This year’s NJCAA Division I Women’s National Volleyball Championship Tournament will be extra special for Paula Wiedemann.
Not only are her Missouri State University-West Plains (MSU-WP) Grizzlies competing in the three-day event this week at the West Plains Civic Center, Wiedemann herself will be recognized as one of this year’s inductees to the NJCAA Volleyball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
The recognition will take place approximately 4:30 p.m. Saturday, April 17, at the West Plains Civic Center arena prior to the final two games of the tournament, the championship game and the third/fourth place game.
NJCAA officials announced this year’s selections late Friday afternoon, April 9. Joining Wiedemann in the hall as a student-athlete selection will be Emily Orrick. Orrick played for Lincoln Land Community College during the 2011 and 2012 seasons.
“I am really humbled and incredibly honored by this recognition, knowing all of the great people who have been a part of this journey with me – so many people,” Wiedemann said. “And, to have this happen with us being in the national tournament and the tournament being hosted here this year? Wow! How in the world did that happen?”
The Jenks, Oklahoma, native has been part of the Grizzly Volleyball program for the past 23 years. She first came on board as assistant coach for then head coach Trish Knight in 1997. The past 12 seasons, she has been the team’s head coach. This season, she added athletic director to her resume.
Over the past 23 seasons, Wiedemann helped guide the Grizzlies to 16 Region 16 Championships, four district championships and 16 NJCAA national championship tournament appearances, with six of those teams finishing in the final four.
In addition, she helped develop 35 NJCAA All-Americans, 122 All-Region 16 players, 31 NJCAA Academic All-Americans and 13 NJCAA Academic Team Award winners. Wiedemann has an overall record of 775-271 with the team as an assistant coach and head coach.
In letters of support for Wiedemann’s hall of fame nomination, a couple of former players detailed the impact she makes in her student-athletes’ lives.
“Her passion for the game, along with her values, character, fairness and empathy made us a team that created lifelong friendships and lasting memories on and off the court,” said Patricia Figueiredo (2008-2010). “Coach Paula Wiedemann is part of an unforgettable chapter in my life. As I continue to follow her achievements as a coach, I know that she is transforming the lives of so many young student-athletes who are lucky to have her as a mentor, coach and friend.”
“Coach Paula’s ability to connect with her players on a personal level allowed her to tailor each of our experiences to be what we needed to be the most successful,” said former Grizzly Taylor Swayzer (2012-2014). “I’m not saying that every athlete she came in contact with was able to complete the program; however, I find it hard to believe that anyone could walk away from West Plains without gaining anything. Whether it be a new outlook on life or an extra family member, this can be attributed to Coach Paula transforming herself into whatever type of mentor the athlete needed at the time.”
Tributes such as these testify to the positive impact Wiedemann has not only on her players, but also everyone around her, MSU-WP Interim Chancellor Dennis Lancaster said.
“Paula is one of our campus members who leads by example, by service and, more importantly, by the great care and concern she exhibits in those quiet yet powerful ways for her student athletes, assistants and her co-workers. She’s in my ‘hall of fame’ because of these things, not just because of her wins, impressive as they are,” he said.
Wiedemann established the standard for her volleyball excellence as a player at Drury University in Springfield. A letterman each year from 1985 to 1988, Wiedemann was the first volleyball player to receive NAIA All-American honors by being named honorable mention in 1987 and to the second team in 1988. She left Drury ranked first in career kills and career digs, the latter of which is second on the all-time list for NAIA records nationwide.
The Lady Panthers were nationally ranked during her sophomore, junior and senior years, reaching as high as No. 5 during her senior season, and the team won the district championship – Drury’s first ever district championship – her senior year.
After receiving her bachelor’s degree in exercise and sports science in 1989, she rejoined the Lady Panthers as an assistant coach for two years while earning her master’s degree in education-exercise and sport science from the university. The Lady Panthers posted an overall record of 65-40 during her tenure, and in 1990, the team was a district finalist. As an assistant at Drury, Wiedemann helped develop one NAIA All-American and four all-district players.
Wiedemann’s first head coaching position came in August 1992 at East Central College in Union, where she led the Lady Rebels to Region 16 championship semifinal appearances all three years. She also has served as a coach and/or program director for USAV club programs for close to 30 years.
In addition, Wiedemann has played volleyball professionally as an outside hitter for the Kansas City Lightning of the National Volleyball Association (NVA). In their first season, the Lightning won the regular season title and was one match away from the NVA finals. She also was a member of Power Angle, a USAV women’s team and was a two-time All-American in 1997 and 1998 at the USAV national tournaments.
Wiedemann and her husband, Warren, have three daughters – Kelly, Lily and Emma. The coach thanked her family for their support of her career, saying that played a key role in her receiving the hall of fame recognition.
“There is no way any of this happens without the love and support of Warren and the girls. They are the true MVPs in all of this,” Wiedemann stressed. “My kids have grown up in the gym, on the road, and with so many players over the years. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I swear, there’s nothing better than seeing former players and the love they have for my family.
“There are things that are a constant in my life – my faith, my family and this game,” Wiedemann said. “It’s crazy to think about the ties that volleyball has created throughout my life, from when I started playing as a freshman in high school in Jenks, to falling in love with coaching while working with Springfield Juniors in college, to meeting Warren while playing in a tournament together, and to having Kelly play for me for two amazing years and Lily and Emma playing club now. I have been blessed beyond measure with how this game is such a huge part of who I am and who we are as a family.
“And I haven’t even started talking about all of the players who I have been lucky enough to work with all these years,” she added. “I cannot even put into words the love and gratitude I have for them and how beautiful it is to see how much love they have for this place. Our program, our campus and our community are special places, and I could see that even before I became Trish’s (Knight) assistant in 1997. I knew this was a great place and she was a great coach. I have so much appreciation for all she did for me. The love, respect, loyalty and friendship we share is rare, and I am so thankful she believed in me enough to hire me.
“I have been blessed to work with amazing people on and off the court,” Wiedemann continued. “Our campus and our community are absolutely incredible! You are only as good as the people around you, and I’ve been lucky enough to have been surrounded by so many great people. And, when you are lucky enough to compete fiercely as coaches and have great friendships, you understand the true respect and love that gets poured into others on and off the floor. I am grateful for these people in my coaching life.”
Wiedemann will join Knight in NJCAA Volleyball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Knight was selected to the hall in 2005.
For more information about the NJCAA, visit NJCAA.org.
For more information about the Grizzly Volleyball program, visit www.msuwpgrizzlies.com.
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