-exist is important to Packard, especially throughout the years as she is starting to see her own family within the teams she is coaching.
But, during game day, when Packard looks back on the lessons, the conversations and the love she has shared at home, the Ball State coach will try to show that commitment and balance to her team as they play in front of the screaming fans at Worthen Arena.
"I think the biggest thing I've learned, that I have to redirect myself to every day, is that these ladies want to feel valued," Packard said. "They want to feel like what they do both on and off the floor matters. They want to know that they are more than a basketball player and that they have a lot of dreams that they want to fulfill. Some of those are on the court, and some aren't."
Remembering back throughout her experiences as a mother and a coach, Packard took a small breath and drew from the passion that has been the link between her two worlds.
"They just want to know that you care," Packard said. "They want to see some consistency in the fact that you care, and sometimes they don't really care about a play I draw up on a board unless they really know that I care about them as people. That goes a lot deeper. Somehow, if they know I really care about them as a person, naturally they will do those things I am asking them to do on the floor."
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