Heidi Deford, a familiar face to the Yelm High School volleyball program, was hired as the team’s head coach on Aug. 8. The former college volleyball player has set her sights on building up the YHS volleyball program after the Tornados went winless in South Sound Conference play during the 2022-23 season.
Deford, who served as an assistant coach for the volleyball team during the 2022-23 season, is already familiar with the Yelm area as she graduated from Yelm High School in 1997. She was asked last season to assist the team and thought that was feasible despite her work schedule. Now she is head coach.
“I graduated from Yelm myself, and I’m excited to come in and see what we can accomplish and build,” Deford said. “It’s cool to be back at Yelm and involved. You always have that feeling about your hometown, and it’s exciting to be involved.”
After playing at and graduating from Yelm High School, Deford attended Green River College where she played volleyball and basketball. Her playing career ended after she “blew out her knee.” Though she wanted to continue playing, she was eventually introduced to coaching.
“I only started coaching because I blew my knee out. At first, I just wanted to play. I did my first year of coaching, and once I saw that light bulb go off for the first time with one of my players, you realize it’s so much fun,” Deford said. “‘I’ve been coaching for over 15 years, and I really enjoy watching the girls get it and learn.”
Deford said she attended summer open gym practices with assistant coach Ashley Ellis, and more girls participated in the open gyms this year than in the past. She described the turnout as promising.
“If you followed last year, we didn’t win any league games. My philosophy this year will be to move some people to different positions that are a little more natural for them,” Deford said. “ We have some young talent coming up and some good returners to build around. I think we’re going to pull out some wins this year and keep building from there.”
She said Layah Hicks, Carley Waite, Ayla Ackerman and Sam Burian are four key returners in the program. Deford added that she’s excited to see what incoming sophomore Alonda Cintron-Roche brings to the team, as well.
“Those are some of our key returners coming back that will have strong roles. We’ll be able to build off of them this season,” Deford said. “I’m excited to see what we can continue to build on at the varsity level after seeing the work these girls put in during the off-season and summer. I’m excited to get started with the coaches and see what we can do.”
Deford added that past players and coaches have described her as bringing a lot of energy to the court.
“I am a very high-energy coach, I’m told. I’m the biggest cheerleader on the side, but I also feel when something happens, if you correct it when it’s fresh in their mind, I’m on the fly,” she said. “I’m quick to make adjustments. I’m a very high-energy, well-involved coach. My club players always begged me to come back and coach them. I take that as a compliment.”
Yelm High School’s first volleyball game of the season is scheduled for 7:15 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 14 at Gig Harbor High School. The team’s second matchup is set for 7:15 p.m. Monday, Sept. 18 at Todd Beamer High School.
The team’s home opener is currently scheduled 7:15 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 19, against Timberline High School.
