Camas High School announced last week the hiring of a new volleyball coach, and the former volleyball coach has gone public with her disappointment over her exit.
Julie Nidick led Camas to the state tournament in all 10 years she was at the helm of the program. But in November, after the Papermakers finished fifth at state, she said she was told the program wanted to go in another direction.
“What other direction do you want to go?” she asked. “You don’t want to go to state every year?”
Nidick said that Camas athletic director Rory Oster told her she could resign or she would be fired.
“So officially, I did resign,” said Nidick, who remains on staff as a teacher at Camas.
Oster, in a phone interview Monday, did not confirm nor deny Nidick’s point of view.
“Julie resigned her position. The Camas School District is very appreciative to her service when she was in charge of the program,” Oster said. “We are excited about the new direction the program is going as of now.”
Michelle Allen, an assistant under Nidick the past three seasons, was named the new coach.
“Michelle impressed the interview committee as someone who knows volleyball very well. She is much respected and deeply rooted in the volleyball community in our county and throughout the West Coast,” Oster said via press release.
“Her experience and knowledge of the program combined with her attention to detail, motivational ability, and leadership are qualities that distinguished her from the talented pool of candidates we interviewed.”
Nidick said her dismissal “stung” and that she was not ready to talk about it when it happened.
“I was told they wanted to take the program in a new direction because I was not committed enough to the program,” Nidick said.
Nidick’s teams won eight district championships in her 10 years, including all three since the Papermakers moved to the 4A classification. The Papermakers reached the state semifinals in 2006 and earned trophies at state in six of her 10 appearances.
“I hold no ill-will toward the volleyball program,” Nidick said. “I hope they continue with the success they have had.”
The experience in November has “soured” Nidick on coaching, she said. Instead, she plans on officiating in a sport she still loves.
