Debbie Brown:
After five years as the head coach at Notre Dame, Debbie Brown is on the way to achieving her goal of making
the Fighting Irish one of college volleyball's elite programs. Debbie was hired in December, 1990, to turn around a
team that had just completed its season at 9-27. She did so immediately, guiding the Irish to a 26-10 mark the
following fall. In 1992, the team continued its ascent, finishing 30-8 and garnering a No. 20 national ranking. In
1993, the Irish became a force to reckon with, finishing one win away from the NCAA Final Four. In 1994, Notre Dame
finished with a 33-4 record and had a ranking as high as No. 8 in the nation. This past season, the Irish were 27-7
and advanced to the NCAA regionals. Debbie was recognized by her peers as Mideast Region coach of the year in 1992
and 1993, and has been named conference coach of the year each of her five seasons.
Debbie's volleyball playing and coaching career has spanned 20 years at every level of the game. As a player,
she won two national championships at the University of Southern California, then went on to become co-captain of
the 1980 U.S. Olympic team. As a coach, she was an assistant for the 1988 U.S. Olympic team and the bronze-medal
winning American team at the 1990 World Championships. In eight of her nine seasons as a college head coach, first
at Arizona State and now Notre Dame, she has led her teams to post-season play. Her career coaching record stands
at 260-120 and she has coached five all-Americans Ð ASU's Tammy Liley (a two-time Olympian and the current U.S.
national team captain), Regina Stahl and Christy Nore, and Notre Dame's Jessica Fiebelkorn and Christy Peters.
Among her other career highlights, Debbie was named the best All-Around player in the United States in 1977 and
1978, won USVBA All-America honors eight times, was named winner of the Kirk Kilgore Sportsmanship Award in 1983,
served as a member of the U.S. Olympic Committee's Athletes Advisory Council, and was a member of the USVBA Board of
Directors. She has also been actively involved in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Debbie and her husband
Dennis have two sons, Connor and Ryan.
Steve Schlick:
In five years at Notre Dame, Steve Schlick has played an integral role in bringing the Fighting Irish back to
national prominence. Soon after Debbie Brown was appointed head coach of the Irish, she asked Steve to join her in
rebuilding the Notre Dame volleyball program. Together, they have compiled a record of 143-37 and have taken the
Irish to post-season competition all five years. Steve previously assisted Debbie at Arizona State in 1987 and 1988,
qualifying for the NCAA Tournament both years. The second season was particularly noteworthy as Steve guided ASU as
the interim head coach while Debbie took a leave of absence to serve as assistant coach of the U.S. Olympic team.
Throughout the 1980s, Steve was regarded as one of the nation's outstanding club coaches, making the Arizona
Juniors Volleyball Club one of the most respected developmental programs in the country. During his tenure, more
than 100 members of the Arizona Juniors earned collegiate scholarships. In addition to his club experience, Steve
also coached at Mesa (Ariz.) Community College and Mesa Mountain View High School, where he won the 1984 Arizona
state championship.
As well as his many college and club credentials, Steve also has been active on the national level. He served
as an assistant coach for the silver-medal-winning West in the 1990 U.S. Olympic Festival, and he took part in the
U.S. National Team's apprentice coaching program in 1989. Steve also has served as an associate director for
competition for the Volleyball Festival, the world's largest volleyball tournament that annually attracts more
than 600 junior club teams from across the country.
Steve Hendricks:
Steve Hendricks, now in his third year as an assistant coach at Notre Dame, earned four varsity letters at
Ball State University while helping the Cardinals compete in three NCAA Final Fours.
A native of Danvers, Illinois, Hendricks is a 1990 graduate of Ball State where he earned a bachelor's degree in
Business Education. He then went on to the University of Tennessee and received a masters in Sport Psychology. He
began his collegiate coaching while at Tennessee as the graduate assistant with the women's team. Prior to Notre
Dame he was the assistant coach at Eastern Michigan University. Hendricks has also coached club volleyball with
ASICS Munciana and the Washtenaw Area Volleyball Association, coached two years of prep volleyball at Muncie Burris
High School and has been an instructor at various camps.
In the summer of 1992, Steve was the head coach and player with Athletes in Action which toured in El Salvador and
Honduras competing against both countries national and junior national teams. He has also traveled to Brazil as a
coach, instructing in various camps and clinics.
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