Published: August 14, 2009 02:47 am      

VOLLEYBALL: Future uncertain for Pioneers' Purichia

Sometimes in life, circumstances force people to deal with an uncertain future.

That is what Providence head volleyball coach Terri Purichia is facing right now.

This summer her husband Jeff, the former Charlestown High School head football coach, became the new athletic director at Hamilton Heights High School in Arcadia, Ind.

Since early July, Jeff has been working at his new job in Hamilton County, while Terri has stayed in Southern Indiana to prepare for her 11th season coaching her alma mater and take care of the couple’s three daughters.

“It was such a great opportunity that we felt like he needed to explore it,” Terri said about the Hamilton Heights post. “What we decided to do as far as what was best for our family and everyone involved, my three children and I would stay here and they would start school here. I would finish my Providence season and I also work with the Union Volleyball Club (in New Albany) and I wanted to do that season as well.”

In an interview Thursday at the Larkin Center, Terri stated that she is not sure if she will be back as Providence’s head coach next season. A lot of that will depend on how much her husband adjusts to his new job and whether a move to Central Indiana will be best for the Purichia family.

“Right now, it is still up in the air because we need to let this opportunity play itself out and really see before we make any changes if this is something that is good for our family,” said Terri, who admits it has been difficult for her and her children to not see Jeff on a daily basis the past couple of months. “Unfortunately, we live in a day and age that financially you have to make hard choices and this is one of those. This is a really good opportunity for him and our family financially. Although we have never been driven by finances, he was a teacher in a school system (at North Harrison) that hadn’t had a contract in four years. Things were very unstable at the school system that he was in.

“He felt like that this was an opportunity to grow professionally and for our family to have some financial security. We wanted him to go out there and see if this is something that met all of those criteria before we uprooted our whole family.”

One of the most emotional moments for Terri this summer was telling her players about her current situation and informing them that this could be her last year at Providence. The veteran coach said her troops were stunned by the news.

“That was probably one of the worst nights that I’ve spent as a coach,” she said. “The meeting that I had with my team was a painful one for me. I think that their reaction was pure shock. Everybody’s first reaction is ‘What?’ Nobody ever thought that I would leave. Even when my days of coaching at Providence were over, I don’t think that anyone ever thought that me leaving the Providence community was ever an option. I think we’re all kind of processing that.”

Purichia said her future at Providence has not been discussed by her players since the meeting. The squad’s focus has been on preparing for the upcoming season and an attempt to win a sixth sectional title in Purichia’s tenure.

And that’s the way the veteran coach wants it. Purichia wants the team’s No. 1 priority to be its performance on the court and not her future.

“So far, we’ve kept them focused by keeping things as normal as possible,” she said. “Once we had that initial team meeting and we discussed it, it hasn’t been brought up again. It’s been business as usual. If there needs to be a transition, we will transition at the end of the season. But as far as anybody is concerned, we are operating as we always have for the past 11 years.

“I think the entire team has kept their focus. Every day, we don’t discuss whether Coach Purichia is going to be here.”

Purichia has been appreciative of the support she has gotten from her players, her assistant coaches and her players’ parents during this uncertain time.

“This group is really rallying around me because they are trying to protect me because they know how hard this is on me,” she said. “I have felt nothing but love and support from all of my players, all of my coaching staff and their parents this year more than ever.”

Providence has a veteran squad this season with six seniors on its roster. But the Pioneers must overcome the transfer of two of their starters in outside hitter Laura Der and defensive specialist Christina Keller. Der will play for Floyd Central this season, while Keller transferred to New Albany.

“Both of those kids have been starters in my program since they were freshmen and they’re very, very talented, hard-working kids. They’re going to be tough to replace,” Purichia said. “The chemistry of this group has been phenomenal so far. What I love about this team is they are extremely coachable and they are trying as hard as they can. We’re climbing the mountain a day at a time.

“I don’t know if I can ask for a better group of 13 kids to take this journey because they are really, really focused on making this great for me and making it great for themselves.”

If Purichia does leave Providence, she will be leaving her dream job.

She has wanted to coach at the school since she graduated from PHS in 1990. Purichia has guided the Pioneers to five sectional titles, three regional crowns and three appearances in the Class 3A state finals in 1999, 2001 and 2002.

Purichia says preseason practice has helped her forget about her current situation.

“Being here every day has been the brightest part of my last seven weeks because it’s been my life for 11 years and this is where I find comfort,” Purichia said. “This team especially has made me understand how hard it is to leave a place like Providence because they’re just really, really good people. That’s why this thing is a very difficult thing.”



TERRI PURICHIA’S PROVIDENCE TENURE

• YEARS AS COACH: 11

• SECTIONAL TITLES: Five (1999, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006)

• REGIONAL TITLES: Three (1999, 2001, 2002)

• CLASS 3A STATE FINALS APPEARANCES: Three (1999, 2001, 2002)