There are times when Cal lacrosse head coach Brooke Eubanks schedules calls with coaches before the sun comes up.

"I might ask a coach on the East Coast, 'Hey, are you free at 9 a.m. tomorrow?' They're like, 'Isn't that 6 a.m. your time?' But that's before my kids wake up," Eubanks said.

Yes, Eubanks is a Division I head coach with all the demands and obligations that go with it.

And she's also a mom.

"It's definitely a challenge," Eubanks said. "The saying, 'It takes a village' is 100 percent true. I would not be able to do what I do without the support of the village. Those are people within the working environment who just kind of understand flexibility and timing."

Eubanks is one of several female head coaches at Cal who are also moms, who are constantly balancing the demands of major college athletics with family. The challenges that present working moms across society are plentiful, and it's no different in the college coaching profession. The many moving parts of overseeing an athletic program make those challenges even more unique.

"There is definitely a time balance," said Cal women's water polo head coach Coralie Simmons, who along with her wife, Emilie, are parents to Cooper, 9, and Teagan, 7. "There's an ebb and flow of making it all work. It's just important to have a good support system of student-athletes and water polo staff, the department and my family. If I have to go on a big recruiting trip, we have a plan to balance things best as a family and make sure our kids get to be kids and our family gets to be a family."

As it turns out, the children of working moms in college athletics generally look forward to tagging along for games, practices or other team functions. And it's usually reciprocated by the student-athletes they come to visit.

"Given our busy schedules between practice, competition, recruiting and long office hours, finding good work-life integration can be a challenge in college athletics, and our female coaches and staff who are also moms are incredible role models," Cal Director of Athletics Jim Knowlton said. "The way in which they attend to all of their responsibilities is an inspiration to us all. Cal Athletics will always be committed to fostering a family atmosphere and culture, and we are incredibly fortunate to have the women that we do showing us how it's done."

Cal's Liz Crandall-Howell, who is co-head coach of the Golden Bears' women's gymnastics team along with her husband, Justin, has three children who have been around the sport since they were born. She said her youngest son, Greyson, 7, has missed out on a big part of his life during the COVID-19 pandemic because he hasn't been able to attend meets.

"Before this year, Grayson had never missed a competition," Crandall-Howell said. "That's one thing that Grayson really missed out on last year because it was so much part of his regular routine."

Simmons said she had to wait until her children became a little older and it was safe to have them around a pool before she starting bringing them to events. Late last season when health protocols allowed student-athletes and coaches to welcome invited guests to games, Cooper and Teagan made an appearance.

"They love coming, and the athletes definitely like being able to see them and what my life looks like away from the pool," Simmons said. "They love water polo. Cooper takes stats and Teagan is starting to figure out the logic around team sports so she is understanding things better. More than anything, they like seeing the athletes and feeling like they are part of something that is a big part of my life."

Cal's head coaches who are moms can also serve as role models for other women who may not believe they can balance the obligations of coaching with family.

"If you want to be a head coach and have a child, it obviously takes a village to help you out to do it," said Cal softball head coach Chelsea Spencer, who has a 1-year old son, Miles. "There's a stigma about it. A lot of women coaches in softball are dropping out because they want to have a family. I get it. It's hard. But I think if we just continue to be successful women head coaches that do their job, we can prove people wrong. It's important to see that you can have a family and be a strong woman, and have our careers flourish."

Cal women's tennis head coach Amanda Augustus had her 1-year old son, Kai, with her when the Bears won their first-ever Pac-12 Tournament last spring in San Diego. Augustus was an NCAA doubles champion as a player at Cal and wants to set an example for the female student-athletes she is now charged with overseeing.

"I try to teach the young women on the team that it's possible – they can really have it all," Augustus said. "They can have their tennis, their school, their career – I just try to model that for them as best I can every day, and try to use the time management skills I used as a student-athlete at Cal and continue to try to apply them. I really like giving back to my sport and my university and the athletic department. I had a great experience, and I'm paying it forward. I want to help these women do that."