Joshua R. Russo

RAPID CITY - Shelly Wolfe, a physical education teacher at Rapid City Central, is the new head volleyball coach for the Cobblers.

Darren Paulson, Central's activities director, said Wolfe was chosen because of her experience and her knowledge of the game.

"We're excited and happy to have her," Paulson said. "She has had success at the Class A level and we're excited about the future of our program."

Wolfe served as an assistant volleyball coach with the Cobblers from 1996 to 2003. Wolfe was then the head coach at St. Thomas More from 2005 until 2007, leading the Cavaliers to a fourth-place finish at the state Class A volleyball tournament last fall.

Wolfe hopes her experiences will serve her well. She hopes to bring a renewed energy to a program that has struggled in recent years, finishing 15-23 last season after a Region 2A loss to Huron. But there are kids willing to work hard to change the fortunes of the Cobblers, Wolfe said, and the challenge will be to get kids to play to their potential.

"The kids are very eager and willing to do anything that they need to," Wolfe said.

Wolfe is not worried about the transition to Class AA.

"Volleyball is the same game, no matter where you play it," she said. "The kids are a little quicker, but they are the ones that have to handle it."

Wolfe does not have any big changes planned for the program currently because she only saw the Cobblers play a couple times last season.

Wolfe is the second coach for the Cobblers in as many years, following Leslie Weber, who coached for a year before resigning in January.