After nearly two decades of leading the Hilmar High School volleyball program, Patti Harris is riding off into the sunset as a champion.

The team announced last week that Harris is retiring from her position as head coach of the varsity volleyball squad after 17 years. Under the leadership of Harris, Hilmar grew into a powerhouse program. She achieved a program-best 412 career victories that culminated in the Yellowjackets winning the California state championship for the first time in history back in November.

While many share the dream of going out of their respective careers on top, Harris said she fully intended to coach the 2026 season. Nevertheless, she made my decision in February that she wanted to dedicate more time to her family.

“I’ve got grandchildren, and I want to spend my time with them,” Harris told the Journal on Saturday.

Just like her recent retirement decision, Harris didn’t quite plan on taking the helm at Hilmar. When the school had trouble filling its vacant varsity head coaching position in 2009, former principal Bret Theodozio went to Harris to ask if she could coach at least the team’s first game, as he knew of her successes as a former player in high school and in four years between Menlo College and San Francisco State University.

One week eventually turned into the full year alongside assistant Margret Wickstrom, and quickly snowballed into the winningest coaching effort the program had ever seen. Harris’ first winning season coaching the Yellowjackets came two years later with a 25-12-2 run and a runner-up campaign in the Trans-Valley League.

The dominance of the Hilmar program truly began to unfold in 2013, when the Lady ‘Jackets went 12-0 in the TVL and advanced to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV championship for what would be the first of six straight trips to the section title game.

The Yellowjackets would not lose another match against a conference opponent until 2016, when they finished runner-up with a 10-2 mark. But the program reloaded in 2017, returning to form with a 12-0 run in the TVL and going 29-14 overall, the final win coming in a 3-0 throttling against Bret Harte for Harris’ first section title.

Harris and the Yellowjackets raised the blue banner again the next year with a sweep of Colfax in the section final.

The winning didn’t stop in the program’s sixth straight state appearance. With a sweep of Shasta (Redding), the Yellowjackets won the first Northern California title in program history. The team would fall just short in the state championship, losing 3-2 to San Luis Obispo.

After another appearance in the state bracket in 2019, it took five years for the Yellowjackets to return to the tournament. The 2024 season played out similarly, with Hilmar falling in the semifinal round of the section playoffs but still qualifying for the state tournament. They made the most of the opportunity, winning out and clinching the NorCal title with a sweep of St. Patrick-St. Vincent of Vallejo. History repeated itself in the state final, though, as they were again on the wrong end of a reverse sweep at the hands of South Pasadena.

The ever-elusive state championship finally came this past season. Losing in the section semifinal, the Lady ‘Jackets went into the state tournament and ran the table, defeating Colusa in four sets to repeat as regional champions. Facing Elsinore in the Division V championship, Hilmar got the job done in three sets.

“What more can anyone ask, right? It was everything,” Harris said of ending her career by clinching the state crown. “I’m so glad I was able to bring home a banner for the program, school and community.”

The Yellowjackets finished the 2025 campaign with a 27-16 record, the third straight winning season. It was the 14th winning season of her coaching tenure. Of those teams, six reached the coveted 30-win mark.

“I ran the program like a business,” she said. “I love organizing the snack bar and running tournaments. I like thinking about fundraising and how we could go to more weekend tournaments to play good volleyball and mainly make lasting memories for the girls on those trips. I love figuring out what girls' skills fit a position the best and moving them to a spot they’ve never played before and watching them thrive there. I love scouting out opposing teams and dissecting their play; I enjoyed doing that the most with my daughter, Madison. We would do that for hours before any playoff or state game, and even some league games.”

“I’m going to miss hanging out with all the coaches, because I’ve had many over the last 17 years, many of them former players… I’m going to miss the competition. I think I’m just going to miss it all the most.”