It was an emotional night at Meridian High School last Tuesday, when the Trojans renamed their north gym to Diane Axelson Court before their game against Nooksack Valley.
The legendary volleyball coach headed the Meridian team from 1989–2004. Her smile lit up the gym as she stood alongside her former players, staff and her grandkids during the ceremony that plastered her name into Meridian history.
“Diane’s coaching at Meridian volleyball those years was a dynasty,” former athletic director Steve Miller said. “She had a team that nobody wanted to play. She put Meridian volleyball on the map in 1A volleyball. Everything she did was how it should be done.”
Axelson coached volleyball for 13 seasons and taught until the spring of 2005. (She stepped away during the 1998–99 season to watch her daughter play at Lynden High School.) As head coach, Axelson led the Trojans to 10 state appearances, seven top-eight placements and a state title in 2004.
Despite her impressive leadership, Axelson was humble during her court dedication Oct. 8.
“I had a hard time wrapping my mind around this when Bryant (Michaelson) first brought it up to me,” Axelson said. “I didn’t know if I needed that attention. But then, I thought about my grandkids growing up in that gym and that was cool for them.”
Axelson’s success led her to be inducted into the Washington Interscholastic Athletics Association Hall of Fame in 2006. Although she was a successful coach on the court, her passion was to create relationships and bonds with players that would last a lifetime.
Jana Haugen was a sophomore at Meridian when Axelson took over the role. Haugen and her teammates were skeptical of the new soft-spoken coach taking over for their previously long-standing coach. However, Haugen’s was one of many lives touched by Axelson on and off the court.
“Diane became a cornerstone in my life, evolving from a coach to a cherished lifelong role model and friend,” Haugen said. “Diane’s caring nature and motherly kindness extended to every student and athlete she encountered. Her warm and inviting nature, symbolized by welcoming us into her home, created lasting memories.”
Axelson got to know her student-athletes and build their confidence through bonding activities, such as pumpkin carving competitions, sleepovers at her cabin, hikes at Chuckanut, team dinners and attending University of Washington volleyball games.
“My coaching style was about building relationships with each other and helping them become the best they can be,” Axelson said.
Before Axelson took the Meridian job in 1989, she coached at two other schools. At 22 years old and freshly out of college, Axelson got her first teaching job in 1975 at Grandview High School. At that time, Title IX was three years old and schools were looking to find ways to support girls sports.
Axelson, who was a collegiate gymnast, had never watched or played volleyball before Grandview. However, she stepped into the head coaching role and learned the sport quickly.
“In that summer, I bought a book called ‘Power Volleyball’ and started reading what this game was about,” Axelson said. “I got addicted to it quickly because it was a cool game for girls. I always went to coaching clinics wherever I could find them to learn about the game.”
After two seasons, Axelson moved on to Friday Harbor for 12 years and won a state title in 1986. Then, she followed her husband to Lynden and took the Meridian job.
“I started hiring college coaches to come in and coach my girls during the summer camps at Meridian,” Axelson said. “I had the coaches from CWU, other high school coaches, three different UW coaches and Olympics coach Bill Neville.”
Haugen said the camps helped the team broaden their horizons and introduced them to influential figures. Axelson and those influential figures have helped shape Meridian’s new volleyball culture as two of her former players coach the Trojans squad. Angie Short is the head coach while Shannon Claeys, previously known as Shannon Rowland when she played at Meridian, is an assistant coach.
Leading up to the court dedication, her name was etched in block letters above the doors to the gymnasium and her signature was added to the corners of the court.
“I was raised in the 1960s and graduated from high school in 1971,” Axelson said. “I grew up with the idea that they don’t name gyms after women. There is that part of me still there that made me think there is someone else. But, my granddaughter is 14 and on junior varsity at Meridian right now playing on that court. It is cool to see that.”
Nick Zeller-Singh is CDN's sports reporter; reach him at nickzellersingh@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 104.
