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Newberg hires volleyball coach |
By B. Scott
Anderson, Newberg Graphic reporter
E-mail Scott at
banderson@eaglenewspapers.com
|
MacKenzie Upchurch
has been hired as the new Newberg High School volleyball coach,
Newberg athletic director Tim Burke announced this week.
Upchurch, 25, coached in Newberg last season as the head coach of a
16-and-under club team. She takes over for Jamie Schantin, who
resigned after this past season to take a teaching position within
the Salem-Keizer School District.
Upchurch said she is excited about her first varsity head coaching
job.
“Newberg has such strong athletes and they’re well-rounded athletes
and the potential for the program is huge,” she said. “It’s an
exciting time to be in Newberg volleyball.”
Upchurch’s previous stint as coach was in 2003 as the junior
varsity volleyball coach at Gaston. She also spent six years as a
club coach in Forest Grove.
Upchurch, who graduated from Forest Grove High School in 2000,
moved to Newberg last year with her husband, Thom, and two children.
She soon became involved in the Newberg club volleyball program.
Burke said one of the reasons he hired Upchurch was because she
understood that coaching a varsity program at a high school involves
more than just instructing its players. It involves the youth
programs as well.
“When we talked to people about our coaching jobs, we’re looking
for somebody who can articulate that they understand that this is
about grades K-12, really,” he said. “And it’s also about an
belonging to academic/athletic situation and not just a club
situation. There’s grades and attendance and conduct and those types
of things that go along with a high school program.”
Burke said Upchurch’s conceptual skills, such as setting up an
environment where the game can be taught, were also key in the
decision to hire her. He added it wasn’t just the technical
knowledge he was looking for, but whether applicants could set up
practices to build on skills and not simply run drills.
Burke said the most important piece that the athletic department
was looking for was communication and personal skills.
“Those were all the things she nailed,” he said of her performance
during the interview process.
Upchurch takes over a program that qualified for the Class 6A state
playoffs last year despite a 3-7 Pacific Conference record and 5-11
overall record. The Tigers were ousted in the first round of the
tournament by Sprague. The Tigers finished 2-14 in the Pac-9
Conference in 2005 — good for eighth-place in the nine-team league.
Overall, the program has been starved for a winning season since it
won the Pac-9 Conference title and qualified for the state playoffs
for the first time in school history in 2003 under coach Ronni Cook.
Upchurch said her goals for the program are simple.
“It’s to build a stronger and more consistent program,” she said.
“To bring excitement to the game and to build school spirit.”
Notes: Upchurch will hold open gyms for volleyball players
who are incoming freshmen through seniors. The open gyms will be
held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. every Thursday, starting this week at
Edwards Elementary School. |
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From
June 30, 2007, Newberg Graphic
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