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A tradition like none other...
Former Saints come back for a chance to hold throne to their former programs
The Advocate
Donning the spirit of their alma mater and continuing a longstanding tradition in the athletic department, players have found a way to continue to contribute to MHCC sports after graduation.
Kim Hyatt, director of athletics, said four of seven head coaches and 11 of 16 assistant coaches are graduates of MHCC who have returned in a professional capacity in the athletic department.
"I always knew I would be contributing to the baseball program in some way," head baseball coach Bryan Donohue said matter of factly.
"You put a lot in as a player and when you leave, you look back at your experience and you kind of want to come back," said Donohue.
After graduating from George Fox University in 2007, Donohue was determined to help the baseball program and signed on to assist with the summer season.
Matt Dorey, the previous head baseball coach — and graduate of MHCC — was offered a scouting position for the Boston Red Sox, which Donohue said left him as the only possible replacement.
"I was the only one left and I jumped at the chance," Donohue said of the opportunity.
Donohue and his assistant coaches — Justin Speer, Billy Clontz and Korey Kier — played for the Saints baseball team together and Donohue says there is a family dynamic built into the sports programs and is continued by the players who return to coach.
"We have great relationships with each other," said Donohue.
Speer, who graduated in '07, knows first hand how tight the group is: He is married to head volleyball coach Chelsie Speer and is roommates with best friend Clontz.
"We kind of take care of our own," said Speer.
Head track and field coach Matt Hart has been coaching for 15 years and says he came back to the program because of the environment at MHCC.
"I am a product of Mt. Hood," Hart says. Hart is also a graduate from Mt. Hood. "The support I received from faculty transformed my life."
He received a call from (then) head track coach Keith Maneval asking him to return as a sprints coach — and says he believes in the service and product MHCC is offering and that was a big reason he decided to take the job.
"I wanted to go back and help people so they wouldn't have to go through the same trials as I did," Hart says. "Athletics kept me in the system long enough to appreciate an education."
Hart is joined by assistants Jessie Gallagher and Sean Carey, both MHCC graduates.
Another former MHCC student, Meadow McWhorter, recalls being at softball practice at Jacksonville State University in Alabama and the moment she decided returning to MHCC was what she was meant to do.
"I remember walking up to the mound at practice and hearing my phone ring," said McWhorter, head softball coach and alumnus from the class of '99. "It was a 503 area code and I didn't recognize the number."
The caller was Jan Sweet, who was the athletic department administrative assistant, relaying an offer of an opportunity that McWhorter couldn't resist: head coach for the MHCC softball team.
McWhorter said she tries to recognize players who might have what it takes to become a coach and starts molding them even as they are playing for MHCC.
"When I can see that in them, I encourage it," she says. "I will even have them take over more responsibility to see how they do."
Two former students McWhorter saw potential in and handpicked from her team are her assistants, Chistyne Alley and Chelsie Speer. Speer is also the volleyball head coach and graduate of the class of 2004.
"I knew I wanted to coach and teach even when I was a little girl," says Speer. "I feel a sense of pride in Mt. Hood."
The latest returning Saint, assistant basketball coach Corey Nielson, came on board in 2009 after graduating from BYU-Hawaii. He was approached by Coach Geoff Gibor because Gibor wanted someone who knew MHCC and could help maintain the same coaching system.
While Gibor is not MHCC alumnus, all of his assistants — Nielson, Steffen Harvey and Skyler Ashbaugh — returned after attending other schools.
"I feel indebted to Mt. Hood because as a student I had a lot of fun and a great educational experience," Nielson said. Nielson is a general studies graduate from the class of 2006.
Nielson said the family atmosphere in the program has been there for a long time as his father, Rob Nielson, was the men's basketball head coach for 10 years prior to Gibor.
"It's great," Nielson says. "We all are a really tight-knit group and we all support each other."
Nielson is also assistant volleyball coach under Chelsie Speer and says he enjoys being able to help in different facets of the sports programs.
Donohue agreed and said there is a lot of pride in the athletic programs at MHCC.
"There's a level of excellence that is expected and we do things the right way. To get the chance to come back and continue as a coach is a privilege," he said, smiling.
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