Green and Salt Lake Community College coach Shay Goulding earned West Coaches of the Year. The national coach of the year went to NJCAA Division III Central Lakes College coach Jane Peterson, who won the school’s third national title in eight seasons.
Green said that it is an honor to be selected as a regional coach of the year by his peers.
“It is an honor because there are many good coaches in junior college,” he said,
“so it always feels good to be selected.”
Green coached the Cougar volleyball team to a 54-2 record and the college’s first national title with a four-game win over Miami Dade College. WNCC’s success this season came after the team finished runner-up a year ago.
In his nine years at WNCC, Green has led the Cougars to nine Region IX titles, five national semi-final appearances and 453 wins. This is Green’s third consecutive AVCA West Region Coach of the Year award and his fourth overall.
Green, though, has always been a part of winning every since his first head coaching stint at Gering High School in 1995. Green was fresh out of college and was coaching in the place of Craig Schadwinkel, who was taking a sabbatical. That season, the Bulldogs competed in Class A that season, and Green said that was a great opportunity for him.
“I learned a lot from the experience and it made me a better coach when I went on to Battle Creek,” he said. “I still see some of the players from when I coached at Gering. Becky Zwickle (Kelly) for example was a sophomore on that team. It was a great opportunity for me.”
Green actually never thought he would achieve this kind of success during his coaching tenure.
“I have never have looked into the future much,” he said. “I try to set goals for myself and the team yearly, but I think it is important to try to keep focused in the immediate future and not think to far ahead. It has been enjoyable everywhere I have coached, from Gering to Battle Creek to Kauai, Hawaii, high school to WNCC.”
Green has also learned from the best among the coaching ranks, including ex-Nebraska volleyball coach Terry Petit and ex-BYU men’s coach Carl McGown.
“I have taken some things from several coaches around the country, including Terry Petite and his ‘progressions’ in the teaching individual skills, and also Carl McGown and his methods of teaching competitiveness and teaching what comes natural to the volleyball player as an athlete.”
Green said that he is not sure of what is next on the ladder of achievements. All he knows is that he doesn’t want a let down.
“Hopefully we can continue this success at WNCC and try for another championship next season,” he said.
Staying on top, though, won’t be easy, especially for a Cougar team that losses six sophomores – Soriana Pacheco and Jennifer Eichler, who are headed to Division I next season, Kendra Schauermann, Shawntell Jones, Stacie Meisner and Cassie Vrooman. Chelsea Lyles also may not come back if she elects to play basketball at a four-year school.
Among the returners for the Cougars, though, is national tournament MVP Aida Bauza, national tournament top server Nayka Benitez, national tournament all-tournament performer Fatima Balza. So the cupboard isn’t bare by any means.
“There were many great teams in JUCO this season and they all will also have that goal of competing for and winning a national championship,” he said. “So, obviously, it will be very tough to repeat.”
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