Wroubel Continues to Champion Athletics
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
January 20, 2016
Betty Wroubel still remembers the first pop fly she caught 57 years ago.
Perhaps fleeting for most, it was one of the earliest memorable moments that eventually led to a career stretching four decades and impacting thousands of high school athletes across our state.
Wroubel – one of Michigan’s winningest high school coaches in both volleyball and softball with more than 2,000 combined victories – also has served as an athletic director and in various other leadership positions since beginning her educational career in 1975. Her contributions to educational athletics over the last 40 years will be celebrated Sunday, Feb. 7, when she receives the MHSAA’s 29th Women In Sports Leadership Award during the WISL banquet at the Crowne Plaza Lansing West.
“When I look at all of those names (of past WISL winners), knowing what they meant to the advancement of girls sports in schools and the total sports culture, it boggles my mind that I can be mentioned in those,” Wroubel said. “I’m not so sure I belong in there. I’ve had great leaders; my high school teachers and coaches were great leaders. I know nothing more than to work hard to make things better, sometimes inch by inch, sometimes two inches forward and one back – and sometimes leaps forward.”
The honor, given annually by the MHSAA Representative Council, recognizes the achievements of women coaches, officials and athletic administrators affiliated with the MHSAA who show exemplary leadership capabilities and positive contributions to athletics.
Wroubel, a 1971 graduate of Clawson High School, first returned to teach and coach at her alma mater, and currently serves as the athletic director, varsity volleyball and softball coach at Pontiac Notre Dame Prep. She also continues to teach sports medicine and leadership classes at the school.
She’s served in the athletic department at Notre Dame Prep since the school opened in 1994 and also coached and served as athletic director at the former Pontiac and then Oakland Catholic high schools after her stint as a coach and teacher at Clawson. She’s third on the MHSAA coaching victories list for volleyball with a record of 1,306-290-122. In 2015, she became the 14th coach in MHSAA softball history to win at least 800 games and sits 12th on that career wins list with a record of 826-293-3.
Wroubel also has been a registered MHSAA official in both volleyball and softball since the 1975-76 school year and has held numerous leadership positions as part of the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association, her sports’ coaches associations and the Detroit Catholic High School League. She’s hosted numerous MHSAA Coaches Advancement Program sessions and mentored young officials as part of the MHSAA Legacy Program.
“Betty Wroubel has dedicated much of the last four decades to assisting student-athletes and is passionate about the mission of educational athletics,” MHSAA Executive Director John E. “Jack” Roberts said. “Education is her life’s work, and that remains clear in her emphasis on coaches training and desire to continue teaching students as well – both in the classroom and on the volleyball court and softball diamond. We’re pleased to honor her with the Women In Sports Leadership Award.”
Wroubel earned a bachelor’s degree in education from Central Michigan University and her master’s in classroom teaching from Michigan State University. She was a five-sport athlete at Clawson High School – participating in basketball, volleyball, track & field, tennis and softball – and went on to play volleyball, tennis and field hockey at CMU.
Among those who provided Wroubel early mentorship was Judy Hacker, a teacher and coach at Clawson from 1962-95 who died in 2011 and like Wroubel was a pioneer in girls athletics during their early growth in the 1970s and 80s. Wroubel also was impacted athletically by her parents Marshall and Lucille; Marshall was a recognized youth baseball coach in Clawson and with Lucille provided opportunities for Betty to compete during an era when they were only first starting to emerge.
During her early years coaching and teaching at Clawson, Wroubel also worked as an assistant athletic director at Pontiac Catholic. She then took over as fulltime athletic director there, leaving her alma mater, but continued to pass on those many lessons learned to another generation including her Pontiac Catholic volleyball coach at the time, Dianne Phillips – who has gone on to rank 11th on the MHSAA volleyball coaching wins list with 986 victories mostly over the last 17 seasons at Dearborn High.
“Betty has dedicated her expertise, time and energy to coaching hundreds of young women in more than just sport, but in life lessons as well,” Phillips said. “Betty’s leadership skills and grounded philosophies are a model to all who aspire to teach and coach. The positive impact Betty has made on the lives of so many young people can never be overestimated.”
Wroubel led teams to MHSAA championships in two decades; her Pontiac Catholic softball team won the Class C title in 1983, and her Notre Dame Prep volleyball teams won Class B titles in fall 2007 and 2013. In 2010, Notre Dame Prep dedicated its new athletic facility in her name: the Betty A. Wroubel Athletic Performance Center.
She is a member of various Halls of Fame – she’s been inducted by the Detroit Catholic League, Michigan High School Softball Coaches Association, Michigan High School Coaches Association, Michigan Interscholastic Volleyball Coaches Association and the Michigan chapter of the United States Specialty Sports Association. She received the MHSAA’s Allen W. Bush Award in 2010 for her continuing service to high school athletics, with the WISL Award her second from the association.
Her administrative efforts were recognized twice by the Detroit Catholic League with its Tom Kelly Athletic Director of the Year Award in 1994 and 2007. Wroubel also was named National High School Coach of the Year by the American Volleyball Coaches Association in 2007 and state coach of the year by MIVCA for Class B in 2007, 2013 and 2014. She also was named Michigan High School Coaches Association Volleyball Coach of the Year in 2014.
Wroubel served on the Catholic League’s executive board and as an officer for more than 30 years and on a variety of MHSAA committees during her long tenure as an athletic director. She has served on boards for the statewide volleyball coaches association for more than 30 years and statewide softball coaches association for more than 25.
As would be expected by a coach with such success across multiple sports, Wroubel remains an ardent supporter of athletes playing as many as possible despite a recent shift toward specialization.
“By (coaching both), I hope it sends a nonverbal message that if I can coach, they can certainly play multiple sports,” Wroubel said. “That’s been the biggest change; kids are so specialized. The pressure is on us (coaches) to do more and more training. But during the school year, we don’t do anything; I don’t get out a softball. That tells them to go play basketball, ski, go cheer, go bowl.”
Wroubel also volunteers for her church and the American Red Cross, and with a local food bank and soup kitchen.
The first Women In Sports Leadership Award was presented in 1990.
Past recipients
1990 – Carol Seavoy, L’Anse
1991 – Diane Laffey, Harper Woods
1992 – Patricia Ashby, Scotts
1993 – Jo Lake, Grosse Pointe
1994 – Brenda Gatlin, Detroit
1995 – Jane Bennett, Ann Arbor
1996 – Cheryl Amos-Helmicki, Huntington Woods
1997 – Delores L. Elswick, Detroit
1998 – Karen S. Leinaar, Delton
1999 – Kathy McGee, Flint
2000 – Pat Richardson, Grass Lake
2001 – Suzanne Martin, East Lansing
2002 – Susan Barthold, Kentwood
2003 – Nancy Clark, Flint
2004 – Kathy Vruggink Westdorp, Grand Rapids
2005 – Barbara Redding, Capac
2006 – Melanie Miller, Lansing
2007 – Jan Sander, Warren Woods
2008 – Jane Bos, Grand Rapids
2009 – Gail Ganakas, Flint; Deb VanKuiken, Holly
2010 – Gina Mazzolini, Lansing
2011 – Ellen Pugh, West Branch; Patti Tibaldi, Traverse City
2012 – Janet Gillette, Comstock Park
2013 – Barbara Beckett, Traverse City
2014 – Teri Reyburn, DeWitt
2015 – Jean LaClair, Bronson
PHOTOS: (Top) Pontiac Notre Dame Prep volleyball coach Betty Wroubel, left, celebrates the 2013 Class B championship with her team. (Middle) Wroubel instructs her players during the Semifinal match that season.
2-Time Champ as Player, Haut Putting Further Imprint on SMCC as Coach
By
Doug Donnelly
Special for MHSAA.com
August 16, 2022
MONROE – After leading the Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central volleyball team into the Division 3 championship match last season, coach Cassie Haut had to apply for the Kestrels coaching job.
That’s because when SMCC reached the Finals in 2021, Haut was officially the co-head coach with Karen O’Brien.
“Oh, yeah, I had to go through the interview process and everything,” Haut said. “I met with the athletic director and other school officials. I was excited when I got the job.”
Haut certainly earned it.
SMCC officially billed Haut and O’Brien as co-head coaches when the 2021 season began. Haut was in charge of the team’s day-to-day activities and O’Brien – who led SMCC to Division 3 Finals titles in 2019 and 2020 – would help out as often as possible after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer for the fourth time.
O’Brien ended up being around the program often, including during the Kestrels’ postseason run.
When the season ended, however, O’Brien stepped aside, paving the way for a new coach to lead the ultra-successful SMCC program that has reached 10 Finals since 2003, and won seven of them.
Haut doesn’t feel added pressure as the next SMCC coach to maintain that level of success.
“I love it,” she said. “I’m honored to be able to be part of this legacy.”
Haut played basketball, softball and volleyball at SMCC and was part of two championship volleyball teams – in Class C in 2012 and 2014 – under head coach Diane Tuller. The 2015 SMCC grad also had an outstanding career at Eastern Michigan University, earning all-freshman team honors for the Mid-American Conference and twice being named first team all-MAC. In 2018 she was named the MAC Tournament MVP.
Soon after Haut’s college graduation, O’Brien – who was an SMCC assistant during Haut’s high school senior year – called her and asked if she wanted to be part of the program now as a coach.
“It was something that I always thought of doing,” Haut said. “After graduating, I remember thinking ‘What’s next?’ Coaching was something I felt I wanted to do. It helps keeps me part of the game that I love.”
SMCC graduated several seniors from the 2020 championship squad and had to do some rebuilding in 2021. O’Brien was there to put together some of the pieces, then helped mentor Haut as she guided the team through much of its 36-12 run. During the MHSAA Tournament run, O’Brien would funnel postgame questions to Haut, preferring to stay out of the limelight.
It was still, however, a dual coaching role until Haut took over the job.
“I was building up practice plans and ideas for the season just in case I was hired,” Haut said. “I had some things in my mind that I wanted to do. It’s nothing too crazy, but I just added my own touches.
Last year, for example, it was O’Brien who organized summer practices and helped build the regular-season schedule.
“I missed out on those parts of it, so it was something I was looking forward to this year,” Haut said. “It was exciting. We’re still in the same great tournaments that SMCC loves to go to.”
Haut is meshing the experiences she had as a player and coach to form her own coaching style and program.
“All of the coaches I’ve played for and coached with have a slightly different idea of the game,” she said. “The game has evolved in different ways. As I have gone through high school and college as a player, I felt like I learned more depth to the game every year. Then, since I’ve been coaching, I feel like it’s gone to another level.”
Before this season started, Haut had her players write down their goals.
“I want to learn everything I can about the girls,” she said. “It’s not just about volleyball, but life. My college coach really believed that. I’m excited to be part of these girls’ lives.”
Haut comes from an athletic family and has been around sports all her life.
Her father Chris played baseball at the University of Toledo. Her sister Mikayla was a four-time all-state volleyball player and Miss Volleyball finalist, and is coming off a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Rookie of the Year award at Fairfield University in Connecticut. Sister Maddie earned all-conference honors and helped Ave Maria University win its conference title a year ago. Brother CJ was an outstanding basketball player for the Air Force Academy.
SMCC is primed for more success this year. Haut welcomes back a solid senior group that has already showed off its leadership skills. The Kestrels will be among favorites as they seek to make a fourth-straight trip to Battle Creek.
“From the time we got into the gym, they have been leaders,” Haut said.
Two freshmen played key roles a year ago, McKenna Payne and Jessica Costlow. Payne rang up 465 kills, 360 digs and 86 aces during her ninth-grade season while Costlow had 414 kills, 275 digs and 59 blocks.
Last year, SMCC lost in the Division 3 Final to Reese. After taking a 2-0 lead in the match, the Kestrels dropped the final three games 25-15, 25-21, 16-14.
“I like a lot of what I saw in the scrimmage. It was good to get some different lineups together, and we have a deep bench,” Haut said. “I see a ton of potential with this team.”
Doug Donnelly has served as a sports and news reporter and city editor over 25 years, writing for the Daily Chief-Union in Upper Sandusky, Ohio from 1992-1995, the Monroe Evening News from 1995-2012 and the Adrian Daily Telegram since 2013. He's also written a book on high school basketball in Monroe County and compiles record books for various schools in southeast Michigan. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Cassie Haut, middle, talks with her Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central team last season as co-varsity coach with Karen O’Brien, right. (Middle) Haut signals to her teammates while starring at Eastern Michigan. (Top photo by Tom Hawley. Middle photo courtesy of the EMU athletic department.)