After five years of leading the GlenOak Varsity volleyball team to victory, Deb Pickering’s coaching days are coming to an end after this upcoming season.
GlenOak Volleyball has been successful for the past five years with Pickering as their coach. In 2019, the team won District Finals and made it all the way to regional finals where they lost, in a close game, to Solon High School.
The team was led to regional finals by team captains Brooke Pope (junior) and Hannah White (senior).
“Coach Pickering was a great coach to me during my four years of playing GlenOak Volleyball, she taught me many life lessons outside of the court and helped us grow as people,” Pope said.
“She wanted us to be the very best versions of ourselves and work hard for everything we earned. The volleyball program definitely has shown that. She is an amazing lady and will always have a special place in my heart! I will miss her so much while I am in college.”
Last year, the team started out rough with having to quarantine and missing their first two weeks of games. Despite this setback, the team ended up going 10-8 as their final stats and 6-6 in the Federal League. The team made it to tournaments, but got out in the first game against Lake High School.
At the end of the 2020 season, both Pickering and Alex Caley, the freshman volleyball coach, decided they were no longer going to be a part of the GlenOak volleyball program.
Since this decision, the team has been questioning who the new coach of both the varsity and freshman teams would be.
After the long awaited decision, Pickering has decided to stay another year. McKenzie Horner who is a coach coming from Mckinley High School will be coming in to be the varsity
assistant coach and will be taking over Coach Pickering’s spot after she learns the ropes during this upcoming season.
Natalie Stepanovitch, a current sophomore at GlenOak High School, is particularly excited with Coach Pickering’s decision to stay for her junior year.
“Pickering is very intelligent when it comes to the game of volleyball. She is always alert and ready to improve the team,” Stepanovich said. “She makes herself approachable and overall I am glad to have her back.”
With Pickering back as head coach, the team expects to have an even stronger upcoming season and to take the team all the way through tournaments to state finals.
