Warsaw volleyball coach Mike Howard has resigned after eight very successful seasons.

WARSAW – Mike Howard has some very good reasons for stepping away from the Warsaw volleyball program.

The now former Tiger coach has at least five very good reasons for his resignation earlier this week.

Those would be Tricia, Ethan, Haley, Morgan and Logan.

That handful of very important people in Howard’s life are his wife and four children.

Howard, who had a very successful eight year run as coach of the Tigers, has his priorities in order as he steps away from the prep level.

“My family and my health,” said Howard Thursday morning in a phone interview as to the main reasons behind his decision. “I have four children and all of them play sports. There are only so many moments in their lives to be a part of. They have only known me as Coach. It’s time they know me more as Dad.

“It’s just been a heavy burden with teaching, coaching high school and club ball. There’s no break. It just adds stress to your family. And my health is important to me. I had the back surgery last year and I’ve been dealing with a lot of pain from that still.”

Howard’s son Ethan is a freshman at WCHS, while daughters Haley, Morgan and Logan are in grades eight through third respectively.

Howard informed his team during its awards ceremony earlier this week that he is resigning as coach after eight seasons in charge of the program.

“It was an easy and a tough decision for me,” Howard said. “It was hard. It broke my heart to have to tell the players who are returning next year. But I will be there to support them the best that I can now as a fan and as a club coach still.

“I really don’t think it will hit me until next fall when the season gets here. I’m not a good spectator. And I don’t think that I am done coaching. I’m just done with high school for now. Everyone needs a break and to step back and look at their priorities.”

Howard guided the Tigers to an overall mark of 206-58 in his eight seasons. Warsaw won the Northern Lakes Conference title in 2012 after beating Elkhart Memorial 3-2 on their home court to snap the Crimson Chargers’ 76-match league winning streak which dated back to 2001.

The Tigers also claimed the NLC championship in 2014 by going 7-0 in league play. Howard was twice named the NLC Coach of the Year.

Warsaw went 23-8 overall and 5-2 in NLC action this past fall. The Tigers lost 3-0 to No. 10 Elkhart Memorial in a sectional semifinal match of the Class 4-A Penn Sectional. The Chargers went on to win sectional and regional titles before losing in the semistate.

“I’m just proud of the type of young ladies that we had in our program, the quality of those kids as student athletes,” Howard said. “I’m proud of what we did with the program. I think that we brought Warsaw volleyball back into the conversation in terms of our competitiveness.”

Howard added that he does plan to continue to oversee the Outland Volleyball club program in Warsaw.

The Tigers will lose six seniors, including standout outside hitter Caroline Mayer and middle blocker Jordyn Lideman and libero Peyton Adamiec, from the 2015 squad.  Top players expected back next season include setter Cassie Hoag, who will be a senior next year, and hitter Lexi Day, who will be a junior in 2016.

Howard coached a total of 32 players who earned All-NLC honors during his time on the bench. A total of 10 players from the program went on to play volleyball at the collegiate level.

“Coach Howard did a tremendous job as head coach of the volleyball program,” said WCHS Athletic Director Dave Anson. “The structure, organization, training and player preparation, and just the manner in which our program has represented WCHS and the Warsaw community has been tremendous.

“The Tiger volleyball program has year in and year out demonstrated they are one of the top teams in the conference, in the area, and at times among the best teams in the state under coach Howard’s direction. Some outstanding student-athletes were not only recognized for their abilities on the floor during his tenure, but several went on to play at the college level. Tiger athletics would like to thank coach Howard for his tremendous dedication to his players and the Warsaw volleyball program.”