Crestwood volleyball coach Wanda Hoffman and Southeast High School volleyball coach Marya Tarka stand with their teams during their Oct. 3 non-league matchup in Palmyra.

By Tom Nader

Publisher and Editor

Volleyball royalty shared the Southeast High School gymnasium last Saturday.

Just don’t ask the coaches to admit it.

Two of the humblest, and incredibly successful, coaches in Portage County history were once again on the sidelines to compete against each other.

Mary Tarka. Southeast Pirates. Fifty-two years and 769 career wins (5th all-time in Ohio high school history).

Wanda Hoffman. Crestwood Red Devils. Thirty-four years and 528 career wins (29th all-time).

Two legends and competing against each other maybe for the last time.

Hoffman has announced that she will retire at the conclusion of the 2026 season, though, she admits that she is still unsure what that will look like.

Or, more so, how that will feel.

“I still go back and forth about if I want to step away from coaching,” Hoffman said. “It’s been what I have been doing since I graduated college.”

Hoffman’s career path mirrors that of Tarka and she wouldn’t want to have it any other way.

Hoffman went from being a high school student-athlete playing against Tarka-coached teams, to being a student-teacher alongside volleyball assistant coach Paula Macchiarella at Southeast, to becoming the volleyball coach at Crestwood, where she then coached against Tarka.

“Mary had been coaching when I was playing in high school,” Hoffman said. “When I returned to Crestwood, Southeast was always the team to beat. Each year, we are battling to beat the Pirates. Her teams were always playing at the top of their games. Mary always seemed to be having fun and enjoying coaching. I admire that about her.

“I set a goal for myself to catch Mary and take a run at exceeding her wins record,” Hoffman added. “I felt that was a pretty good goal to set for myself. That was until I realized that Mary was never going to retire. It was a couple of years back that I realized that I will never live long enough to reach my goal. Mary Tarka is the G.O.A.T. of volleyball in my eyes. Don’t get me wrong, there are many phenomenal coaches out there, but Mary was my idol.”

The respect is mutual, with Tarka not shy on compliments back to her legendary coaching counterpart.

“I was familiar with Wanda’s ability and competitiveness while she was still playing in the Portage County League herself,” said Tarka, who is the only volleyball coach Southeast High School has ever had. “After college, she became a colleague, who was always fun to compete against. Her teams have always worked hard and been a challenge to compete against. Her whole family has been great to know.”

For both Tarka and Hoffman, their “families” now remarkably extend across a combined 86 years of student-athletes, which has had a profound impact on their respective communities. However, the duo’s reach goes far beyond their own districts.

“Mary has always treated players, referees and opponents with dignity, showing how to win and lose with grace,” Hoffman said. “Mary has coached by earned trust day by day through fair treatment, preparedness and genuine care of her teams, and she has always advocated for fair play and respect for the rules, elevating the standard of the sport. She has always been a positive ambassador for volleyball in Portage County.”

If Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026, was the last time the two legends competed against each other, Portage County has been fortunate to have a front-row seat to two of the state’s legendary volleyball coaches.