Each Monday of the fall semester, we’ll be bringing you three different “Getting to Know Them” profiles on coaches, athletic administrators and athletic trainers at Slippery Rock to introduce you to the folks behind the scenes here at The Rock. Next up, we check in with volleyball assistant coach Erin Street.  

FAST FACTS
- 11th year at Slippery Rock
- Former head coach at Grove City College
- 2006 graduate of Wheeling Jesuit University
- Earned a master’s degree in community counseling from Slippery Rock in 2009

QUICK BIO
Street is in her 11th overall season as an assistant coach at Slippery Rock and is currently in her second stint in the position after spending four seasons as the head coach at nearby Grove City College. Street played setter on the Division II team at Wheeling Jesuit, where she finished her career ranked in the top 10 in numerous categories for the Cardinals. 

IN HER WORDS
Q: What’s the first concert you went to? What’s the most recent concert you went to?
A: Bette Midler when I was 11 was my first concert ?. My most recent concert was the Our Lady Peace, Bush and Live tour in Denver, Colorado last summer.

Q: What was your favorite subject in school? Why?
A: In high school - English/Literature and/or Spanish because I had phenomenal teachers and competence in the subjects. In college – Psychology because I had great professors and interest/competence in the subject.

Q: Tell us about your family.
A: My family is THE BEST. My parents, Dennis and Wendy, sold my childhood home in Charlotte, N.C. in 2019 and moved up here to be closer to me and because they “didn’t want to miss another volleyball season.” My mom is a retired health and physical education middle school teacher and my dad is a retired aviation mechanic with JetBlue. My sister, Kelly, also moved to Pennsylvania from the Czech Republic, so we are all close for the first time since the year 2000. She works for PNC Bank and is an alumna of The Ohio State University. My parents grew up in Chagrin Falls, Ohio and the majority of my family still lives in the Chagrin Falls area, which is less than two hours from The Rock, so we get to see each other often. My favorite cousin, Lindsay, is also an SRU alumna (2009 Public Health). We try to have full family monthly brunches in new locations as much as possible. We have “Cousins Nights,” and my family works hard to get to multiple SRU volleyball games each year.

Q: What was your first job growing up?
A: I started working volleyball camps very young with my club coach – that was probably my first steady summer job. A job I held throughout the schoolyear in high school was as a Playtime Associate (not making this title up) for a pet boarding place/pet salon in Charlotte. 

Q: When did you know you wanted to go into a career in collegiate athletics?
A: As soon as I realized what veterinarians REALLY did for a living… I set my sights on collegiate coaching – probably in middle school, honestly. I had an extremely spoiled existence growing up – my dad worked for an airline, so we could fly stand-by for free anywhere. We had season tickets to the UNC Charlotte (UNCC) women’s volleyball team home games and we would also fly to watch them play away games - we were some of their biggest fans. UNCC flew the same airline, so we actually flew on the SAME PLANES sometimes with the team and my sister and I could sit next to the players – unbelievable. Totally spoiled, insane upbringing. So, I was very fortunate to not only be coached by high level coaches in the city of Charlotte, but I was also exposed to collegiate athletics at a very young age – the good and the bad. A career in coaching was always on my mind, but I didn’t know if it was feasible for me, so that’s why I studied psychology, counseling and higher education – everything fits together. I realized it was feasible when I was offered the volleyball graduate assistant position at SRU in my top choice master’s degree program. 

Q: What was the last book you read? Thoughts on it?
A: The last book I read and finished was “Soup” by Jon Gordon – loved it – it helped me get through the first phase of quarantine because it made me think of my team and how we can continue to improve our culture and head in the right direction. It occupied my mind with what I was missing most – my players. A book I started but have not finished is “Becoming” by Michelle Obama – loving it so far, just need to keep up with it instead of getting distracted with magazines and online articles. 

Q: What’s your all-time favorite movie? You can give us a few if you can’t pick just one.
A: Little Mermaid – Beauty and the Beast – So I Married an Axe Murderer – Molly Ringwald movies. Honestly, let’s cut to the chase – it’s Beauty and the Beast, the animated version.

Q: How do you relax?
A: I have high anxiety, so this is difficult, but beach vacations whenever I can get them seem to relax me for longer periods of time. Otherwise, listening to music swinging on my front porch swing relaxes me short term.

Q: What’s your favorite meal?
A: Steak and baked potato for dinner or a really good omelet for breakfast.

Q: What meal/dish/item are you best at cooking? 
A: Coffee…lol…actually, I have picked up baking cookies and muffins during the quarantine. My most redeeming quality in the kitchen is how good I am at doing the dishes. Oh, my players really like my buffalo chicken dip ?

Q: What’s your favorite restaurant? What do you order there?
A: Sonny’s Real Pit BBQ. ¼ BBQ chicken, all white meat, no slaw, extra fries or BBQ beans with a side of ranch dressing and a sweet tea. 

Q: What was your first car? What’s your dream car?
A: 1999 Honda CR-V. I’m not really into cars and I love my current car (Subaru Forester), so maybe just a tricked out, fancy version of my current car – or some luxury SUV – no matter what I need all wheel drive in this weather.

Q: What artists and/or songs on your current most-listened to playlist?
A: Incubus, Our Lady Peace, 3 Doors Down, Rush, Band of Horses, or stations like Y2Kountry, Hits 1 Workout, and PopRocks.

Q: Favorite current TV show? Favorite TV show of all-time?
A: Younger or Evil. The Office or Friends. 

Q: What’s the best advice you ever received and who did it come from?
A: My parents are wonderful role models and I’ve been blessed with so many wonderful mentors – I think whoever pounded this into my head – “Character is who you are in the dark” has stuck with me forever.  And “a leader is someone who does something even when they really don’t want to do it.” My parents and my club volleyball coach, Howard Barnhill.

Q: What’s your favorite season/type of weather? Why?
A: Fall – it’s volleyball season, but also the weather is such a nice mixture of warmth heading into chilly – shorts and a hoodie weather – plus western Pennsylvania is beautiful in the fall.

Q: When you go grocery shopping, are you the “Make a List” person or the “Just Wing It” person?
A: Mostly a “make a list person” to avoid impulse buys or hangry buys.

Q: What was your favorite or most memorable vacation?
A: Wow… probably our Street family vacation to Mackinac Island in Michigan when I was young or our family vacation to the Czech Republic in 2012.

Q: Where is one place you haven’t visited yet, but you definitely plan to?
A: Ireland!

Q: You could have dinner with three people living or dead, who would they be and why? 
A: I’d need four people – both sets of my grandparents. My paternal grandfather passed away when I was one and my paternal grandmother passed away when I was six. My maternal grandfather, aka “Papa,” passed when I was 12 and my maternal grandmother passed in 2009.  I just feel like I didn’t get much time with them and there’s a lot of family history among these four people.

Q: Are you a tech savvy person?
A: Absolutely not – I can get by.

Q: Describe your perfect day off.
A: Sleep in! Enjoy a pot of coffee and nice breakfast in my pajamas. Take a drive to a beautiful place to hike – breathe fresh air for several hours. Maybe a post-hike nap. Dinner outside with friends/family at a local restaurant. After dinner bonfire with s’mores. How many hours are in this day? ? 

Q: What is your biggest fear?
A: Loneliness and failure. Oh, and I’m not a fan of heights.

Q: Can you sing?
A: Absolutely NOT.

Q: What is/would be your go-to karaoke song?
A: J. Lo – Jenny from the Block or Beyoncé – Run the World or NSYNC – Bye Bye Bye or Destiny’s Child – Jumpin’ Jumpin’.

Q: You can only eat one thing the rest of your life, what is it?
A: Beef stew over mashed potatoes.

Q: Fly or drive for a long trip?
A: Both! Either! All of the above! YES TO TRAVEL!

Q: How did you decide on your pet names?
A: Pet’s appearance or honestly usually an adopted pet already has a name, so either keeping that name or changing it to something better but that rhymes so the pet still knows what’s going on. 

Q: Cats or dogs?
A: Yes. Just not fish.

Q: Is a hot dog a sandwich?
A: Haha, absolutely not, it’s a hot dog.

Q: Does pineapple belong on pizza?
A: Absolutely not.

A: Sheetz or WaWa?
Sheetz.

Q: What’s the last TV show you binged watched?
A: Handmaid’s Tale

Q: Is there a professor you had a class with in college that you still remember? Who and why?
A: I remember all of my college professors – Dr. Hull, Dr. Raudenbush, Dr. Osland, Dr. Ashton, Dr. Keener (now here at The Rock), Dr. Welton, Dr. Whitehead, Dean Faso, Father Stark, etc.  I had a great experience at Wheeling Jesuit University with my professors. It was a small school, so faculty members knew most students pretty well. 

Q: How long can you go without looking at your phone?
A: I could throw it into the creek…so… days.

Q: What was the last app you downloaded on your phone? What is your most-used app?
A: AVST Mobile for work on campus. Spotify, SiriusXM, or Facebook. Twitter and Instagram for work.

Q: What’s one game show or reality show you could go on that you think you could win?
A: Match Game! Or maybe Worst Cooks in America…

Q: Retirement destination?
A: Wherever my family is located.

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