Walking into the Huard Family home, two things stand out. The Huards are tall humans, standing 5 feet 10 inches and 6 feet 5 inches. Second, their Christian faith has a more significant presence in their home than their sports legacy.
The family’s athletic pedigree runs deep, with elite athletes in multiple sports. Molly and Brock Huard met at the University of Washington in the mid-90s. Both were D1 athletes in women’s basketball and men’s football, respectively.
“There may have been some stalking involved,” Brock says.
Molly responded, “He caught my attention when he answered this question in a campus publication, ‘Who is your favorite athlete?’ His answer was Molly Hills.”
Molly grew up north of Seattle. Her dad was a collegiate and minor league baseball pitcher, and her sister was a Husky basketball player. Brock grew up in Pulluyup, Wash. He is the son of a former collegiate football player, high school football coach, and brother to two other football players. Almost all their nephews play collegiate sports. At UW, they connected over their experience with sport as a community and extended family.
Molly’s collegiate basketball career foreshadowed many women’s programs today. Her team regularly drew bigger crowds than the men’s team, up to 5,000 attendees. Her coach, Chris Gobrecht, now the women’s basketball coach at The Air Force Academy, animated the sideline, bench, and audience. She coached a fast-paced, aggressive, man-to-man defense, which was highly entertaining and different from the strategy on most women’s basketball teams.
After UW, Brock continued to the NFL, with a couple of stints with his hometown Seahawks and as Peyton Manning’s backup in Indianapolis. He has built a post-professional sports career in broadcasting, providing color commentary for UW Huskies Football team’s televised broadcasts and hosting a sports podcast weekday mornings on Seattle radio.
Both Molly and Brock acknowledge the blessing of growing up with athletic genes and nurturing but sports-focused environments. Brock even jokes about their family's gene-building.
“But sport is not our family identity,” Brock says. “It is what we have been gifted to do, blessed to do, what we love to do, what people have poured into us to do. And we want to give it back.”
Now, the Huard daughters, Haley, a junior, and Macey, a freshman, both over 6 feet tall, play D1 basketball with the University of Montana Lady Griz. Son Titus, already 6 feet 4 inches in 8th grade, is honing his skills as a football quarterback and on the baseball field.
Molly advised her girls when choosing a collegiate program: "Go someplace where girls basketball is important to the community, where there is a full gym of fans to watch the team.”
Their oldest daughter, Haley, chose the University of Montana because she agreed with her mom and found it with the Lady Griz. Middle daughter Macey decided to follow her big sis to Missoula.
Molly reminds her girls, “You are reaping the reward of the pioneers before you in women’s sports. It is so different for women who are college athletes now. Post-collegiate professional sports weren’t on the horizon for most female athletes.” One of the Huard girls hopes to take her collegiate success to the next level. The other feels like collegiate ball will be the end of her playing career.
Molly is thrilled her girls carried on the family legacy in sport. “Elite female athletes build confidence, mental toughness, fortitude, and resiliency; that is hard to find outside of sport,” Molly says. “Look at the high percentage of CEOs that were women collegiate athletes. It’s astoundingly high.”
As a longtime member of the Seattle sports community, Brock and son Titus attended the 2024 NCAA Football Championship game between the University of Washington and the University of Michigan. Brock talked about the thrill of returning to that community again, where he met up with old teammates and coaches. Brock didn’t even mention the Husky's disappointing loss to the Wolverines.
“It’s not only about the results,” he said. Youth sports is “about development, about community, about the relationships you build. As I’ve gotten older, I understand it isn’t all about the results.” Brock frequently uses the words “connective tissue” to describe that community. Beyond the anatomical fibers, he means the fibers built into relationships within that community with teammates, coaches, other athletes, and even his listeners on the radio.
The family’s strong Christian faith informs their approach to just about everything. They are guided by Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.”
“We have tried to stay grounded and humbled, in that the athletic gifts are solely from Him. Then it’s up to us what we do with them, how hard we work at crafting our sport.“ Brock says.
Molly responds, “Kids would agree this is one of their favorite verses too, and so true. We’re big believers there’s no substitute for hard work, and that often means sacrificing in other areas.”
The home’s picture-window wall and vaulted ceiling, displaying the front range mountains and drawing in the sunshine, are an idyllic environment for the Seattle transplants. They moved to Highlands Ranch in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawn to Valor High School’s Christian-centered education and respected sports programming, this particular home immediately called to them, as the big, blue Colorado skies were a welcome change to the northwest’s heavy clouds.
Denver’s central location makes Brock’s travel much more efficient, and they are committed to supporting Colorado Springs’ faith-based Compassion International. Compassion International aims to eliminate poverty worldwide through individual child sponsorship and frontline church intervention.
Molly, an interior designer by trade, transferred her design acumen into a new business venture called Designify Box. Designify caters to one of the fastest-growing segments of sports fandom: women. These specially curated boxes of accessories take into account the team colors, the style of the wearer, and other details. Designify meets women where they are and what they love: accessories personalized for their team and their style. She offers everything from big Southern-style bling to understated baseball caps for women in the West. Her University of Colorado box includes licensed logo and mascot options. Designify can personalize boxes for any team, club, high school, college, or professional.
As Molly and Brock raise the next generation of Huard athletes and guide their family to service in the name of God, they also pursue their professional passions that long outlive their playing days. All with the grace and humility their faith asks of them.
“I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13
"You are reaping the reward of the pioneers before you in women’s sports."
