Kidd named women’s volleyball coach
Virginia Peninsula Community College has named Natalie Kidd its women’s volleyball coach.
Kidd was the girls volleyball coach at Bethel High School from July 2021 to May 2022, and has been an assistant coach for an area juniors travel team. She has played volleyball for more than a decade, including high school, travel, the club team at Christopher Newport University, and competitive adult teams. She will graduate from CNU in May, majoring in communication studies with a minor in business administration.
“I’m just really thankful for the opportunity to coach,” Kidd said. “I thank (athletics director Chris) Moore and the whole athletic department for trusting me in growing the volleyball program.”
She applied for the position because she’s interested in working with student-athletes on the collegiate level.
“I think she has some skills and some tools that could really translate to her being a very good coach,” Moore. “She’s very mature for her age. She’s energetic. She’s organized. I think she’ll be a really good fit for not just the athletic department, but I think she’s a good fit for the institution.”
A 2018 Kecoughtan High School graduate, Kidd is a student ambassador at CNU and works in its admissions office. Her ambassador duties include providing camps tours and building relationships with prospective students.
“I think she’s going to be able to relate to the young ladies really well,” Moore said. “I think she’s going to be able to do a really good job here for us.”
Reaching out to high school athletics directors and coaches to find potential players is the first item on her to-do list.
“Because it is a new program, they probably haven’t heard too much about it,” Kidd said.
The College added women’s volleyball for the fall 2022 semester, competing as a club team. Jasmine Sanders, talent development manager in Human Resources at VPCC, was the interim coach last fall. In fall 2023, the program will be a National Junior College Athletic Association member.
The expansion of sports at VPCC will also include men’s soccer, and men’s and women’s track and field/cross country for the 2023-24 academic year. Coaching searches are underway.
Baseball update
The baseball team went 1-2 last week, with all three games on the weekend. It began March 4 with the Gators dropping a DH to Rockingham Community College (N.C.), losing the first game 10-4 and the second 9-2. The Gators bounced back with a 10-7 victory March 5.
The team’s doubleheader at Christendom College on March 1 was canceled because of wet fields.
This week, they play March 8 at Deer Park against Bryant and Stratton. The nine-inning game starts at 5 p.m.; and March 10 at Deer Park against Christendom. The DH starts at noon.
For more information on VPCC athletics, go to https://www.vpcc.edu/life/Athletics/index.html.