Title IX at 50: Bedford Volleyball Pioneer Continues Blazing Record-Setting Trail
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
October 12, 2021
The national high school record book’s lists for most girls volleyball coaching wins – both among those still active and all-time – is filled with Michigan legendary leaders.
Temperance Bedford’s Jodi Manore tops both of those illustrious rosters. And it’s not even close.
Manore entered this season with a 2,128-369-59 coaching record at the high school level, from two stints at Bedford – beginning with the winter season of 1979-80 through 1983, and continuing with her return to her alma mater during the winter season of 1989-90 through today.
At the start and in between, Manore also served as the University of Toledo’s first women’s coach preceding and during her first tenure with Bedford, and then until returning to the Kicking Mules for her current run. Along the way, she’s led them to Class A championships in 1998, 2001 and 2005, five more Finals runner-up finishes and a total of 24 trips to the Semifinals.
Manore’s 2,128 wins were 363 more than the total of the next closest active coach after last season and 296 more than former Portage Northern and Delton Kellogg coach Jack Magelssen – the previous MHSAA and national record holder.
Manore was inducted into the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Hall of Fame in 2019 and the National High School Athletic Coaches Association (NHSACA) Hall of Fame this summer. (Click for an indepth 2015 Second Half feature.)
Second Half's weekly Title IX Celebration posts are sponsored by Michigan Army National Guard.
Previous Title IX at 50 Spotlights
Oct. 5: Warner Paved Way to Legend Status with Record Rounds - Read
Sept. 28: Taylor Kennedy Gymnasts Earn Fame as 1st Champions - Read
Sept. 21: Portage Northern Star Byington Becomes Play-by-Play Pioneer - Read
Sept. 14: Guerra/Groat Legacy Continues to Serve St. Philip Well - Read
Sept. 7: Best-Ever Conversation Must Include Leland's Glass - Read
Aug. 31: We Will Celebrate Many Who Paved the Way - Read
Title IX at 50: Guerra/Groat Legacy Continues to Serve St. Philip Well
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
September 14, 2021
Nearly 100 years of MHSAA history have yielded plenty of multiple-generation coaching families, and a number of those have guided multiple generations of athletes to great success.
But what Battle Creek St. Philip volleyball coaches Sheila Guerra and her daughter Vicky (Guerra) Groat have accomplished is unmatched among coaching legacies – with their individual accomplishments also stacking up well with the rest of the state’s legends on the volleyball sideline.
Last season’s five-set win over Auburn Hills Oakland Christian in the Division 4 title decider gave the Tigers 21 Finals championships in the sport – more than twice the next program on the list. The championship match appearance was St. Phil’s 30th – also more than twice as many as the next most successful team.
Guerra took over the program to start the 1981-82 season (when volleyball was still played during the winter) and finished in 1997 with a record of 862-180-46, with those 862 victories still ranking 25th on the all-time MHSAA volleyball coaching wins list. She led the Tigers to nine Class D championships, including four straight from 1992-96, and two runner-up finishes.
Groat – who graduated from St. Phil in 1985 – followed her mom taking over for the 1997-98 season, leading that team to a Class D runner-up finish, but then stepping away after 1998-99. She returned a season later and has run her record to 1,179-275-93 heading into this fall – with the sixth-most wins in MHSAA history. She’s led 11 teams to Finals championships, 10 in Class D and last season’s in Division 4, plus six more runner-up finishes. The Tigers won a record nine-straight titles beginning with the final winter season of 2006-07 through the fall of 2014.
Second Half's weekly Title IX Celebration posts are sponsored by Michigan Army National Guard.
Previous Title IX at 50 Spotlights
Sept. 7: Best-Ever Conversation Must Include Leland's Glass - Read
Aug. 31: We Will Celebrate Many Who Paved the Way - Read