'Whirlwind' year for Bath family

As Mike Bath spoke during an interview last week, he was reminded that the topic of the original interview request last January was his acceptance of a new assistant football coaching position closer to home, but life took an interesting turn.

"The last 15 months have been a bit of a whirlwind," said Bath with a laugh.

It has been a whirlwind that featured commutes from Laramie, Wyoming, to Nashville, Tennessee; from Nashville to Kalamazoo, Michigan, and from Kalamazoo to Laramie in the first few months of 2019.

Not only did Bath take a new coaching position at Western Michigan University, but a week after taking the job, he and wife Tara adopted a child.

The Baths, who already had three children, Case, Colton and Savannah, began to think about adding another child when Mike was an assistant coach at his college alma mater of Miami University.

"It's all God's timing," said Bath, a 1996 graduate of Celina. "It was a six-year process to get to that final moment. We were sitting in church in Oxford and our pastor did a message about the call to adopt and care for orphans and widows. It was a moment where I thought the pastor was talking to me all that time. I didn't say anything to Tara then, but 4-5 months later it was still on my heart and I said something to her. … She said 'Hey, here's the reality. I've been thinking about it as well.' "

The timing in 2013 was tricky. The RedHawks finished 0-12 and Bath took over as interim head coach midway through the season after head coach Don Treadwell was fired.

"We said it wasn't the ideal time. Let's pray about it and see where it goes," said Bath.

Bath left Miami after the 2013 season and went to the University of Wyoming, spending five seasons with the Cowboys as a fullbacks/tight ends coach.

"After 6-8 months (in Wyoming), we brought it back up again, started talking about it and praying about it. Finally, we ended up committing to it," said Bath. "We started the process. It was about 2 1/2 years before we finally got the phone call."

During the process, the Baths got plenty of support from family and friends, including Celina's Brian and Kelly Anderson, who have adopted several children over the years.

"They have been unbelievable advocates for adoption. Brian and Kelly and I grew up together and are close friends," said Bath. "Just through that time talking to them and praying about it, we came to that conclusion."

Meanwhile, as the 2018 football season came to a close, Bath felt it was time to move on to another program.

"I had a couple of interviews set up at the (American Football Coaches Association) convention in January 2019 and was offered a job at Western Michigan," said Bath. "That was on a Monday, January 7. My wife and I discussed it and I took the job. We flew back to Laramie on Tuesday. I was getting stuff together and was in the process of listing our home. Then on Thursday night, we got a call from the adoption agency about a family in Nashville wanting us to adopt their child. My wife and I looked at each other and said 'We can't do this right now!' Then they told us the child was due on Monday and I was starting my job on Monday. We said 'Let's go and talk to the family.' We talked on the phone. We didn't commit, but we looked at each other. It was crazy timing for us, but it's God's timing and we'll go with it."

Breah Anderson, Brian and Kelly Anderson's daughter who at the time was a student and cheerleader at Wyoming, volunteered to serve as a nanny to the Bath children as Tara and Mike rushed to Nashville.

On Jan. 14, Cannon was born. While Tara remained in Nashville and stayed with Matt Edwards, a family friend and a former Miami teammate who is an assistant coach with the NFL's Tennessee Titans, Mike commuted from Nashville to Kalamazoo to begin his work with the Broncos.

"Tara stayed with Matt for the next 2 1/2 weeks until the state of Tennessee said she could take Cannon back to Wyoming," said Bath.

The next four months had Bath traveling back and forth from Laramie to help close on the home and prepare the family for the move and work in Kalamazoo. The rest of the Bath family arrived in Michigan in mid-May.

"It was crazy. My boss here (head coach Tim Lester) was great about it," said Bath. "We were so fortunate to have so many friends out in Wyoming. One of them picked up Tara and Cannon at the airport and took them back to Laramie. Breah was with our kids for three weeks. I was able to come back and forth for the next three months until I was able to get the family moved.

"For us, it's really been good," he added. "We got into a good church. Some of the guys on the staff I had known previously and the wives have been great. It's been a smooth transition since we got here."

Bath, a running backs coach for the Broncos, was able to enjoy a winning season in his first year as Western Michigan went 7-6 and earned a berth to the First Responders Bowl in Dallas, losing to Western Kentucky 23-20.

As preparations for the 2020 season got underway, the Broncos managed eight practices during the spring football period before being shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

While Bath is still doing football work, the stay-at-home mandate has meant plenty of quality time with Tara and the children.

"I still have work responsibilities, but I try to wake up early and get as much done as I can, then be available (for work) at times," said Bath. "Then at 4-5 p.m. I can walk out of the (home office), turn off the computer and walk into the living room and do whatever with the kids and that has been awesome. I know it's sad time in the world, but we are trying to maximize our time (together) as much as we can."