Varsity Head Coach
kslyder@hse.k12.in.us

Coach Kathy Slyder enters her eighth year as head coach of the Royals volleyball program. She has been a head coach for 18 years, eight of which were spent building a program at Heritage Christian School and coaching the Eagles to a sectional runner-up title in their first showing in the IHSAA in 2002 and to a State Tournament win for Christian schools in 2000. The Royals won their sectional in 2008 after a 16 year drought. They then moved on to the regional tournament where they defeated ranked Center Grove in the morning. In the regional championship, the Royals fell to the eventual state champions and #1 ranked Cathedral Irish. In 2009, the Lady Royals clinched their first HCC title since 1992 and went 34-2 on the year. Last year the Royals finished up at 29-6. The team has been ranked in the top 10 over the course of the past two years. Coach Slyder hails from Warren Central High School, where she played volleyball for four years, and continued playing volleyball at Anderson University. She was named HCC Coach of the Year in 2008 and 2009 as well as receiving All North Coach of the Year in 2008. She is employed at HSEJH and is married to Tom, who is a head men’s basketball coach at Anderson University. They have three daughters, Taylor (19), Mallory (17) and Allie (14).

Varsity Assistant Coach
geoffbarb@aol.com

Barb received All Conference awards in both Volleyball and Basketball in high school. She was named First Team All Metro League for 2 years in Volleyball and voted Metro League Rookie of the Year in Basketball her first Varsity season. Barb served as captain for her volleyball and basketball teams and her Senior year was voted athlete of the year. After graduating high school, she represented the Pacific Northwest by playing for TEAM USA NORTHWEST on their summer volleyball tour of China.

Barb attended Dallas Christian College in Dallas, Texas. She served as the teams captain and earned the following honors during her 1985 and 1986 volleyball seasons:
* Mid South Christian Conference MVP – 1985, 1986
* TCCAC All Conference Player – 1985, 1986
* NCCAA Regional Volleyball All Tournament – 1985, 1986
* Dallas Christian College - Team MVP – 1985, 1986
* Dallas Christian College - Captains Award - 1985,1986

In May of 2004 Barb attended the HSE Volleyball parent call out meeting with her freshman daughter and the newly hired Varsity coach Kathy Slyder. Hearing Coach Slyder talk about her new vision for HSE Volleyball was something very exciting and something Barb knew she wanted to be a part of. In the Fall of 2004 HSE TNT was born. Barb worked as the club director/administrator and pitched in where needed, eventually adding coaching in the 2008 to present seasons. Barb served as the SPORTS Youth Volleyball League Board President since it's inception in early 2005 and resigned this past year (2010). She is now working in the HSE high school volleyball program as the Varsity Assistant to coach Slyder. She is also a licensed IHSAA and USAV official.

Barbara has been married to Geoff for 23 years and has 2 children, Laura 21 and Jessie 15, (Sophomore at Fishers High School.)

Freshmen Coach
jbakle-niehoff@hse.k12.in.us

Jill begins her 15th year of coaching. She is terrific at providing a system of training through fall clinics, camps and cadet programs, not to mention her own club team. Jill has coached volleyball at every level, assisting Division I IUPUI and East Tennessee State University, earning conference championships at both schools. She has coached at the high school level. Jill's real talent is that she excels at training young players in the fundamental skills of volleyball. Jill supports fundamentals in the game of volleyball to enhance play and pushes the level of competition to new heights. Jill has been a part of competitive volleyball as both a player and a coach and enjoys bringing the spirit of competition to each player on the floor. Jill currently teaches math at Hamilton Southeastern High School.

JV Head Coach
jboss@hse.k12.in.us

I began my teaching career at Hamilton Southeastern Junior High in 2007. Originally from Illinois, I made my way to Indiana for college and attended Butler University, majoring in Middle/Secondary Education and English Literature. GO BULLDOGS! At HSJH, I teach 8th grade English, and I love it! Junior high students always keep me energized and on my toes! When I started teaching at HSE, I became part of the Royals family as the Freshman coach and was overwhelmed by such a fabulous, welcoming program and community of families. For the past three years, I have been the JV coach at HSE. I also coach in our feeder program, TNT, having worked with 6th, 7th, and 8th grade teams. Being a part of the HSE volleyball program has truly been a blessing.

Volleyball for me has always been a love of my life! In high school, I was an outside hitter and played for both my high school team and a club called Illini Elite out of Bloomington, Illinois. At Butler, I continued to play volleyball on the university's club team. Volleyball was always something I enjoyed, so I do feel it a privilege to share this love with your daughters!