She has been an inspiration to generations of athletes, has been called a cornerstone of the program and will be the focus of a community celebration Saturday as Steamboat Springs High School hosts “Coach Wendy Hall Day.”

“I have super-mixed feelings about stepping away,” Hall said earlier this week. “I know in my heart that it’s the time, and the pieces are there to step away and feel comfortable about the program being well cared for when I leave. I’m super-confident my assistant coaches are very interested in staying with the program, and they’re both amazing coaches and people — that was a big piece.”

The longtime coach said she weighed a lot of different things before deciding to leave at the end of this season. The biggest box that needed to be checked off was having the right class to serve as her last class.

“This has been a special group all the way through,” Hall said. “When they came in as freshmen, I kind of had in the back of my head that I’ve always wanted to finish with a class of kids that were willing to buy into our philosophies, and a group of parents that stayed supportive even if their kids weren’t playing a ton. This group has been amazing and nothing but positive. The kids are hardworking, they’re great learners and they are kind to each other. They’re a fun group to work with, and their families are the same way — that was also an important piece for me.”

Hall, a 1982 Steamboat Springs High school graduate and former Steamboat Springs Middle School teacher, has seen a lot of students pass through the program since she was hired as the assistant high school volleyball coach in 1987. She became head coach in 1989 and set a high bar for the Steamboat Springs High School volleyball program.

Her 38-year legacy includes 573 match victories (as of Sept. 2) and just 297 losses. Her teams have been regulars at the state volleyball tournament and had two shots at a state title under Hall — including 1998 when the Sailors lost to Fort Morgan in the finals and then again in 2002 when the team went 30-2 before losing to Lewis Palmer 16-14, 12-15 and 15-12. In addition to her role as volleyball coach, Hall was also an assistant basketball coach for 10 years. She coached track during her career as well.

“Coach Hall has been the cornerstone of our volleyball program for nearly four decades,” said Luke DeWolfe, Steamboat Springs athletic director. “Her dedication, passion and commitment to student athletes has left an impact that will be felt for generations. We are deeply grateful for the legacy she leaves behind, both in wins, and more importantly, in the lives that she has touched.”

The Sailors varsity team is scheduled to step onto the court at 1 p.m. Saturday for a match against Basalt. There will be a brief ceremony following the match to recognize Hall as she continues with her final season as coach.

DeWolfe said Hall is one of the winningest coaches in Colorado history, ranking fifth in victories for a coach who has spent their entire career at a single school, and seventh among all coaches. There is only one other coach in Colorado who has had a longer career at the same school.

Hall said she is happy to be ranked among the top all-time volleyball coaches in the state, but she chooses to measure her career in terms of the lives she has touched, rather than the games her teams  have won.

“Certainly, volleyball-wise, I will remember the state tournament experiences,” Hall said. “We had two opportunities to win a state championship and were runners-up both times. The things that I will hold dear to my heart forever are the special connections with players that continue today, and then some of my dearest friends, who are the people that I coached with.”

Hall said her job as head coach went beyond teaching high school students the game of volleyball and she hopes the players she coached walked away with a wider perspective on work, school and life.

“I think that our No. 1 job as coaches, and volleyball is simply a byproduct of that, is the process of building character and establishing that work ethic and the respect players have for each other — not just for their coaches — but for each other.”

That  message was not lost on Katie Carter-Gutierrez, a 2003 Steamboat Springs High School graduate, who played for Hall before becoming an All-American at UCLA and then played professionally for 12 years around the world.

“I played in college and then I played 12 more years on top of that,” Carter-Gutierrez said. “I continued to play at the most elite level and it was crazy how I would mentally revert to the lessons I learned playing for Wendy. It was just a cool realization for me, that until I retired from playing, I just constantly thought of my time there, and it just really highlighted the impact that she had on me and as a person.”

Carter-Gutierrez retired in 2021 and now lives in Fort Worth, Texas with her husband and her two young children. She remains connected to volleyball working for ESPN+ broadcasting home games for Texas Christian University indoor volleyball. Her husband, Hector Gutierrez, is head coach of the TCU women’s beach volleyball team.

She said her former coach inspired her whether it was a practice, during a game or in life. Carter-Gutierrez said she will never forget what Hall taught her, and those were the lessons that Hall said were the most important.

“Seeing these kids thrive in school, thrive with friendships, thrive in their families and then beyond high school into college, and then beyond college into their careers,” Hall said. “I think that is really where you see the results that maybe you had something to do with that, maybe you contributed in some way to that person being a successful adult — I think that is what I’m most proud of, by far.”

While Hall will give up her courtside seat next fall, she said volleyball fans shouldn’t be surprised to see her in the stands cheering for the Sailors. She is also looking forward to stepping away for the rigors of coaching to spend more time in her camper, maybe even enjoying some fall colors. She also is considering staying in touch with the game as a referee.

“I love watching volleyball, and I’m a fan, as well, of watching good volleyball,” Hall said. “I’ll certainly be a Sailors volleyball fan forever.”