The competitive nature of sports has lured several former college athletes into becoming coaches at Iowa State.

For example, ISU assistant volleyball coach Jennifer McCall was a four-year starter for the nationally ranked Florida State Seminoles from 1990 to 1993, and holds records for most assists in a match with 74 assists and most assists in a single season with 1,452 assists.

She got her degree in teaching, and she said coaching has allowed her to have an impact on the students’ lives while still being involved in the game she loves.

“I’ve known from the high school time frame on that I wanted to coach,” McCall said.

ISU assistant men’s basketball coach Bob Sunvold said he also knew early on that he wanted to lead team sports.

“I always kind of figured that I was going to become a coach,” he said. “I was one of those guys who was drawing plays in the dirt as a kid.”

Sunvold said he loves being a part of the game, whether on or off the bench. “The competition, the preparation, all the things that carry over from when you were an athlete you continue to do,” he said.

Some coaches at Iowa State decided to coach after the realization that a professional career wouldn’t pan out.

Jay Horton, ISU men’s head golf coach, turned professional in 1992 after playing college golf at the University of Alabama—Birmingham. After a one-year stint on the PGA tour, Horton became a professional golf coach at Woodland Hills Golf and Learning Center in Des Moines.

“I always knew I wanted to be in the golf business,” Horton said. “My first goal was to be in the PGA. My second was to be a golf pro at a club, but I quickly learned that I have a lot more fun teaching and watching my players.”

Horton said he has wanted to be involved in golf since he was a kid. He said his parents would drop him off at the golf course at 8 a.m. and pick him up at 8 p.m.

Coaching, Horton said, has allowed him to give back to the game he loves, and he hopes to one day see one of his players playing on the PGA.

Other coaches at Iowa State realized what they wanted to do as they were finishing up their college careers — DeMontie Cross included.

Cross, the outside linebackers coach on the ISU football team, is the all-time leading tackler at Missouri with 415 tackles and was second-team all-conference in the Big Eight in 1995 and in the Big 12 in 1996. “I didn’t really realize that I wanted to be a coach until later in my career when I started to help the younger players with the speed of the game and what it takes to win here in the Big 12,” Cross said.

What is it about sports that makes players want to stay involved?

Cross believes the challenge of coaching the players and helping turn them into productive young men makes it all worthwhile.

“The demand that football puts on you, you can’t help but learn from the whole nature of the game and the competition,” Cross said. “A lot of people impacted me, and it is a good opportunity for me to give back while I still have this excitement about the game.”

The coaches agreed that the biggest reason for athletes becoming coaches is the amount of time that they devote to the sport.

“It’s been a huge part of your everyday life so I think that you want to stay involved and pass that onto the next group coming through,” McCall said.