Daijah White is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Shadow Mountain High School for AZPreps365.com

Dane Downs officially submitted his letter of resignation to Shadow Mountain on Nov. 9 after coaching Matadors volleyball for three seasons. After more than a decade of coaching, his focus has shifted toward finishing nursing school.

In 2011, Downs began coaching recreational volleyball for NYS(National Youth Sports). He transitioned to club volleyball in 2016 and then entered a new world when he began coaching at the high school level. 

In 2024, Downs took over the Matadors and went 5-12. In his last season the Matadors went 7-10 and overall during his career the Matadors went 21-24. 

“It was definitely a learning experience but I had a lot of fun getting to know all the kids, getting to know the staff,” Downs said. 

Aside from learning about new players, Downs also had to learn the rules of high school volleyball, which he said took some time to get used to.

He said the first year compared with his final season was night and day. 

“So after year one we kind of got all of the kinks worked out and year two and three were pretty much the same,” Downs said. “They allowed me to focus solely on coaching and recruiting and things like that so it was nice.”

One challenge Downs discussed was working with parents who were experiencing the world of high school sports and competition for the first time. While this was common, Downs said he could count on one hand the number of times he had to talk with parents who were frustrated or did not understand certain rules or policies.

“So I would say just letting everyone know, mandatory meetings, upfront explaining every little thing, explaining my coaching philosophy, how my rotations work,” Downs said.

He explained the details to get ahead of potential issues and keep parents informed. He also gave credit to the new booster club, which took over in his second season, for helping him with this aspect.

According to Downs, there were not many challenges, and he had a plan and preparation for the ones that did arise.

When Downs began coaching the Matadors, wins and losses were not the main focus. His goal was to focus on fundamentals, small successes, goals and improvements.

“Not getting too high, not getting too low, just staying focused and building team trust with each other,” Downs said.

This philosophy had not changed for Downs since he began coaching club volleyball.

Colleen Nycz, Shadow Mountain athletic director, said one thing Downs also focused on was making sure his players enjoyed the game and had fun.

She said Downs enjoyed the high school environment more because the girls wanted to be there, rather than the job-like atmosphere club volleyball can sometimes create.

Nycz said the girls felt his energy, too, which was part of why he had such an impact on the program and the players' lives, both on and off the court.

“I think they knew how much he cared about them and how much he wanted them to succeed and that maybe even if the win-loss record wasn't exactly what they wanted, he always looked for the positives.”

Nycz said Downs put a lot of faith in his players, even when they did not have confidence in themselves. She said the energy of the program shifted on the court and sidelines when Downs started.

“I watch those girls have joy on the court when they're playing and that's such a huge thing for me is that they want to be there and want to come back and they want to play for him year after year,” Nycz said.

For Downs, it was about more than teaching his players the sport. He said it's also teaching them about goals and choices beyond volleyball. He said he has received a lot of feedback from former players who expressed gratitude for his philosophy. 

Downs said at times the relationships were more like fatherly relationships. Elle McCarville, a Shadow Mountain volleyball player, felt the same way.

“Dane is something else, he's like a second father,” McCarville said after her last high school game.

McCarville said that aside from the team's skills, they had something better: communication, emotion and a strong bond. 

Downs also took on other roles in the players' lives as a mentor. He said sometimes he was a therapist and had to remind his players that the chapter they were in was only a small portion of their lives. He also reminded them that playing volleyball was something they got to do, not something they had to do.

“My wife works in pediatric oncology, so she sees a lot of bad stuff,” Downs said, “so I like to remind these kids that there's kids out there that don't get to do what they're doing.”

Downs said he had many players who told him they were done with volleyball until they had him as a coach. They said he changed their outlook and made the game fun again. Downs said this stemmed from his number one coaching philosophy, which he learned from his uncle, who was a mentor to him.

“His big thing was don't ever be a player's last coach,” Downs said. “You don't want to be the reason ever that someone quits the sport that they love.”

Downs said one thing he is going to miss is the camaraderie.

“I'm really gonna miss the bus rides after we win when we have 40 girls singing at the top of their lungs some song and they're horribly off key. It all makes it worthwhile,” Downs said.

Alongside coaching the Matadors, Downs became an EMT in May and currently works at the Florence prison in the Browning Supermax Unit. Before that, he worked in construction for 32 years. He said coaching will not stop being part of his life as it helps keep him grounded in many aspects of his life. 

“I use coaching every day, whether I'm at work with my partner EMTs, nurses, correctional officers, like everything,” Downs said.

Downs said now his plan is to complete nursing school. He said the transition away from coaching has been emotional, but he has always had an interest in health care, which stemmed from being the primary caregiver for his brother.

“I realized that it really filled my cup,” Downs said.

After nursing school, Downs said he hopes to spend time with his wife and become travel nurses together.

“Kind of like a working retirement, just spend that time together and do what we both love to do,” Downs said.

Downs said he is ready to enjoy a different phase of life. 

As for next season, he is ready to watch from a distance and enjoy the growth of Shadow Mountain volleyball.

Nycz said Downs built a program that other sports want to emulate. His players earned perfect ratings from referees, and the volleyball program has the highest sportsmanship rating.

Nycz said his energetic coaching style, the confidence he placed in his players and the emotions reciprocated by his players are all testaments to what he has done with the program.

“I feel like I did it really well, I'm happy with how it ended,” Downs said. “I'm happy with my career as a coach and I do feel like I made a difference.”