BELLS — Though nearly 400 miles apart in Texas, Dimmitt and Bells began similar journeys six years ago.
Dene’ Adams started the Dimmitt volleyball program in 2003, while Bells resumed the sport after a near quarter century on the shelf.
Both played sub-varsity schedules their first season, but the parallels end there.
Dimmitt has quickly become a playoff regular this decade in the Panhandle under Adams, while Bells is still searching for its first postseason trip.
Adams and Bells will cross paths this fall, as she has been hired as the school’s head volleyball coach.
“I had been wanting to move to that area,” Adams said. “After Bells had contacted me about the job, I had called around and asked about it. The program sounds encouraging. It’s fun to start and build programs.”
Adams will be Bells’ third head coach since the restart, replacing Southeastern’s Amber Jay, who resigned this spring after a single season at the helm.
“We saw that (Adams) had started a new program and in a (few) years had won a district title and been in the playoffs,” Bells athletics director Charles Boles said. “Then, we interviewed her. She blew us away with her ability to overcome obstacles and have success. She stood out as a shining star. We knew we had to do what we could to get her here in our school.”
Dimmitt reached the playoffs during the last three seasons under Adams, winning a district title and reaching the area round in 2007.
She also coached Dimmitt to a fourth-place finish in district in 2005, after winning only seven matches the previous season during the school’s initial varsity campaign.
Adams, a graduate of Lubbock Christian High School and University, will be one of three new head coaches this fall during year two of the current District 11-2A alignment. Howe has hired Richardson’s Deborah Murphy, who graduated last month from Briar Cliff University in Sioux City, Iowa. Meanwhile, Whitewright is searching again this off-season for a head coach.
Adams will also assist with other girls’ sports at Bells.
