ROCK SPRINGS, WYOMING (February 29, 2020) – In today’s edition of 5 Questions With…Wyo4News talks with Western Wyoming Community College’s Women’s Volleyball coach Fredann Soto.
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Coach Fredann Soto is in her second year as Head Coach for the Mustangs. Fredann has played volleyball for 38 years, playing in her first tournament at age 8. She is a Rock Springs native and played at Rock Springs High School where she was and All-Conference and All-State player. She was also named to the Wyoming all-Star team in 1991 and 1992. She earned honors as best hitter with a .347 and .364 hitting percentage her junior and senior years respectively.
She was named Who’s Who in Wyoming and American High School sports in 1992. Fredann played collegiate volleyball at Casper College where she remains ranked #10 all time for single season blocks at 232. She had many offers to play on after Casper but began her coaching and teaching career which includes 24 years coaching junior high, high and club sports. In addition to coaching volleyball, Fredann serves as the Western Wyoming Community College Athletic Department’s Marketing Coordinator.
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Fredann’s parents are both Western Wyoming Community College alumni, with her mother Janis Collins-Hutton being a member of the first volleyball team at Western and her father, Fred Hutton competing on the Men’s Basketball team. He was coached by Coach Ken Rochlitz and competed when the Western Wyoming Community College mascot was the Spartan. Fredann is married to Mario Soto and they have two children, Erikka and Alex.
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Five Questions with Fredann Soto:
- What are your goals in coaching Volleyball?
My goal in coaching volleyball has always been to value the student athlete, and to make sure they value themselves, as people, students, and athletes.
- Describe a time that challenged you as a person/coach/leader and how you worked around it?
There are always challenges. I have always said if you are not being challenged, something is wrong. You work through obstacles that get in your way…it makes you a much better person.
- How do you deal with conflict on your team?
If there was a conflict, I expect the team captains to handle the minor conflicts. Conflicts are like challenges; we work on them, and we continue to move forward.
- What’s your coaching philosophy?
The love and passion for the game of volleyball is why I coach. I have played for 39 years, playing in my first tournament at age 8. I am still as passionate now as I was then. I am fortunate, in that I am able to help my players not only grow as athletes but grow even stronger as students and young adults.
- What’s your favorite coaching memory?
I have two great memories. I coached at Rock Springs High School back in the 90’s and coached a sophomore team to an undefeated season. I had a great bunch of young ladies, that worked hard, and was just as passionate. I had the same experience with my team this past season at Western. We were first in the Region IX North, with a 24-11 record, and had players make the All-Region, and All-Tournament Teams, along with nominations for All-American. I have an amazing team of young women that are very passionate about volleyball and could not be prouder.
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