[Southsider2k12]

http://heraldargus.com/articles/2010/06/10...d9106078793.txt

City Vball coach Hendricks a victim of numbers, out as coach

Sarah Hendricks
By Adam Parkhouse
Staff Writer 1-866-362-2167, Ext. 13869
sports@heraldargus.com
Published: Thursday, June 10, 2010 12:29 AM CDT
Many times when a coach separates from a program, it’s because of family issues or even incompetence.

For former Michigan City volleyball coach Sarah Hendricks (McFarland), it was all about the numbers.

Along with many other employees in Michigan City Area Schools, Hendricks received a Reduction in Force notification in April. At Tuesday’s meeting of the Michigan City Area Schools Board, that RIF was made official. Hendricks is out of a job and MCHS is looking for a new volleyball coach.

“The thing that keeps going through my head is, ‘What else could I have done?’” Hendricks said, fresh out of a meeting with her players informing them of the news. “I tried to do the best I could with the program. At the end of the day, I just keep telling myself everything happens for a reason.”

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There is a chance, Hendricks puts it at 50-50, that she could be called back to her job as a counselor. But she’s due to give birth to her first child in less than a month, leaving her in a precarious position as far as what to do with her future employment.

“Unfortunately, without knowing if I’m going to have my counseling job and with me about to have a baby, I can’t reapply for it,” Hendricks said. “It’s just not the right thing for my family.”

As Hendricks pointed out, it’s also potentially not the right thing for her “other” family.

“It’s not just about what do I do for myself and my family, but also what’s right for the girls,” Hendricks said. “They deserve to have someone in there that can start as soon as possible.”

MCHS athletic director Bob “Bear” Falls regretted losing Hendricks, and had hoped to get her back.

“Hopefully we can get Sarah back, I don’t wanna give up on it,” Falls said. “She’s done an excellent job for us by bringing the program back.”

Hendricks, in her third year with the Wolves, led the team to a second place finish in the Duneland Conference despite many picking them to finish in the bottom half of the league.

For now, the job has been posted and applications are being accepted to replace Hendricks. Even without her counseling position, Hendricks could theoretically reapply and get the job, but any qualified applicant from within the MCAS system would take priority over her, according to the union contract.

“Hopefully I’ll be back counseling. If not, I’ll get quality time with my baby,” Hendricks said. “There’s so much going on right now and emotions are so high it’s hard to imagine not having volleyball in my life. But it’s also hard to imagine going anywhere else.”

[MCRogers1974]

A sad story but I guess this is something to be expected with all of the budget uncertainty. Hopefully the budget mess can be figured out quickly.