Tracy Budworth, originally from St. Paul, Minn., has lived in Prescott with her husband and five kids for 29 years. This fall, she will start a new chapter of her life as she becomes the next head coach of the Cardinals’ varsity volleyball program.

Although it will be her first time running a program as the head coach, Budworth is no stranger to coaching. She has experience in multiple sports under multiple long-term coaches. During those years, Budworth gained valuable experience and began honing her coaching craft.

“I have coached five years of JV girls basketball under Ron Murphy,” Budworth said. “(I believe) we got the program headed in the right direction. I have coached PCR and middle school level volleyball and I also did six years as a volunteer under former varsity volleyball coach Patti Stuhl.”

For Budworth, the head coaching position at Prescott is a chance to stay within a district she loves and to reignite her lifelong passion for volleyball. She spoke about her love for the sport, identifying talent and goals for the roster.

“I am a lifelong volleyball player,” Budworth said. “I think we have a lot of talent (on the varsity roster) and I want to see that talent continue to grow and have (our) players meet their potential.”

One advantage of Budworth being an in-district hire is that she is already familiar with all of the girls in the volleyball program and has cultivated relationships with many of the girls, which she believes is something that will prove to be invaluable as she undertakes the coaching position.

“I think I already have a really strong relationship with a lot of the players because I am a teacher as well,” Budworth said. “So, I’ve been their teacher in the classroom.”

Immediately after Budworth was hired, she began planning her first moves as the next head coach of the volleyball program. That included rebuilding the coach staff from top to bottom and making sure athletes were getting in high-quality summer programming to get them ready for the upcoming fall volleyball season which is slated to begin in August.

“I had to hire all new coaching staff,” Budworth said. “Joining me at JV will be Lana Kraft, who has coached 7th grade for six years, and her co-7th grade coach, Leah Aeilts, is going to be taking the C-team.”

Some of that aforementioned offseason programming for her student-athletes is taking place at the River Falls High School, where they are competing in a summer league for high school students. In addition to that league, Budworth scheduled open gym time this summer for any girl involved with the volleyball program, from the varsity level down to middle school athletes. She also has previous Prescott High School players coming in to provide instruction to younger players.

“I’ve got some former PHS volleyball players who are going to come in and work with middle school athletes on some of their basic skills and just kind of having fun with the game,” Budworth said.

While it may seem like there is still a lot of time left in the summer, Budworth and her newly-selected coaching staff are already preparing for tryouts which are slated to happen in less than a month.

“We will start try-outs in mid-August,” Budworth said. “Our first week of practice is the week of August 15th and that week will be focused on ensuring I know where all of the girls are at as far as skill level and forming the teams.”