Jul. 17—MITCHELL — Longtime Mitchell High School coach Deb Thill will be honored Sunday with induction into the South Dakota High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame as part of a six-member class for 2026.
Thill and the other SDHSCA honorees will be recognized during their annual award ceremony at 1 p.m. on Sunday, July 19, at the Mitchell High School Performing Arts Center. The event is free to attend.
Thill retired earlier this year after 35 years of teaching and as the only high school volleyball coach in Kernel history, creating the program in 1991. She also was the Kernels’ head track and field coach and previously was head coach of the MHS girls basketball program.
Thill is also part of the first father-daughter duo inducted into the SDHSCA Hall of Fame, joining her father, Richard Donovan, who was inducted in 2001. Donovan coached sports for 31 years at Delmont, Highmore, Groton and Mitchell.
When Thill launched the MHS volleyball program, it was one of the last schools in Class AA to add the sport. But the Kernels quickly were built into a powerhouse, with state championships in 1995 and 2003. The Kernels qualified for the Class AA state tournament 15 times under Thill’s leadership, including in 2025, and she amassed 517 volleyball coaching wins.
After 11 years as girls basketball assistant coach, Thill coached the Kernel girls as head coach in 2003 and 2004, claiming the 2003 state title. In track and field, she began coaching in 2013 and became the head coach in 2022, specializing in coaching the high jump.
Thill was the state’s volleyball coach of the year in 2003, a South Dakota Volleyball Coaches Association hall of famer in 2011, and is a past president of the South Dakota High School Coaches Association. She served on the National High School Athletic Coaches Association board for nine years.
A 1981 graduate of Groton High School, Thill earned her degree in health, physical education, and recreation from South Dakota State University in 1985 and later completed her master’s degree from Emporia State (Kan.) in 2010.
Other coaches being inducted on Sunday include:
Terry Dosch, Aberdeen: A 1976 Ipswich graduate and 1980 Northern State University graduate, Dosch began his coaching career in Faulkton, where he served as head football and assistant wrestling coach. In 1985, he began a 40-year career at Aberdeen Roncalli, where he coached football, track, and wrestling while teaching generations of student-athletes. As head football coach for 32 years and head boys track coach for 20 years, Roncalli reached the state football championship game three times, including back-to-back state titles in 2005 and 2006. His track and field program also captured a Class A championship in 2006. Dosch was a two-time SDHSCA football coach of the year.
Paul Hendry, Rapid City: Hendry has spent the last 28 years coaching at Rapid City Stevens, including 25 years as the head coach of Raider track and field. In that time, Stevens has 16 team championships, 75 individual state titles, 43 relay state titles, 14 All-Americans and nine Gatorade state track athletes of the year. Hendry was a Stevens graduate where he was a three-time state triple jump champion and still holds the school record in the event and an indoor All-American at USD. He has also coached as an assistant in track and field and basketball, and helped launch ASA girls softball in Rapid City, coaching a future WNBA star Becky Hammon in 1995.
Bob Hirsch, Harrisburg: A graduate of Vermillion and Northern State University, Hirsch coached wrestling and tennis at Milbank for 19 years, building one of the most respected wrestling programs in the state, winning the 1990 Class A state title and finished second three times. He also coached at Harding County and Watertown in his career, and was a two-time SDHSCA wrestling coach of the year in 1990 and 1993. He has served on the South Dakota Wrestling Coaches Association board since 1987 and continues to serve as a high school and college wrestling official.
Ken Koistinen, Pierre: A Lake Norden native and graduate of Huron College, Koistinen began his 36-year teaching and coaching career in Erwin before spending 14 years at Wessington Springs, where he coached football, basketball and track. During his tenure, his football teams captured three Central Conference championships and finished the 1979 season ranked No. 1 in Class B. In 1981, Koistinen moved to Pierre, where he taught mathematics and coached football and track for 19 years until his retirement in 1999. Koistinen served 10 years on the South Dakota Football Coaches Association board and has been inducted into both the South Dakota Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame and the Pierre High School Hall of Fame.
Dan Mitchell, Yankton: A native of Wayne, Nebraska, Mitchell began his teaching and coaching career at Yankton High School in 1985 and spent more than three decades making an impact as a teacher and coach at Yankton. In wrestling, he served as both assistant and head coach, helping guide 39 qualifiers to the state tournament, along with conference titles and a 1986 state championship. In football, he served as a longtime assistant coach for the Bucks, capturing six Class 11AA state championships during his tenure. A past president of the National High School Athletic Coaches Association, he also helped with strength and conditioning education both at Yankton and around the state until his retirement in 2019.
Pirates’ Kuhlman named SD softball coach of the year
Avon softball coach Paul Kuhlman is among the South Dakota High School Coaches Association 2026 spring sports coaches of the year.
Kuhlman helped the Pirates return to the Class B state tournament for a second year in a row with a 17-9 record. It represents a strong turnaround from where Avon’s program started in 2023, with only two wins and eight total wins in its first two seasons. The Pirates finished seventh at the state tournament, while Brielle Voigt and Rilyn Thury were picked as Class B all-state selections.
Other SDHSCA coach of the year spring season selections included:
* Girls golf — Kim Zimmerman, Aberdeen Central
* Boys tennis — Tim Hedblom, Huron
* Boys track and field — Jim Jarovski, Sioux Falls Lincoln
* Girls track and field — Julie Preheim, Colman-Egan
The coaches will be honored in the SDHSCA awards ceremony at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 19, at the MHS Performing Arts Center.
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