Touchdown for the Hardecopfs with a new baby

Andrew Hardecopf is used to coaching football players on how to score touchdowns, but he and his wife, Sam, recently scored a touchdown of their own.
The Hardecopfs welcomed a baby girl, Harper Jo, to their family on Jan. 23. Harper is believed to be the first baby born in 2021 within the Blooming Prairie School District.
She was born at 2:35 p.m. at Owatonna hospital. Harper weighed in at 7 pounds, 10 ounces and was 20 ¼ inches tall.
“She is a happy baby,” said her proud father. “Harper is a rock star. She has been sleeping about six hours consistently. She is not real fussy unless she is hungry.”
Harper doesn’t have to stray very far from home. Her mother stays at home with her and provides daycare for four other area children. “It’s pretty nice she will be able to take care of her and others,” Andrew said, adding by doing so, it saves them some money.
Andrew said he is excited about starting a family. “Parenthood is awesome,” he said. “It has changed our lives, but we had prepared for those changes,” he added.
He said there is nothing more fulfilling than waking up in the morning and seeing the baby sleeping and to be able to provide for her. When he comes home at night, he likes how his day gets better because he gets to see his daughter and hold her.
For Andrew, the greatest challenge will be time management as he keeps a hectic professional schedule. In addition to coaching football, Andrew also coaches golf and basketball. He has been a math teacher for the past seven years at Blooming Prairie Elementary School where he specializes in students who struggle with math.
“Finding time to be at home with family and make I meaningful time will be a challenge,” said Andrew, who took off a couple weeks when Harper was born before getting back to the daily grind.
The Hardecopfs found that expecting a child during COVID-19 altered their plans in many ways. The pandemic changed some of the baby showers prior to Harper’s birth. Some of them were even transformed into drive-by showers. Andrew wasn’t able to attend his family’s shower because he was quarantined at the time.
Sam discovered that COVID meant more video appointments with her doctor during the pregnancy and less time at the clinic and hospital. They also had to limit the amount of people around her prior to the birth.
Andrew and Sam also chose to not go out as much into the public during her pregnancy. “We chose to stay at home more out of precaution,” Andrew said, adding they didn’t want to be exposed to anything unnecessarily.
The couple has been married since June 2018. Andrew and Sam met while teaching at the elementary school. In recent years, Sam taught at St. Mary’s School in Owatonna.
Sam grew up in Blooming Prairie where she graduated in 2011. Andrew graduated from Grand Meadow in 2009. They both have elementary education degrees from Winona State University.
Asked about future additions to the family, Andrew said, “We go back and forth between two and three. If we get another girl, we will try for a boy. If we end up with three girls, I think I will just bow out.”