By Derrick Smith

Jan Frieb is no stranger to high school athletics. She is the volleyball and track coach at Trinity Catholic High School. As a 1986 graduate of Otis Bison High School, she was part of the Class 2A state championship volleyball team her senior year. She also played basketball and was part of track and field. She also went on to play volleyball at Newman University, until they dropped the program her junior year. 

During her days at Otis Bison, Frieb was greatly influenced by her coach, Sandy Dutt. 

“We had much success under coach Dutt’s leadership,” she stated. “I loved running track. I’m also the head track and field coach at Trinity. I have been coaching both volleyball and track for the past twenty-eight years. As a player, I enjoyed the team aspect and competitiveness of volleyball. Volleyball has been a big part of my life for the past 39 years.”

As a fresh-out-of-college teacher, Jan moved to Hutchinson to teach physical education and social studies at Trinity. She began coaching high school volleyball, but that was not her first choice. 

“The principal at the time, Richard Robl, offered me the high school volleyball position,” she recalled. “Both coaching positions for middle school and high school were open and I initially wanted to start out with middle school, as I just spent one year at a Catholic Grade School in Wichita. But Dr. Robl convinced me otherwise.”

This season’s volleyball team at Trinity is a special one, according to Frieb. 

“Every team I have coached over the years has been unique,” she said. “Different personalities, temperaments, learning styles, and skill levels. This year’s team at Trinity is a special one, quite small with sixteen total players, which I would describe as spirited and feisty. On the court, they were fun to coach and worked hard to get their job done. Off the court, they are busy. I have cheerleaders, the student council president, girls who are in the fall play and so many other activities.  Most importantly, they are good students, role models, and representatives of our school.”

Frieb knows that the success that her program has experienced over the years has not been easy. Instead, it has taken a lot of work by a lot of people to get to reach the goals they have.

“A winning program takes work, time and dedication,” she said. “I feel that I offer this as well as good fundamental coaching of the skills.  I train by giving my team thousands of opportunities for touches and repetitions. I train them to work and play faster than the actual game. Success in athletics also means more than winning or training fundamentals.”