What’s old is new again for the volleyball program at Pella Christian. Cindy Nikkel has stepped aside after five years as the Eagles’ head coach, and she’s being replaced by John Evenhouse, who piloted Pella Christian for 19 seasons from the early 90’s until 2010. He says that he stepped aside back then in order to focus more of his energy on his teaching duties.
“It just got hard to be a teacher and a volleyball coach so I figured I was going to step aside and let somebody get in there who would have more enthusiasm and could keep going. Cindy did that. She did a tremendous job of coaching, and I’m really happy to be following her because you don’t have to rebuild or anything like that. But what’s happened in the last few years with her is that she’s started working a lot with the international students at Pella Christian.”
As Nikkel was called to expand her role off the court, the need for a new head coach popped up. Evenhouse, who has now retired from teaching, told administrators that he’d take the job if they couldn’t find a full-time teacher-coach combo. He was involved last year as an assistant coach, and has been working with the team during offseason workouts this summer. Hear more from Evenhouse when we have our first fall preview interviews this Saturday during the Knoxville Hy-Vee Radio Coaches Corner on KNIA & KRLS.

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