At the time, it was no more than a polite compliment, words of encouragement from one coach to another.
Nine years later, Terry Stafford looks like quite the prophet.
At a volleyball tournament in the Bay Area nine years ago, Stafford – then the girls volleyball coach at Granite Bay – told then-Castro Valley coach Jamie Cortez if she ever were to relocate to the Sacramento area, he'd love to coach with her.
"Watching her as a young coach, she had such a great disposition," Stafford said. "I liked the way she treated her kids.
"She had the kind of attitude and mentality that kids respond to."
Boy, how things fell into place.
Cortez moved to Sacramento in November 2007, when she got engaged to Sacramento State running backs coach Aaron Ingram, whom Marshall Sperbeck brought from Foothill College in Los Altos Hills.
"I've been blessed throughout my coaching career," Jamie said. "It definitely hasn't gone the normal route."
Last fall, just before the high school and collegiate seasons began, Stafford – a guitar and health teacher at Granite Bay – took the head-coaching job at William Jessup in Rocklin.
Junior varsity coach Melanie Skinner stepped in to lead the Grizzlies last year before the school began searching for a permanent replacement, which Ingram became.
In their first year under Ingram, the Grizzlies (13-8) have captured the Carmichael Invitational championship, have been ranked by The Bee since the beginning of the season and appear poised for another trip to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II playoffs, in which they haven't advanced past the first round since 2006.
"I'm really excited about what we're doing," Ingram said. "We're working hard, learning a lot.
"I'm looking forward to the future."
Tuneup time – Eight playoff-bound teams will converge on St. Francis High School on Saturday for the annual Super 8 Tournament, a final tuneup against top-notch competition before the section playoffs begin Nov. 10.
No. 1 St. Francis, No. 2 Christian Brothers, No. 5 Oak Ridge, No. 6 Granite Bay, No. 7 Nevada Union, No. 10 Union Mine and No. 11 Golden Sierra, along with Napa, will be in action as the tournament begins at 8 a.m. Saturday.
Oak Ridge won last year's Super 8, sweeping through the tournament without dropping a set.
Rankings watch – St. Francis, Christian Brothers, Del Oro and Oak Ridge remain "On the Bubble" in prepvolleyball.com's Century Club rankings of the top 100 teams in the nation.
Call The Bee's John Parker, (916) 326-5519.
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.