Decorated Clark Fork volleyball head coach Cindy Derr retires

After several decades of involvement in the Clark Fork girls volleyball program as both a coach, player and referee, the Lady Cats’ winningest coach in program history Cindy Derr announced her resignation on May 1.

“I am proud of the foundation I have laid down for our school’s program and of the lifelong friends I have made with the players and parents,” Derr said in her resignation letter.

Derr cited health concerns as the main reason for stepping away from the program; she has battled cancer over the past few seasons, which has prompted the Lady Cats to hold “Dig Pink” matches to recognize Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Yet Derr won’t be stepping away completely. She plans on helping new head coach — and Derr’s niece — Michelle Valliere and assistant coach Lyndsie Kiebert next season. Both Valliere and Kiebert played under Derr on either the high school or club levels.

A graduate of Clark Fork herself, Derr (‘73) has been involved in every level of Clark Fork’s volleyball program.

She coached three, two-year stints at Clark Fork Junior High, plus two, five-year stints at the helm of Clark Fork High School’s varsity program.

On the high school level, Derr’s teams won the North Star League title seven times, tied for first in two of those years and also won the district tournament seven times.

Five of her players went on to play volleyball in college, with countless others going on in sports other than volleyball.

Despite being located in one of the furthest corners of the state, Derr’s Clark Fork teams regularly stunned their southern counterparts; under her direction, Clark Fork won trophies at the 1A State Tournament five times.

As a testament to her coaching and devotion, Derr rarely took days off. During the offseasons, Derr ran the Clark Fork Volleyball Club program for 12 years.

Derr leaves with the most wins in the school history and a 214-75 (74.05%) record.