Wilcox to coach

Flathead volleyball

Right time, right place, right fit.

Flathead High School hired Leon Wilcox as head volleyball coach last week.

Wilcox, who has been coaching since the early 1990s, has worked for the last four years as a high school math teacher, volleyball coach and track coach at Class 3A Lander Valley High School in Lander, Wyo.

His other coaching experience includes a three-year stint as head coach at Oregon Tech, and three years as head coach at Hosanna Christian School in Klamath Falls, Ore., as well as three years as a JV coach in Portland, Ore.

"He is an outstanding coach that brings a passion to the game, as well as a wealth of experience," said Flathead principal Peter Fusaro.

Wilcox, who has a degree (1993) in mechanical engineering from Oregon Tech, will teach math at Flathead, the principal said.

"We're glad to have him," he added.

"We're going to trade in the sagebrush for the trees," Wilcox said in a Friday evening telephone interview.

Wilcox, wife Mariah and their 2 1/2-year-old son Aidan plan to move to Kalispell this summer.

"We'll be doing a camp in June, so we'll look for a place then. And we'll hopefully meet a bunch of the returning players," he said.

"We're really excited about coming. The area is beautiful. My wife's family lives in Hot Springs, my wife is from Thompson Falls, so there's family nearby.

"We just heard a lot of really good things about the school, their sports programs, their students and their administration," he said.

"The timing is right. It seemed like a great fit."

The opportunity had to be just right to move, Wilcox said.

Although he said he and Mariah always knew Wyoming was a temporary situation, the choice to leave wasn't easy.

During the past four years, Lander Valley High School has won three trophies (a fourth and two thirds) at the Wyoming state volleyball tournament and the Wilcoxes have started a successful AAU program at the elementary level.

"It's hard to just turn your back on it and go, but it's good for my family and we feel it's the right decision," he said.

Mariah, who played volleyball, basketball and ran track at Thompson Falls, will be an assistant coach for the Bravettes.

As for the other volleyball coaches, Wilcox said two of former Flathead coach Christy Harkins' assistants plan to remain.

"It's going to help having returning assistant coaches. They've done very well. They've been well-coached," he said.

"It's hard to top a runner-up (finish) last year. We're just focusing on teamwork and playing our best. We're going to do our best to be the best we can."