Menu
Jean Shidler had the tough job of starting volleyball at WRV
It was 21 years ago when White River Valley High School began as a new school after Worthington, L & M and Switz City consolidated to form the home of the Wolverines in Switz City.
One of the first athletic teams at WRV to take to the court wearing Navy and Silver was the 1990 Lady Wolverine volleyball team.
Jean Shidler as she was known by then, also known throughout her coaching career at Worthington and WRV as Jean Rollison and later Jean Peacock, had the unenviable task of having to make one team from three, featuring girls that were from different towns throughout the school district and in some cases had grown up as opponents on the athletic fields and courts of Greene County.
"In August 1990, when tryouts were being held, I saw it as having 18 girls who would have been starters on their varsity team if the consolidation had not have taken place," said Jill Fougerousse, who was senior Jill Oliphant on that first Lady Wolverine spiker squad. "It was very competitive and all of us girls knew that there would be some who would be cut from the team and be disappointed."
Jennifer Kaho, Tiffany Shepherd, Stephanie Keene, Vicki Stalcup, Kambi Rogers, Angie Taylor, Jenny Grounds, Jennifer Steward, Michelle Faultless, Kristi Lace and Jill Oliphant made up the eventual WRV varsity roster. Betty Phieler served as an assistant coach while Cynthia Fines and Heather Halt were managers.
"Jean had a difficult job in coaching our volleyball team that first year of WRV's consolidation," said Fougerousse, who now is the varsity volleyball coach at Linton-Stockton High School.
Back then, Fougerousse did not realize everything that Jean was going through.
"At the time, I was 17 years old and worried about my senior year and having a new coach," she said. "I didn't really think much about the difficulty Jean was probably going through with making those hard decisions.
"I have thought about that more and more over the years. Jean was given the job knowing she could not and would not be able to make everyone happy, particularly in that situation. It had to be tough on her."
Jean guided the Lady Wolverines to a Southwestern Indiana Athletic Conference championship with a 6-0 record.
WRV swept through the field at the Owen Valley Sectional, claiming the first such title for the Wolverines.
That squad finished with a 25-6 overall record after being eliminated at the regional.
"Jean worked us hard and put a good line up on the floor," said Fougerousse. "Despite the consolidation and having to come together as one team, I don't recall us girls having many issues with one another.
"I think as a player, I learned a lot about cooperation and being a good teammate that year. We were competitive and Jean won WRV's first sectional with our volleyball team."
But Jean had long been a successful coach at Worthington, before taking over that 1990 squad.
She led Worthington High School to the L & M Sectional championship in volleyball in 1978.
She guided the Lady Ramblers to three consecutive softball sectional titles in 1985, 1986 and 1987.
Her 1987 Lady Rambler softball team captured the Switz City Sectional title before losing to Martinsville 9-5 at the Bedford North Lawrence Regional.
WHS finished with a 17-6 record that year.
"I remember Jean and her dedication and enthusiasm for girls athletics when I was a little girl at Worthington and my dad was a teacher, coach and athletic director there," said Fougerousse. "I spent lots of time in the gym and I remember in particular hanging around while Jean's volleyball practices were going on.
"That is where my first exposure to the game really came from."
She also coached girls basketball at WHS in the 80s when Kristal Stahl earned a spot on the Indiana All-Star team.
She also had other SWIAC title teams as well, including a 20-win season in volleyball at WHS in 1986. The Lady Ramblers won the conference with a perfect 8-0 mark and was sectional runner-up at Owen Valley.
Many women have coached different sports in Greene County since the Indiana High School Athletic Association started sanctioning girls sports and having postseason tournaments through the state in the 1970s. But few have been as successful as Jean.