Ryan Day's wife Nina details their love story, what comes with being married to a head coach

It's a love story that all started on the Diamond 15 years, 11 moves and three kids along the journey as Ryan Day prepares his Buckeyes for the upcoming season, his wife rallies her own team at home. I sat down with Nina Day to talk about a life filled with family and football. There was a note that we saved. I think I was in seventh grade that I wrote you. I said I was gonna marry Ryan, you know, but we've always, we've always been best friends. This is Ryan. This is my twin sister, Kelly and that's me from T ball sweethearts to the first lady of Buckeye football. Nina Day is a daughter, football mom and coach's wife all in one married to not just a coach, the coach in college football. We grew up in Manchester, New Hampshire about a mile and a half away from each other. And we went to the same elementary school, um same middle school, high school and then eventually the same college. So, uh I'm pretty much down on my whole life from high school prom to the University of New Hampshire. Ryan and Nina shared every phase of life together. We dated off and on and then once we graduated college, we just got back together and, you know, the rest is history. There was always a comfort level with him. Um, and we're still best friends. So, um, I think that's the best way, you know, a marriage can be is, you know, you're with your best friend every day. When did you know that Ryan was kind of destined to be a head coach? Probably when we're on the same T ball team at like six years old. And he yelled at me for picking Danny Lyons and told me to get focused. Um Yeah, he's always just been um a coach like, you know, whether it was on the playground. Um, you know, in elementary school, he's always been super competitive. Nina also shared that spirit every time she would watch her QB one at the college level. My dad always reminds me of a story. I was watching him on TV play Northeastern and he had five interceptions in the game and I was so upset and I was crying and then, you know, he ended up calling me and I'm, I, you know, foolishly asked him like, did you know what color he was today? And so yeah, I've learned my lesson not to just don't say anything after his playing days, Ryan switched over to the sideline, but being a coach's wife comes with many stops along the way within a 15 year span, we moved 11 times. Um, and, you know, in that time we had three Children. So it was, it was a lot. But, yeah, I mean, from the year we got married to probably, until we got to Ohio State, it was every year or every two years we were moving. So, um, it was very unstable for a long time. A lifestyle that Nina is all too familiar with growing up with a father who coached basketball at Southern New Hampshire University. If I didn't have my dad, I'm not sure we'd be where we are because he is just provided so much insight. Um He was a very successful hall of fame basketball coach back home. Um but he never moved, we never moved. Um he was at the same school for 44 years. Um And so when Ryan got into coaching, um he really encouraged us to um go after it and, and move and see where it took us after stops at Boston College Temple University. Philly and the 49ers football led the day family straight to Columbus, but we've been out here eight years and my kids don't really know, they don't really remember all the moving. So I feel blessed about that. And um yeah, this is home for them, but for their oldest son RJ, moving became somewhat of a norm. I don't know how I did it, you know, with babies moving every 10 months in and out of homes. And you know, my son RJ for from first to fifth grade, he started a school in one state and ended in another school in another state. So it was in seven different elementary schools. So, but it's made him so more, much more resilient. How does it feel watching your son RJ play quarterback at the sales knowing that back in the day, Ryan played that same position. Yeah, they argue every night about who was better at that age. And so I remember watching Ryan and now I am watching my son and I can't convince Ryan that his son is way better than me was back in college. You could always find Nina in the stands at New Hampshire and now she does the same for her son RJ in his sophomore season as quarterback at the sales high school. I mean, literally they're best friends. They, they talk all the time when RJ has any time off. He's at the woody with his father. Um he loves loves when Ryan coaches them hard. I've never met a kid that likes to be all that he does and Ryan goes after him, you know, and so, and they watch film together every night and I'm trying to go to bed. So in our room, but it's just, they have a love of football and they're both football junkies and um they bond over that and I just see RJ coaching one day just like his uh he's under a microscope and he has a lot more pressure than the average 16 year old, but he's done a great job. Um, kind of putting that aside and saying this is who I am and this is my, these are my dreams and I know that you know who my dad is, but you know, I'm RJ and I give him a lot of credit for that. The day family may be home to one of the top college coaches in the country and the first lady of Buckeye football, but like every other die hard fan, Nina has her own rituals, a lucky necklace that she wears to every single game. And yes, she already has it ready to go for Saturday. I just wanna say thank you Nina for taking the time to share your family story.