Brittany VanRoyen is the head Spirit Squad coach and the assistant volleyball coach here at Garden City Community College. This will be her second year as the assistant volleyball coach, and she was asked to take over the Spirit Squad program at the beginning of the Fall semester.

Coach VanRoyen grew up in Winfield Kansas but graduated from Chanute High School. VanRoyen played collegiate volleyball at Friends University where she was a defensive specialist. She also Cheered at Newman University in her sophomore year of college. She is still in the process of finishing her bachelor’s degree in Sports Management through Wichita State University.

VanRoyen’s coaching career started in 2014 when she coached club and high-school Volleyball. Before coming to Garden City, she was an assistant softball coach at Neosho County Community College in 2019 and she also helped coach women’s basketball last year.

When asked to give advice to a first-time coach VanRoyen said, “Dream big, the sky is the limit. If you limit yourself everyone else is going to limit you and take every and any opportunity that you get”.

Not only is Brittany VanRoyen a coach she is also a mother and a student, so time management is highly important to her.

“My support system is honestly the way I am able to keep everything in line. My student-athletes are my kids and taking over this program has given me like 33 sons and daughters that I never had before, and I absolutely love it and they keep me going. There is time when people ask me how do I do it and my kids are the reason for everything” said VanRoyen when asked how she manages her coaching.

Managing two teams, a two-year-old daughter and is in the process of getting her bachelor’s degree. I believe we can consider coach VanRoyen a super coach and we wish her luck on her 2020-2021 season. 

Photograph by Mike Pilosof