Nebraska Loses Another Coaching Legend With Retirement of Pat Hoblyn
When they tell stories of how Nebraska become the nation’s hotbed for high school volleyball, Pat Hoblyn’s name is sure to be mentioned frequently. She, and several other longtime coaches from across the state, set the bar extremely high from…
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Continue ReadingWhen they tell stories of how Nebraska become the nation’s hotbed for high school volleyball, Pat Hoblyn’s name is sure to be mentioned frequently. She, and several other longtime coaches from across the state, set the bar extremely high from the very beginning.
But, after 43 years of running the volleyball program at Ansley, then Ansley-Litchfield, Hoblyn announced recently that she has coached her final game. Her assistant coach – Jamee Smith – will take over the program.
“You don’t ever know if it’s the right time or not, but I thought it was,” Hoblyn told the Grand Island Independent. “I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.”
And, when I say that Hoblyn helped set the bar high from the very beginning, I mean it. After graduating from Kearney State (as it was known then) and playing volleyball for the Lopers, Hoblyn took the job at Ansley and promptly went undefeated and won the Class C state championship back in 1973.
Ultimately, during her career Hoblyn would guide her teams to a total of six state-championship match appearances, winning five state titles and compiling a record of 742-275.
Her daughter Katie is the head coach at Anselmo-Merna.
“I have taught and coached in one community for all of my career,” Hoblyn told the Grand Island Independent. “I have had good support across the board from administration, faculty and staff to community. It has been a great journey and I am proud to be a part of this community.”