Thirty-five years of sweat, whistles, and chalk dust culminate this Sunday. Deb Thill, the architect of Mitchell High School volleyball, is officially entering the South Dakota High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame. She joins five other coaching giants in the 2026 class.
The ceremony kicks off at 1 p.m. on Sunday, July 19, at the Mitchell High School Performing Arts Center. It is open to the public. No admission fee. Just pure appreciation for decades of molding teenagers into champions.
Thill hung up her whistle earlier this year. Her legacy? Massive. She built the Kernel volleyball program from scratch in 1991. She was the only head volleyball coach the school had ever known until her retirement. Along the way, she racked up 517 wins, 15 state tournament appearances, and state titles in 1995 and 2003. She also ran the track program and once led the girls’ basketball team.
This induction is also a family affair. Thill and her father, Richard Donovan, are the first father-daughter pair in the hall. Donovan, who coached for over three decades across the state, was inducted in 2001.
Thill’s resume is stacked. She won State Volleyball Coach of the Year in 2003. She entered the state’s volleyball hall of fame in 2011. She even served on the National High School Athletic Coaches Association board for nearly a decade. Not bad for a 1981 Groton High grad who went on to earn degrees from SDSU and Emporia State.
Five other legends share the spotlight this Sunday:
Terry Dosch of Aberdeen spent 40 years at Aberdeen Roncalli. He coached football, track, and wrestling. Under his watch, Roncalli football reached three state title games, winning back-to-back championships in 2005 and 2006. His track team also grabbed a state title in 2006.
Paul Hendry of Rapid City Stevens spent 25 years leading the Raider track and field program. The results are staggering: 16 team championships, 75 individual state titles, and 14 All-Americans. He even coached a young Becky Hammon in softball back in 1995.
Bob Hirsch of Harrisburg built Milbank into a wrestling powerhouse. He won a state title in 1990 and finished as runner-up three times. He still blows the whistle as a high school and collegiate referee.
Ken Koistinen of Pierre spent 36 years in the trenches. He coached Wessington Springs to a No. 1 ranking in 1979 before moving to Pierre, where he taught math and coached football and track until 1999.
Dan Mitchell of Yankton spent over three decades with the Bucks. He helped guide Yankton wrestling to a 1986 state title and assisted the football team during a run that captured six state championships.
Additionally, the SDHSCA will hand out its spring coach of the year awards at 1:30 p.m. Avon’s Paul Kuhlman takes home the softball honors after guiding the Pirates to a 17-9 record and a state tournament berth. Other spring honorees include Kim Zimmerman of Aberdeen Central (girls golf), Tim Hedblom of Huron (boys tennis), Jim Jarovski of Sioux Falls Lincoln (boys track), and Julie Preheim of Colman-Egan (girls track).
