Every week we feature local head coaches in our Coaches' Corner Segment on FOX43 Morning News. This week we go more in depth-- we travelled to Virginia and sat down with the coach who helped mold Penn State's starting quarterback Christian Hackenberg into the athlete he is today.
Central Pennsylvania has become very familiar with the Hackenberg name, Christian has been the starting quarterback at Penn State for the last two seasons.
But in another part of the Keystone State, Hackenberg was a popular name even before Christian could hold a football all because of his mother, Nikki Hackenberg. She made a name for herself on the volleyball court as Lehigh Valley University's Outstanding Athlete of the Year and would eventually land her ideal job: head coach at her alma mater Marian Catholic in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
"It was a dream come true," says former Marian Catholic volleyball coach Nikki Hackenberg, "I was back in my hometown. I knew because I had played I could take it to the next level."
But she admits the transition from player to coach wasn't easy.
"It's very difficult because for me," says Hackenberg, "I wear my emotions on my sleeve you know and many of my players would say 'Coach, sometimes I didn't even want to look at you because your face would tell us what we were doing wrong, what we were doing right.'"
FOX43's Amanda McCall remembers those looks because she had the privilege of playing under Coach Hackenberg for four seasons. McCall and her teammates always want to play well for Coach Hackenberg because she brought passion to every practice, every game. It worked for the Fillies because in Coach Hack's six years with the program, Marian won three league championships, earned four district playoff spots and made four state appearances capping off a 160-28 overall record.
In the midst of all the team's accomplishments she also had a full-time job and was raising four boys under the age of ten. As her boys continue to grow up, she and her husband would move to Virginia where she is still very active in the volleyball community and as for her time in her home state of Pennsylvania.
" "My heart told me this was the time because you don't get second chances in life," says Hackenberg, "if you want something you have to go after it. Remember the feeling and go after it, so for me it's a pretty special place and a pretty special time in my life. "