Riverland Community College has added two new coaches to lead the Blue Devils athletics teams for women’s volleyball and men’s soccer.

Michele Hoogers was recently hired as head volleyball coach at Riverland Community College for the upcoming season.  Hoogers comes to Riverland from Sheldon, Iowa where she has been the head coach at the high school for the past five seasons.  Her varsity coaching record is 161-23, including three consecutive conference titles and two state appearances.  In 2000, Hoogers intitated the community’s first traveling team that has seen tremendous growth over the years.  These kids participate both in AAU and USA organizations and Hoogers has led her teams to five state AAU titles in that span.

Hoogers began her education at Central Bible College in Springfield, Missouri and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in 1997. She was a four-year starter for her volleyball team and helped the team qualify four times to the NCCAA Division II National Tournament.  Michele earned All-American status twice as a player.  She earned her Master’s Degree in Adult and Higher Education from the University of South Dakota in 2009. Hoogers replaces Sara Heim who resigned last year.

Troy Stegenga, the new men’s soccer coach is a 1979 graduate of Albert Lea High School. His soccer career began just east of Los Angeles as the varsity goalkeeper for Mt. San Antonio Community College. He transferred to Pepperdine University, where he played club soccer while earning his bachelor’s degree in accounting. His coaching background includes one-year stints with Pepperdine’s men’s soccer club and Skagit Storm, a select girls’soccer team in Washington.

One of Troy’s duties is to develop the Blue Devil goalkeepers.  This is his first season as Riverland’s head soccer coach.  His former role as assistant soccer coach has been instrumental to our soccer program’s growth and success.

Riverland Community College is a member of the Minnesota Collegiate Athletic Conference (MCAC) and National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region XIII. Eligibility requirements are established by the NJCAA and the MCAC. The Riverland athletics program includes men's baseball, basketball, soccer and women's volleyball, basketball and softball. Academically, Riverland offers an Associates in Arts degree with a physical education/coaching emphasis and a 9-credit coaching certificate.