"Play ball!" is a familiar refrain in the Mick household — and has been ever since Bobby and Brenda Mick first met.

It was 1997.

Bobby was a baseball coach at Klamath Union High School — where he had also won a state title as a player in 1990.

Brenda was a recruited pitcher to play softball at Oregon Tech. There she helped to lead their team to its first NAIA World Series.

Brenda's Oregon Tech Path

Brenda was excited not only about playing for Oregon Tech but the opportunity to be one of the very first students to study in the university's brand new (at the time) Diagnostic Medical Sonography Program — where she would become an ultrasound technologist.

Klamath Falls proved to be a wonderful place to be a college athlete and the type and size of a community where she thought would be ideal for raising a family and beginning life as a professional.

Meeting Bobby — The Mick Baseball Dynasty

It was the spring of that same year that Brenda met Bobby Mick through close friends.

The Mick name evokes baseball dynasty in the Klamath community — as both Bobby and his older brother John were decorated baseball players and coaches.

Bobby even went on to play college baseball on a scholarship — building on the success that earned him a state title at KU.

Shared Hopes — A Foundation for Marriage

Brenda credits their having early conversations about shared hopes as one of the reasons why their marriage is so successful today, a quarter of a century later.

"We talked about what we wanted our life to look like — those things that would give us a strong foundation." — Brenda

In December of 1998 they were married and began their future and life in Klamath Falls.

Three Kids — Three Athletic Stars

Kaila — Oregon Tech Hustlin' Owls Softball

The Mick's eldest daughter, and extremely gifted athlete, Kaila, is a senior at Oregon Tech studying to be a dental hygienist.

She will have her degree along with another year of eligibility (due to COVID) to do big things on the softball diamond for the Hustlin' Owls — where she has been an integral part of the team at two NAIA National Women's College World Series during her college career.

Kaila's plans are to see out the extra year of softball.

Malia — Following Sister's Path

Brenda's rave reviews of Oregon Tech have inspired Malia to follow in Kaila's footsteps as she studies to be an ultrasound technologist.

Malia went on to play college softball as well — but a series of three knee surgeries during her high-school playing years had affected her on-field repetitions.

Encouragingly, by her senior year of high school, her injuries were in the rear-view mirror and she had a truly phenomenal season of softball.

So much so, that Oregon Tech's head women's softball coach offered her a scholarship to not only join her sister on the talented team but to get an amazing education at a school offering careers in medicine — which was Malia's chosen field of study.

Nolan — Henley Hornets Basketball + Outdoors

Nolan — at age 16 — grew up watching more softball than anyone can imagine watching his older sisters play.

As such, he took a different route for his passions and pastimes:

  • High-school basketball for the Henley Hornets
  • Avid snowboarder
  • Wakeboarder
  • Surfer
  • Serious hunter with significant skills

Nolan has been taught the art of hunting by Bobby — and they have had some amazing hunts for mule deer, elk, antelope, duck, and geese. Bobby and Nolan really enjoy their time spent together outdoors and hunting.

Two Generations of Grandparents — Married 50+ Years

Both Bobby and Brenda's parents have been married more than 50 years.

According to Brenda, they set a beautiful standard for what love and loyalty look like.

Today those same grandparents are Oregon Tech Women's Softball super fans — routinely traveling to tournaments and games in Arizona, California, Georgia, Idaho, and beyond to cheer for their favorite team and dynamite duo granddaughters.

That kind of multi-generational sports support — grandparents who travel across the country to watch their grandkids play softball — is exactly what makes the Mick family worth featuring.

Bobby — Coach and Father

Bobby has been grateful for the privilege and opportunity to coach his girls in softball over the years.

He has coached them beginning when they were quite young — and the multi-year coach-and-dad relationship has clearly produced two college-level athletes plus a son finding his own competitive path.

Brenda at Sky Lakes — Two Decades

Brenda is in her twentieth year of working at Sky Lakes Medical Center.

Her professional family and "hospital life" bring her great satisfaction and joy.

"Sky Lakes is a great place to work. The people I get to work with, the patients I care for, and my colleagues are all wonderful!" — Brenda

That kind of two-decade career stability at one institution — while also raising three athletic kids and supporting Bobby's coaching — is a meaningful achievement.

Summer at Lake Shastina

On many summer weekends, you will find the Micks and a dozen kids at Lake Shastina on the Mick's boat:

  • Wakeboarding
  • Water-skiing
  • Surfing
  • Tubing
  • Swimming
  • Enjoying the sunshine

The family focus on being both fit and fun is contagious to the kids' friendship circles.

Bobby and Brenda are so proud of the wonderful friendship circles the kids have chosen to surround themselves with — and, in turn, always something they enjoy and being around their friends is a real gift.

"AWESOME" Outings

"The outings are AWESOME!" — the consistent verdict from kids who've been on the Mick boat for a Lake Shastina summer day

For a family centered on athletic competition and outdoor recreation, those summer Lake Shastina weekends are exactly the kind of memories that bind a multi-generational family together for life.

Small-Town Living

The fact that all the Mick children love where they live is a testament to the beauty of small-town living in the Klamath Basin.

For Kaila and Malia — choosing Oregon Tech meant choosing to stay in (or near) their hometown. For Nolan — Henley Hornets basketball is exactly the kind of high-school athletic experience the basin produces.

Thank You

To Bobby and Brenda Mick — and to Kaila, Malia, and Nolan — thank you for sharing your family with Klamath Living.

Your story is a shining example of:

  • Multi-generational family commitment
  • Klamath roots that produce college-level athletes who choose to stay
  • Sports as a vehicle for family connection
  • Outdoors as the basin's greatest gift to families
  • The kind of marriage and parenting that 25+ years of partnership requires

The basin is better because the Micks are here.

Go Hustlin' Owls. Go Hornets. And see you on Lake Shastina this summer.