Mandy Smid has resigned her position as head volleyball coach at Aberdeen Roncalli.

Smid has been with the program for 15 years, the past 11 as head coach of the Cavaliers.

The mother of three children age 7 and younger, Smid wanted to spend more time with her family.

“Honestly, I couldn’t ask for a better liason into transitioning back to being mom,” Smid said. “I had just a great year with the girls. It’s been a great run. We’ve had some really successful programs and some amazing athletes I’ve gotten to work with over the last 11 years.”

During her tenure as head coach, Smid had just one season under .500, led Roncalli to numerous SoDak 16 appearances, coached in one state tournament and won multiple Northeast Conference championships, including this past season.

“That doesn’t happen that often,” said Roncalli athletic director Derek Larson of going out on top. “That’s something to be proud of to be able to win the conference, especially with how good our conference has been. I think it was pretty special for her.”

Smid is leaving on good terms and has a special relationship with her players.

“Whether or not the girls realize it not, they’re making this decision easy for me, but extremely hard for me,” Smid said. “I’m blessed that I get to close this chapter on such a positive note, without having to drive wedge between myself and the program. I’m excited to get to support the girls.”

Smid had a team meeting recently when she informed the squad of her decision. Naturally, it was an emotional setting.

“I knew that it was going to be hard. I don’t think that I anticipated just how hard it was going to be,” Smid said. “But I’ve had situation after situation that has come up since then that has just really solidified for me that it’s the right decision for me right now and it’s the right decision for my kids right now.”

When asked what she will remember most about her time with the program, Smid responded, “Probably not even the volleyball side of things, but the relationships that I’ve had with the girls after the seasons are over, after they’ve grown and gone, and they come back and reminisce.”

Larson said Smid’s departure will leave a big hole to fill.

“She had a lot of success,” Larson said.

Larson said that no one on staff has shown an interest is becoming the next head coach, so the position is available.

“We’ll open that up,” Larson said, “and hopefully have some good applicants for a pretty big job at our school.”