5A-4A volleyball coach of the year

JULIE ORTIZ

DOHERTY

Years coaching: 10

Years at school: 4

Reason behind coaching: The love of the game drew her back.

Day job: Math teacher

Family: Husband (Ryan)

Hometown: Grand Rapids, Mich.

Alma mater: Miami (Ohio)

Favorite moment as a coach: Making the state tournament last year was a thrill topped only by her experience at state this year. Despite only one senior on the roster, Ortiz had a team reach the state semifinals for the first time.

Easiest way to find your doghouse: “Players not working hard, not doing what I ask of them, but that doesn’t happen all that much. Coming late to practice and not being ready when I want them ready. You want them to take charge of that.”

Key to winning: “Definitely teamwork. We went through some ups and downs in the beginning of the season figuring out what it meant to be a team — bringing people up instead of down.”

From a player’s eyes: “When coach has confidence in us, it gave us that confidence. She told us, ‘We are the team that’s going to step up and everyone’s going to be shocked that we could do this.’ At the end, we called her psychic because she predicted everything that happened.” — Chelsea Szretter, senior outside hitter