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Paul Valencia: Without Dettorre, Clark County volleyball has a void

Commentary: Paul Valencia

By Paul Valencia, Columbian High School Sports Reporter

Published: November 5, 2014, 12:00am

Heritage volleyball coach Chelinda Dettorre had a message for her players a few days before the team’s final regular-season home match.

It was not just going to be goodbye for the six seniors in the program.

“I told them I was going out with them,” Dettorre said.

Dettorre, who won a state championship as the head coach at Prairie and has been the only volleyball coach at Heritage, is stepping down. Dettorre will continue in her 30-plus years as an educator — she is a counselor at Heritage — but she said this is her final season as a head coach.

“Very mixed emotions,” Dettorre said. “It’s hard to end something you’ve put your heart and soul into for so many years.”

It is not as if the game has passed her by. On the contrary. Dettorre still has it. She guided this Heritage team to a third-place finish in the Class 4A Greater St. Helens League this season. On Tuesday night, the Timberwolves won to advance to the double-elimination part of the district tournament.

She is leaving because, well, because she has earned a break.

“When you’re a head coach, you don’t have a lot of free time,” she said. “I’ve spent a lot of time coaching volleyball.”

Now, she said, it’s time to spend more time with family. Dettorre has three grandchildren. Two live in Seattle.

“I just needed a little more free time, personal time,” she said. “People forget that with coaching and running a program, coaching is just a little piece.”

There is never a good time for a good coach to leave. Dettorre has made her decision, but she acknowledged that this team has made her wonder.

“I love these kids. I’ve had a super great team this year. Great chemistry,” she said. “This is the kind of team that makes me second-guess my decision. They’re fun to coach, fun to be around.”

Her first head coaching job came “way back in the dark ages” at Centennial High School in Oregon. When Prairie opened its doors, she was the school’s tennis coach before taking over the volleyball program in the early 1990s. Prairie became a power, going to the state tournament every year from 1992 through 1998, winning a state title in 1998.

Dettorre left Prairie for the new school, Heritage, in 1999. The Timberwolves reached the state tournament three times. While not favored, there is still hope for a trip to state this year, too. Heritage is among the final four teams in the district tournament. The top two will advance to state.

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The head coaching career is about to come to an end, whether this weekend or next, but she will always be a coach at heart.

Her husband, another big-name coach in Clark County, Gene Dettorre, gave her some comforting words.

“If you really, really miss it, someone will probably hire you as a freshman coach,” he told her.

Gee, thanks!

It will be strange to have a volleyball season in Clark County without Chelinda Dettorre involved, There will be plenty of reminders, though.

Her nieces Cheyanne Knight (head coach) and Rachael Howington (assistant) coach together at Battle Ground. They both played for Chelinda at Prairie. Another niece, Tove Papenfuse, is the head coach at Union. She played for Chelinda at Heritage.

Chelinda Dettorre said she will miss just about everything associated with coaching. Her players, especially. But also the other coaches.

“And not just the ones related to me,” she said.

Related or not, just about everyone associated with Clark County high school volleyball knows Chelinda Dettorre.

Congrats on a great career.

Paul Valencia covers high school sports for The Columbian. He can be reached at 360-735-4557 or e-mail at paul.valencia@columbian.com. Follow him on Twitter: @360paulv

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