Matlock garners Idaho Athletic Hall of Fame honor

SANDPOINT — She was instrumental in helping build Sandpoint volleyball into a powerhouse in the early 1980’s, then went on to win more than 700 matches in two decades of coaching at Community Colleges of Spokane, and on Saturday night, Irene Matlock will be enshrined into the 2011 Idaho Athletic Hall of Fame class.

Matlock amassed a gaudy 101-7 record in four seasons at the helm in Sandpoint, winning state titles each year from 1982-85. Her disciplined and innovative coaching style was so effective that the SHS football coaches would often send players over to train with the volleyball team.

“Sandpoint was a very special time and place for me and I will always remember the magic that was there,” said the 58 year-old Matlock, who was always very popular with her players. “I do know you have to put the players first. It really is about them and their experiences.”

Sally Beyer played for Matlock at Sandpoint, before going on to play volleyball at the University of Idaho. Beyer recalls a coach well ahead of her time, who ran her practices with precision and expected and got a lot out of her players.

“She was one of those people who is a natural motivator. You wanted to do good for her,” recalls Beyer. “She worked you hard, but inspired you at the same time.”

Beyer and five other former Bulldog players will be heading down to the induction, held at the North Idaho Sports Banquet at the Coeur d’Alene Inn. They’ll no doubt reminisce about what they called the “bitch” drill, an hour long relay race that caused some girls to cry, others to throw up, and everyone to toughen up.

One of the relay races involved pushing a board wrapped in a towel up and down the court.

“Her father was in the military, and she ran her practices like the military,” remembers Beyer. “She could say something in any octave level, and the last person there had severe punishment.”

The tough love paid off in spades on the court, where the Bulldogs established themselves as the premier team in the state.

Former Bulldog player Daniele Huguenin said the state titles were due in part to strong team unity, but also the grueling daily double practices.

“She was very much into the team spirit,” says Huguenin of Matlock. “Our team was unified; we played as one.”

Matlock went on to win four conference titles as the head coach at CCS from 1986-2004, and coached at Eastern Washington University for one season. She still works in the Physical Education program at CCS, and in 2010 was inducted into both the NWAACC Hall of Fame and the American Volleyball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Also inducted in the 2011 Idaho Athletic Hall of Fame class are Jeff Robinson, the all-time sack leader at the University of Idaho who won a Super Bowl ring with the Rams, former Arizona State, Arizona Cardinals and Denver Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer, former Idaho football player and longtime Kellogg coach Ray Faraca, 2008 Olympic trials discus champion and two-time U.S. Olympian Ian Waltz and 34 year Lewis-Clark head baseball coach Ed Cheff.

For more information, visit “www.idahoathletichalloffame.org.”