Tick Hedrick ‘dedicated life’ to PSU Altoona

When Tick Hedrick-Sheaffer arrived at Penn State Altoona and was assigned to coach the women’s volleyball team, she saw the court in the Adler Gym and wondered, “Where are the volleyball lines?”

Hedrick quickly acclimated herself and learned the nuances of volleyball well enough to become the winningest coach — in any sport — on the Ivyside campus.

“We always teased her because when she was introduced to us, we weren’t sure she knew what she was doing,” Chris (Kester) Sisto, a former player and perhaps Hedrick’s closest friend, said. “We’ve laughed about that over the years. For somebody who never played the sport, she knew it inside and out.”

Her career record of 505-175 includes 29 various conference and PSU commonwealth championships and landed her in the Penn State Altoona Athletics Hall of Fame.

Hedrick died on Tuesday at age 75 after an 18-month battle with cancer.

“Tick was one of the hardest working, dedicated coaches you could ever know,” longtime colleague and former PSU Altoona men’s basketball and baseball coach Tom Brouse said. “She put 120 percent in everything did. She basically dedicated her life to Penn State Altoona.”

A West Virginia native — “she was proud to be a West Virginian, and sometimes it showed,” said Stacy Kuster, a former player and now Central High School’s athletic director — Hedrick is considered a pioneer of women’s athletics at PSU Altoona.

“She was a total advocate and brought women’s athletics to the front,” Brouse said.

Another colleague and former athletic director, Fredina Ingold, played for Hetrick on Penn State Altoona’s first basketball and volleyball teams in 1973.

“She was more than just an amazing and dedicated coach,” Ingold, an inductee with PSU Altoona’s inaugural Hall of Fame class, said through tears. “She was a mentor to her athletes and students and a true friend. Her profound impact on Penn State Altoona’s athletic program and on our lives will be deeply missed.”

Sisto said Hetrick got her nickname from her father, who said her dark hair “looked like a wood tick,” and “it stuck.” Her given name was Olana.

Hedrick didn’t have children but treated her players like her own.

“She took care of them like a mother,” Ingold said. “She would scream and yell at them and love them at the same time. You get what you give – and they loved her back.”

Kuster played volleyball at the campus from 1999-2000 and mentored under Hedrick as an athletic trainer for two years.

“Tick cared most about making the college students she interacted with better versions of themselves,” Kuster said. “We didn’t always love stopping at a sit-down restaurant after games because it took so long, but she always made sure we had a good meal after we played. Fast food was never an option. I think she wanted us not only to get nourishment but also to bond as a team.”

Brent Baird, current Penn State Altoona athletic director, said the campus “is heartbroken.”

“Tick had a program we were all so proud of,” he said. “She supported Penn State Altoona athletics beyond coaching by establishing an endowment that supports women’s athletics and always being ready to support our efforts to develop our programs.”

Hetrick is survived by her husband, Al, and sister Jan Bachowski (Greg) and many other relatives and extended family.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. today at Altoona First Church of the Brethren, 510 Fifth Street.