When head volleyball coach Toby Parker retired after the 2016 season, he left behind a void in the program that wasn’t going to be easy to fill.

He coached for 12 seasons and is the winningest coach in program history winning back to back championships in 2013-2014. His 12 seasons made him the winningest coach in program history, and cemented Madison College as a leader in the sport.

It’s not easy to retain a head coach at the junior college level, much like student athletes it may only be a stepping stone to the next thing. With coaches you’d like to have more stability though than with atheltes.

Here at Madison College volleyball, both men’s and women’s soccer, and golf are adjunct or part time jobs. The college classifies them as casual employees.

The adjunct head coaches structure is set for a salary of $9,000-$10,000 , starting July 1 and running till June 30 the fiscal year.

“When you’re not paying a lot of money to do this, they have to have a great situation, they have to have something in their heart and in their gut that they really enjoy the coaching piece of it,” said Steve Hauser Athletic Director.

Baseball, softball and both men’s and women’s basketball coaches all have other jobs here at the college. It also keeps some stability if their other job has them at the college all the time. The rest of the head coaches have full time jobs outside of the college.

Replacing Parker was Ashley Davis, was an assistant coach for him for at least four seasons – an obvious choice to become the next head coach. After one full season, Davis’ full-time job took up too much of her time and she left as head volleyball coach.

Jeff Thomas became the next head coach for the 2018 season, but he was offered a head coaching job at Edgewood College for their new club team. He will also be the strength and conditioning coordinator for many of their athletic teams. When Thomas left it was rough timing, a week before practice started.

This season will be the third season with a new head volleyball coach, or in this case coaches. Lindsey Swansby, Emily DesJarlais and Sydney Toon will all share coaching duties.

“They all have full time jobs, within their personal and professional lives they figured out how to divvy things up and to share responsibilities,” said Hauser.

While having three coaches is unorthodox, both Swansby and Desjarlais will offer some stability as they were both assistants least season. Toon is in her first year with the program but has assistant coaching experience with Middleton High School.

The search for the next head volleyball coach won’t start until the end of the season. Trying to fill a coaching position in the middle of the season isn’t easy, and can limit options when trying to approach people.

The athletic department also has an open position for fitness center director, as Cory Sims, left that position for a full time job with Exact Sciences, however he is still the men’s head soccer coach. Another example of positions at this level being a steppingstone. It also makes you fortunate when you find someone who will stay in a position for a long time.

It’s not 100 percent yet, but the head volleyball coaching position will likely be included as a part of the fitness center director job. How ever long it takes to fill the position, Madison College athletics will look to find the right fit and continue it’s athletic success.