PHOTO BY JOHN FRYMAN / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
LEGACY LUNCHEON … Former Hilltop High School volleyball players, assistant coaches and others gathered for a Legends Luncheon on Saturday, September 27 following the Hilltop-Evergreen volleyball match at Hilltop High School. The luncheon honored the coaching legacy of head coach Janice Bruner who is stepping down after this season following 39 seasons.
By: John Fryman
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
john@thevillagereporter.com
WEST UNITY – For the past 39 seasons, Janice Bruner has established her own legacy among the elite head volleyball coaches in the Buckeye State.
The legendary and highly successful Hilltop High School head girls’ volleyball coach was honored by former players and assistant coaches at a Legends Luncheon held following the varsity match with Evergreen where the Lady Cadets had earlier prevailed with a 25-23, 29-27, 19-25, 25-19 victory.
Bruner, who has already announced her retirement from coaching following this season has compiled an impressive 544-371 coaching record since she took over the Lady Cadets volleyball program in 1987.
Her 544 career wins now ranks her 22nd on the all-time career coaching list provided by the Ohio High School Athletic Association.
Longtime assistant coach Cristin Hagans addressed the former coaches and players prior to the Legends Luncheon.
“All of you here are somehow connected to the legacy and the legends that exist about Hilltop Cadets volleyball,” said Hagans.
“The expectation, the anticipation, and the excellence are tied into every volleyball season has been formed long before each new year begins.
“Players that may be only pictures on the wall or faces in a yearbook, names that exist in the record books, stories that are told by family and friends, all of these have blended through the years, to create a program with a long lasting tradition of excellence.
“The positive impact of this program on the lives of so many people has endured through the decades. We are so thankful for what each of you has done to create and add to the legacy of the volleyball program.”
When you look at the ‘body of work’ already accomplished by Bruner, it’s quite remarkable that her successful coaching tenure has resulted in 14 Buckeye Border Conference championships, five district championships (1991, 92, 94, 2021, 2024), two regional championships (1991, 1992), two state tournament appearances (1991, 1992) and a Division IV state championship in 1991.
“Part of me feels young, the other part feels really old when I see a lot of these kids from the first few years that I’ve coached,” said Bruner. “It’s very fun to get to see everybody again.”
Bruner remembers the 1991 squad that won the Division IV state championship. During their tourney run, Hilltop defeated Montpelier at sectionals, Stryker and Edon at districts, Hardin Northern and Fort Recovery at regionals before knocking off Convoy Crestview in the state semifinals and then Centerburg for the state championship.
“That would be for any coach,” said Bruner who reflected on the state championship team. “It still kind of surprises me some when I think back about it.
“I was only like five years into my career, and I had that group of girls that were super competitive. They kind of defied what everybody else thought we were capable of doing that year.”
One of her former players, Jennifer Borton (Class of 1992) who now resides in Tallmadge, Ohio was a standout on the 1991 state championship team.
“She (Bruner) was a wonderful mentor and coach,” said Borton. “Our team had a lot of fun going to state and winning the state championship and bringing it back to the community. It was definitely one of the top experiences of my life, my sisters’ and my cousins’ life.
“We were talking about that in our drive into town. It was so fun of having the entire community to leave the town and come down to support you.”
Another former player, Kim (Tanner) Phipps (Class of 2000), credited Bruner for making practices fun and interesting, but she always expected more from you.
“She (Bruner) always taught us to strive for more and to expect more from the people around you and never be complacent,” Phipps said.
“She allowed you to figure things out on your own rather than always nit-picking at every little mistake. She let you experience the game and to figure it out with the skills you have.”
Current assistant coach Rhonda (Neill) VanArsdalen recalled that Bruner was in charge from day one.
“I can remember being in her classroom and begging her to be our coach,” said VanArsdalen. “We had nice coaches from before, but with somebody of her knowledge, knowing that she played college ball (Bluffton) and back then nobody around the area had a coach that had previous experience at a college level.
“We knew we were going to have something special if we could talk her into it. Our administrators made sure it happened. And I’ve just been a part of it since.”
She then added, “Back then I would have never thought that I would be a part of the program and coaching with her (Bruner) all these years. It’s been fun of being a part of her legacy and what she has built here at Hilltop.”
Her own coaching legacy is unmatched touching the lives of 157 graduating varsity players from 1988 to 2026 who have progressed in the Hilltop volleyball program from elementary school.
Six of her former players eventually had coached at Hilltop including Kelly Borton Colon, Emily Yoh Rodriguez, Lynne Borton Roth, Cierra Grant, Amanda Schaffner Nofziger and Rhonda Neill VanArsdalen.
Bruner has also coached 23 different sets of sisters during her career along with five second generation mother-daughter combinations.
“I think what people don’t understand is they give me energy too,” said the Lady Cadets coach. “So, like being around young people even at my age, like in the gym today that, energizes me. I got a lot of benefit out of it too.”
When asked if she ever had a losing season, Bruner said she did. “When you’re in a small school your numbers aren’t always really big and so forth. We had a few years in there.”
She then added, “The one thing you need to remember about high school sports, is that it’s supposed to be a learning process and you’re trying to teach them skills they can use in other areas of their lives like don’t give up, work hard, work with the community, work with teammates that can be used in other parts of your life.
“It’s not always just the win-loss record; it’s what you’re able to teach them on what they’re able to get from their teammates too.”
