Karla Wolters < wolters@hope.edu > has coached collegiate athletics for 35 years, the past 21 years at the helm of the Flying Dutch softball team. A coaching milestone was reached when the Flying Dutch posted a pair of victories in the 2008 MIAA conference tournament. A 7-1 victory over Saint Mary's was the 1,100 collegiate coaching victory for Karla Wolters who over her career has guided student-athletes in five different sports, including the past 20 years as coach of the Flying Dutch softball team. A 4-0 win over Alma a day later put Wolters at an amazing 1,101-606 over 56 coaching seasons in softball, volleyball, basketball, field hockey and tennis. Through the 2008 school year, she has coached 1,714 athletic coaching seasons. Her records by sport are: softball (648-356), volleyball (375-194), field hockey (40-26-7), basketball (24-21) and tennis (14-9). She had coached teams with winning records in a season 45 times compared to eight losing campaigns and three .500 marks. Wolters has brought a new level of success to the Hope softball program. She has led the Flying Dutch to five NCAA Division III tournament appearances (1991, 1992, 1995, 1996 and 2006). The 1991 Flying Dutch finished third in the nation and the 1995 team tied for fifth. Wolters was named the Region softball coach of the year in 1991, 1992 and 1995. The Hope staff was honored by the MIAA in 2006. Her career collegiate coaching record over 30 seasons is 648-356. Her 21-year softball record at Hope is 479-278. She entered the 2008 season ranked the fifth winningest Division III coaches all-time. She is part of an elite group that includes Donna Newberry of Muskingum (817 victories), George Wares of Central, Iowa (780) and June Walker of Trenton State (721), and Bob Timmons of Coe, 683. Wolters taught and coached for 13 years at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She led the Calvin softball team to seven conference championships from 1979-87 and took Calvin to the NCAA Division III playoffs on four occasions (1983-84-85-87). Wolters is a 1973 Hope College graduate. She was a standout student-athlete during her undergraduate years. In her four years at Hope, she played 13 varsity sports seasons, lettering in tennis, field hockey, basketball and volleyball. She received the Master of Arts degree from Michigan State University in 1978. She has the academic rank of associate professor of kinesiology at Hope. In 1986 she was voted the NCAA Division III coach-of-the-year by the Intercollegiate Volleyball Coaches Association. She is among the most successful coaches in the history of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association with 20 conference championships in softball, volleyball and women's basketball. Wolters and her husband Tom, also a Hope College graduate, reside in Zeeland, Mich. Hope College in 2008 honored the Wolters by naming the college's new softball stadium in their honor.

Hope Under Coach Wolters

Seasons: 30 (21 at Hope)
Overall Record: 648-356, .645 / 479-278 .633 at Hope
MIAA Record: 4 championships, 282-93, .752 / 206-78 .725 at Hope
MIAA Tournament: 22-21 .512
NCAA Record: 5 appearances, 13-10, .565

	W	L	MIAA	NCAA	National Finish
1988	22	11	Third	------
1989	17	17	Second	------
1990	10	20	Fourth	------
1991	30	12	Second	yes - 5-2	Third
1992	28	7	First	yes - 2-2
1993	16	12	Second	------
1994	23	12	Second	------
1995	29	11	First	yes - 3-2	Fifth
1996	29	8	First	yes - 1-2
1997	22	13	Third	------
1998	21	13	Third	------
1999	21	13	Second	------
2000	21	16	Second	------
2001	21	12	Third	------
2002	22	17	Second	------
2003	17	14	Fifth	------
2004	20	17	Fourth	------
2005	28	11	Third	------
2006	32	14	First	yes - 2-2
2007	25	13	Third	------
2008	25	14	Third	------

All-time Hope Softball Coaching Records

Coach		Yrs	Overall	MIAA Titles
Chris Blauwkamp	1975	1	6-2	-
Barb Basnett	1976	1	5-4	-
Anne Irwin	1977-87	11	101-151	0
Karla Wolters	1988-2008	21	479-278	4