Daniels, Sautter sign on at Cheney

A newcomer to Cheney volleyball and a person whose ties go back to the beginnings of the girls basketball program are the newest Blackhawks coaches in their respective sports.

Former Shadle Park star Holly (Horn) Daniels was hired to become the Blackhawks’ volleyball coach.

Hal Sautter, an assistant beginning with girls basketball’s inception in the mid 1970s, will become the fourth girls basketball coach in as many years.

Daniels, who wed Shadle assistant Mike Daniels on Memorial Day weekend, graduated from Shadle in 1994.

She went on to play at Oregon State University and the University of Montana. She said her coaching strategy is a blend of ex-Shadle coach Linda Sheridan and Montana coach Dick Scott.

“Linda was wonderful – the whole positive attitude thing and seeing yourself as what you wanted to be,” Daniels said. “The skill is from Dick – everything just so and being consistent so the kids know where you’re coming from. I’ve combined those two to make a Holly.”

Daniels assisted one year at Lewis & Clark College in Portland and spent six years at Sandy (Ore.) High, first as an assistant and two years as head coach.

The past two seasons she has assisted in the Greater Spokane League at Lewis and Clark.

“Cheney is similar to Sandy, a smaller school in a big league,” Daniels said. “Taking on the challenge is appealing to me, just getting them to believe they can compete in the GSL. Talent isn’t everything. Attitude surpasses talent and can take you a long way.”

That is a sentiment echoed by Sautter, 58, a career-long Cheney educator.

He began as an assistant to Jan Rostvold and replaced her as head coach in the early 1980s. But teaching ninth-grade science at the junior high while coaching at the high school took its toll, and he left for a time until the freshmen moved into the high school.

“I didn’t feel comfortable,” Sautter said, “I didn’t see the kids other than at practice and games.”

He assisted the last three coaches, Marty Jessett, April Arland and Regan Delaney, even though retiring from teaching in 2001.

“I have a sense of ownership with the program, whether as an assistant or head coach basically from its inception, and the community has been very good to me,” he said. “My feeling getting back in is if I’m going to do it, this has to be a four- or five-year commitment.”

He’ll stress man-to-man defense and, by necessity, a guard-oriented offense. He has seen improvement already this summer in camp and at tournaments.

Cheney activities coordinator Jim Missel also announced that Kathryn Kafentzis will become the coach for the new boys swim team. She will continue to coach the girls team.