Allegra Derzon

Experience

What are your volleyball accomplishments as a player or coach?

My love for the game of volleyball began when I made the volleyball team as a freshmen at Homestead High School.  I had never played before but as an athlete, the coach saw potential in me and I never looked back.  Winning the conference in ’95’ and ’96 were certainly highlights of my personal career and although I contemplated playing at the collegiate level, I turned down an opportunity to play at a small school and decided to attend the University of Wisconsin.  I coached at Little Rock Juniors in Arkansas for two years before moving to Las Vegas and building both the men’s and women’s volleyball programs at Rancho High School for 15 years.  You might think that my greatest accomplishments are the ‘coach of the year’ awards, or conference titles, or the first run in the state tournament since the 1980s, but these are simply great memories.  My greatest accomplishment is one that is repeated year after year – building up young athletes and creating belief and confidence in themselves so that they can realize how truly capable and talented they are.  This accomplishment transcends volleyball and permeates throughout the lives of the athletes I have worked with.  Seeing my student-athletes thrive in their careers as Air Force pilots, teachers, doctors, mothers and fathers, coaches, police officers and more; are the things that feed the soul.