How Tiffany Koithan uses Iowa’s recreation to support a healthy, active family life
When family wellness is a priority, it comes a little bit easier in Iowa, where wide-open trails, neighborhood parks and year-round recreation give endless reasons to get outside and get moving. For Tiffany Koithan, a coach and mom of two, keeping her kiddos active happens naturally on trails, at local parks, and along bike paths that start practically outside their front door.
Read on or watch Tiffany share how Iowa’s outdoor spaces, family-friendly amenities and supportive community help her make health and wellness a daily priority for both her athletes and her kids.
What are some of your favorite memories of your family’s visits to Sandy Hollow Recreation Trail? How did exploring the Trail become a family tradition?
We have two little boys and a dog with lots of energy, so we prioritize getting outside and into nature as much as possible. We found Sandy Hollow Trail shortly after we moved here – it is only 5 minutes down the road from where we live. When the weather is nice, we go weekly. Our boys like to run around and race each other, and there is a playground there that they like to play on as well. Sandy Hollow has everything our boys need to have fun – a creek, a long path all the way around where they can ride their bikes or scooters, and lots of trees for them to climb on. The boys love it there, and my husband and I are both 10K steps a day people, so the trail is a win for the whole family. In the summers we see lots of people camping there so we plan to do that next summer together as well.
You mentioned that Iowa is special because it allows your kids to be active outdoors in a safe environment. Besides exploring the trail, what are some of their favorite activities to do in Iowa, and why?
The parks around us are fantastic, so we rotate which park we go to daily! There are also many bike paths weaved throughout Sioux Center that are really nice and easy to use. Sioux Center just put in brand new pickleball courts that are so fun and are always packed with people wanting to play.
The most popular attraction in Sioux Center is the Siouxnami Waterpark – it is the coolest waterpark, fun for all ages, that also offers an indoor area with slides and diving boards for when the weather is cold! We have a yearly pass there because we take the boys there once or twice a week year-round. There is an ice skating rink inside as well which is another great winter activity.
Only about 50 minutes away is Sioux City, which has Brown’s Lake Bigelow Park where our boys like to go fishing. We also love Loess Hills State Forest which has over 11,000 acres to explore, and Stone State Park for more beautiful trails. Whether it’s warm or cold out, there are always fun things to do that will keep our kids moving!
As a mom, how do you reinforce to your kids the importance of making the pursuit of health and wellness a lifelong mission?
We love to show our kids the importance of pursuing wellness by modeling that for them ourselves. Whether it’s doing a workout with them in our living room (we have 1lb dumbbells for them to use so they can join us), taking them to the park every day, running around the indoor track at Dordt College, or exploring a trail with them, we are always prioritizing movement. When the boys were asked what their parents like to do for fun, their answer was “workout.” I am a firm believer that they will replicate what they watch, so I believe they will love movement and nature when they are older as much as we do.
You mentioned being a strength & conditioning coach at Dordt College. How does that play into your overall quality of life in Iowa? Anything about that experience that you feel is especially unique being in Iowa?
I am the assistant women’s basketball coach and strength & conditioning coach at Dordt for both women’s basketball and volleyball. One thing that is so special about Dordt being in a smaller town in Iowa is that we get tons of support from the community. Sioux Center and the local towns around us love our teams and love to support our players. Our basketball team has won the NAIA national championship two years in a row, and both years we filled up the Tyson Center in Sioux City with fans.
There is a joke in the athletics world that women’s sports don’t get fans – well not here in rural Iowa. And I can vouch for the local high schools too – I go to a different high school every week to recruit and am always shocked by how full each gym is. This just goes to show how much the people here value community and show up for each other. And this is a huge reason that the people who grow up here tend to not want to leave.
