July 30, 2018 at 4:55 p.m.
RHS alum tapped to lead volleyball team
Paulson: She will 'take off running with it'
RHS alum tapped to lead volleyball team
Brianna (Gilbert) Scheuermann has been selected by district superintendent Kelli Jacobi to take the reins of the program from Kathy Wawrzynowicz, who retired for the second time in January after 18 years on the sidelines.
"(Brianna) was JV coach last year under Kathy W," the school's activities director Brian Paulson said Friday in making the announcement. "And she also played volleyball under Kathy W for four years."
Wawrzynowicz was Rhinelander's head coach from 1999-2014. She took a leave of absence in 2013 to be with her ailing husband, Henry, who passed away from complications of cancer in August of that year.
Scheuermann, a 2015 graduate of RHS, inherits a Hodag team that posted a 30-40-3 record over the last two seasons under Wawrzynowicz. They placed sixth in the GNC in 2016 and fifth in the GNC this past season. The 2017 team was led by GNC player of the year Hope Wissbroecker, one of a crop of talented seniors lost to graduation.
"We lost quite a bit of seniors. We have three returning varsity players (from last year). I coached many of the players who could be moving up, or are older. I know a lot of the girls, so it is an easy fit for me right now," she explained, adding that she doesn't think going from being a junior varsity coach to head varsity coach after just one year will be an issue.
"I think it is sort of a normal progression, but it's happening a little faster than is what is probably normal than what most head coaches get," she said. "But I was close to Coach W and she was talking to me about it last year."
There is more responsibility with the new position, but she is "glad to take that on."
Paulson said Scheuermann's ties to Hodag sports run deep and she has also served as an assistant softball coach.
"She's a hometown kid, and I think she takes a lot of pride in the volleyball program, and all sports," Paulson said. "Knowing that she went through the program, I think her pride has always been Hodag sports. And she now has the opportunity to be our head girls' volleyball coach, and I think she will take off running with it."
Paulson said he's not concerned with the lateness of Scheuermann's hiring. The district was waiting to make sure they had the best candidate for the position, he said.
"We had some teaching positions open through the school district, but we didn't have anybody apply that was going to be a teacher that had a background in that," he said.
Scheuermann said she is ready to get started, even as the final schedule is being hammered out and the search for assistant coaches continues.
"Hopefully we can get them hired so we can have everyone going in on the same page," she said. "I know from last year a couple of the coaches are thinking of coming back, and that would be helpful to have returning faces on the coaching squad."
The first practice for high school volleyball is Aug. 13, which means Scheuermann will certainly have to hit the ground running. The Hodags will have a scrimmage on Aug. 18 at Merrill and will host a four-team invitational on Aug. 21 with Ashland, Swanagon and Three Lakes for their home opener.
Paulson said it is hoped that Scheuermann will be able to grow a youth volleyball program that will help foster the sport among the lower age groups.
"One of our goals is to ensure that we build a youth program to help grow the numbers and help grow our talent level as the kids come up through the ranks," Paulson said.
"When I was in school, I was with some different coaches and in different lineups," Scheuermann said. "So each year I want to focus on a different thing, building up their skills so when they reach varsity they already have those."
She also would like to see more youth volleyball camps in Rhinelander.
"Kids who aren't able to make it to Eau Claire or Oshkosh or Tomahawk can have something here so we can have more chances for creating those fundamental skills," she said.
Sports editor Jeremy Mayo contributed to this story. Jamie Taylor may be reached at [email protected].
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