Wednesday, June 20 2018 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
7
Rush and Nordell earn Coach of the Year honors
By Rongi Yost
Correspondent
First-year Sisters High
School (SHS) varsity vol-
leyball Coach Rory Rush
and Project Unify Coach
Josh Nordell were honored
at the 83rd annual Oregon
Athletic Coaches Association
(OACA) Awards Banquet last
month. Rush was selected as
the 2018 4A Volleyball Coach
of the Year and Nordell, along
with Brandon Kneebone of
Milwaukie High School,
were selected Unified Sports
Coaches of the Year.
Rush came to Sisters with
20 years of volleyball coach-
ing experience, and at the
start of the season realized
she’d be taking over a very
successful volleyball pro-
gram. Last year, the Outlaws
finished first in the Sky-Em
Conference, and also took a
first-place finish at the state
tournament. In addition,
they’d made seven consecu-
tive appearances at the state
tourney.
When asked if she felt any
pressure stepping in as the
new head coach, Rush’s quick
response was, “Pressure? Oh
gosh! Yes, there was defi-
nitely pressure to continue the
winning tradition and to cre-
ate stability for the program.”
Rory came through her
first season in flying colors.
She led the Outlaws to both
back-to-back league and state
titles.
A few weeks ago, Rush
was notified she’d been
selected as the 2018 Coach of
the Year.
“I actually was surprised,
and I was very honored to
receive the award,” said Rush.
“I think for me it validated all
the hard work I’ve put in over
the last 20 years. But, it’s also
a testament to the great ath-
letes we have here at Sisters,
and I wouldn’t have received
the award without having the
opportunity to coach them.”
SHS Athletic Director
Gary Thorson told The
Nugget that Rush was very
deserving of the award.
“As evidence of the high
turnover rate of coaches in
this sport, the expectations
for volleyball here in Sisters
is (sic) very high, and she
stepped in and did a great
job leading the program this
past fall. The performance
of her team speaks for itself,
but more important to me is
how she was viewed by her
athletes. They appreciated the
balance she had with them
in terms of pushing them
to be the best they could on
the court, but also showing
concern and care for them
as individuals. We are proud
and appreciative of her efforts
with the team.”
Nordell, Sisters High
School Special Education
teacher, started Project Unify
at the high school three years
ago. The purpose of Project
Unify is to create true friend-
ships and inclusion within the
high school, and for students
to work together as a team.
Students embraced it from the
start, and each year more and
more students get involved.
Nordell told The Nugget
that working as a team is a
major job skill, and hard to
teach, and added, “A team
is a great representation of a
workplace, and how you deal
with challenges as a group.
You have to learn to work
together with all types of
people and work through all
types of hardship together.”
Josh shared some of the
many positive results that
have come from implement-
ing the program at the high
school.
“We’ve seen a strong
sense of place and connec-
tion for students with neuro-
typical and non-neurotypical
needs, and students feel
important and included in the
high school setting,” he said.
“They work towards a com-
mon goal, and understand that
competition is important, but
not competing in a manner
that will hurt others. When
the competition is over we
are all friends. We compete
for the experience, rather than
for personal gain or winning
or losing.”
Nordell was very humble
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Rory Rush took the Sisters Outlaws to the state championship.
about his recognition.
“I’m mostly embarrassed,”
he said. “I really struggle
getting awards and being
recognized in this manner.
I’m thankful I work with a
great team of Bill Mitchell,
Sherri Hermens, and Bryn
Singleton, and countless par-
ents and volunteers.”
Thorson said, “Josh has
not only impacted SHS with
the work he has done with our
Project Unified Program, but
our entire community. He is
in this profession, both as a
teacher and coach, for all the
right reasons, and it shows in
the programs he is involved
with. He helps make SHS a
special place for everyone
who attends, and we are so
blessed to have him in our
building.”
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