Denise Van De Walle is the quintessential veteran with successes as a volleyball coach resonating throughout not only the collegiate volleyball community but the whole volleyball community.
Entering her 29th season as Bowling Green State University‘s head volleyball coach, Van De Walle has put together quite the resume: she has led her teams to three Mid-American Conference Championships, two MAC-East Division Championships, a MAC tournament championship, an NCAA appearance and a second place finish in the 1992 National Invitational Championships.
In the last 25 years Van De Walle has had 14 seasons with 20-plus wins–including a 30-win campaign in 1992–to go along with only six losing seasons. With 508 wins, Van De Walle is the all-time winningest coach in the history of the MAC and has won the Coach of the Year award four times.
In 2009, she reached the prestigious 500-win landmark in style, upsetting archrival Toledo in a five-set match during the MAC Tournament.
Van De Walle has moonlighted as a coach at several other levels during her career at BGSU as well.
In 1995 and 1996 she coached the Athletes In Action–an organization which promotes athletics and Christianity–teams which toured internationally, posting a combined 18-3 record. AIA teams feature both college and professional players.
As assistant coach, Van De Walle helped guide the 2004 and 2008 USA Women’s National Sitting Volleyball Teams to bronze and silver finishes at the Paralympics, which are games for the disabled that act as a supplement to the Olympics.
She was also set to coach the 1992 U.S. Junior National Women’s Volleyball Team at the World Championships in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, but the U.S. was unable to compete.
While she enjoys her coaching experiences outside the collegiate level, she admittedly misses her BGSU players.
“She cares a lot about each of her players and we respect her … We have a good time on and off the court,” said team co-captain Emily Kauth.
“I have learned a lot not just as a volleyball player but have been taught a lot of life lessons by her in becoming a better person,” said left-side hitter Lindsey Butterfield.
Van De Walle is not just in the coaching business to make winners of her players on the court but off the court too. Her recruiting approach caters to this philosophy as she makes an effort to recruit student-athletes rather than purely good athletes.
“I have made it a practice to recruit the whole package,” Van De Walle said. “It’s not just about how high she jumps and how hard she can hit a ball. There’s far more to being a DI athlete than that. Her commitment to academics in high school speaks volumes to me.”
The approach seems to work as, along with the on-court accomplishments, her teams have received the AVCA/Game Plan National Academic Award ten times, once posting the highest GPA as a team in the nation. The volleyball team has had the highest GPA of all sports on campus the last six of 10 years.
However, all good things must come to an end.
Van De Walle has decided this coming season will be her last as she will be moving back to her hometown of South Bend, Ind., to take care of her mother. While she said the decision was tough, she knew it was the right one.
She plans to stay involved in the sport by giving private lessons to kids and acting as a resource for other coaches.
“It’s a tough profession with not a lot of places/people to turn to for advice and sharing thoughts,” Van De Walle said. “I have a lot of experience. I’ve learned a lot over my career here [at the University] that I would love to pass on.”
Though Van De Walle will continue to make her mark as an ambassador of the game during retirement, she is going to miss coaching.
“I will definitely miss the players and all the fun times I’ve had with them my entire career,” Van De Walle said. “I have loved all my teams. I’ll miss the highs that come with a big win. Coaching is like no other profession I can think of. It’s addicting. The highs and lows are like no other. There isn’t a way to explain the high you get from pulling off a big win or upset or having that special season where you win 20-30 matches.”