Bowling Green State University Athletics
Van De Walle Returns From Texas With National Award
June 07, 2007 | Volleyball
June 7, 2007
BOWING GREEN, Ohio - Published in the Sentinel-Tribune
For years, Denise Van De Walle watched as countless other people joined the ranks as the most influential leaders in USA volleyball. Now the legendary Bowling Green State University coach has joined that group.
Van De Walle recently received the George J. Fisher Leader in Volleyball award by the sport's national governing body. She was presented the award last month at the Dorothy C. Boyce Annual Awards and Recognition Banquet held in Austin, Texas.
"I got the letter in the mail from USA Volleyball and I looked at it and was just in shock," Van De Walle said. "I had no idea."
Van De Walle, entering into her 25th year at the helm for BGSU, sat on the Board of Directors for USA Volleyball in previous years.
"I always went to the banquets and watched as award winners went up and thought what it would be like to receive such an award," she said. "But ever since I've been off the board, it hasn't been in the forefront of my mind."
To be considered for the honor, recipients have to showcase a significant amount of service to the sport for at least 20 years, and be involved on more than one level.
The four recipients of the leadership award, named in honor of the first president of USA Volleyball, were presented with a plaque and a video chronicling their lives and contributions to the sport.
"It is a pretty big honor coming from a national organization. For them to select me, of all people, it was so huge. I was really nervous," Van De Walle said.
To calm her nerves, she enlisted the support of her parents, boyfriend, and a former volunteer assistant coach to accompany her on the trip.
"I was so thrilled to have my parents with me. They were able to get a better idea of what I am doing and have done for most of my adult life, and I've done quite a bit with volleyball," she said.
The former elementary education major certainly has done a lot over the years, coaching at the high school, college, national and international levels. Van De Walle's tenure at Bowling Green is the longest of any current head coach at the university.
She started at BG in 1983 as just the third coach of the program. Van De Walle has a record of 441-303 in 24 seasons and has led the Falcons to winning records in 17 of the past 21 years.
Van De Walle was chosen as Mid-American Conference coach of the year in 1986 and 1989 and shared the award in 1987 and 1992. The Falcons earned three national postseason berths in the 1990s and marked the program's first NCAA appearance. In the fall of 2002, Van De Walle became the first coach to accrue 350 career wins at any MAC school. Last season, the Falcons enjoyed a 26-6 record and notched 17 consecutive wins before falling to Ohio University in the MAC tournament.
A 1976 graduate of Ball State , Van De Walle was a setter and served as a team captain for the Cardinals in 1975. The team went to the state championship in 1973 and a 13th place finish at nationals.
"When people accomplish things in life, there are always great people behind them and those are the people you need to thank. I thank my dad for getting me to play volleyball. Back in the pre-scholarship days, I wasn't going to try out for my college team. My dad pushed me to play; without him I wouldn't have played at Ball State," she said.
Her coaching career began shortly after college at Northside High School in Muncie, Ind., where she garnered state, sectional and regional titles in her first two years as head coach. In 1982, she returned to Ball State as an assistant coach before signing with Bowling Green.
"I never would have chosen coaching as my profession. I wanted to teach. My college coach nagged me to try for the job in Muncie. I went and got the position and we won. I thought `Hey this is pretty fun, pretty easy,'" she said.
On the international level, Van De Walle was an assistant coach with the Athletes in Action team and toured the Far East in 1983. She served as head coach in 1984 and finished with a 9-4 record. She was also a member of the inaugural international mission of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. The group traveled to Singapore to conduct clinics for youth and church functions.
The highly touted clinician and instructional speaker is also a member of the U.S. Women's Sitting team coaching staff. Since 2003, she has been involved in every international event the team has competed in. In 2004 the team won a bronze medal in Athens and recently qualified for the 2008 Paralympic Games held in Beijing.
In her long-standing tradition of success, Van De Walle knows what it takes to become a leader, as her award aptly notes.
"You have to know how to serve people to be a good leader. This is just part of my personality. I truly enjoy serving others and being there to help," she said. "I love coaching because it is about making sure the players enjoy their experience and learn about who they are while playing one of the greatest team sports around."
By ELLEN SIPP Sentinel Sports Writer
