Nineteen-month-old Jadyn DeRuiter was throwing a bit of a tantrum, tossing peas and carrots onto the floor. Good thing for Clovis West High, DeRuiter is better at coaching girls volleyball than she is at making her daughter eat her veggies. DeRuiter and the Golden Eagles made history last month by winning the first Central Section championship in the sport in the school’s 30-year history. Clovis West beat Liberty-Bakersfield 3-0 in the Division I final.

“I’m really proud of these girls,” said DeRuiter, the Eagles’ fourth-year coach. “We had very high expectations and pushed them very, very hard. I couldn’t be prouder of what they accomplished this year and how hard they worked to get it.”

Winning a section championship is nothing new to DeRuiter. She earned three as a player at Immanuel High before graduating in 1995. Then in her first coaching job, she led Central Valley Christian to six Central Section Division V titles (1999-2004).

“I enjoyed every single one, but I definitely feel like I had to work the hardest for this one,” DeRuiter said. “When you come into a program that has had so many talented athletes and you haven’t been able to win it, half the battle is getting people to believe.”

In DeRuiter’s first season as coach (2005), the Eagles placed third in the TRAC. They finished in a three-way tie atop the TRAC the following year then last season were second. This year Clovis West won league with a 10-0 record, including two victories over three-year reigning section champ Buchanan. The Golden Eagles topped Santa Barbara in the opening round of the CIF Southern California D-I playoffs before falling to top-seeded Santa Margarita in the semifinals. Clovis West finished the season at 28-6.

“We’re not trying to be an average program; we’re trying to be an elite program,” Clovis West assistant Travis Herb said. “It takes a lot of work, and she does everything she possibly can. Like every good coach she’s the captain of the ship.”

DeRuiter said she kind of “fell into” coaching.

“It wasn’t something I’d thought about, but it’s kind of a natural connection with teaching,” she said. “I’d always loved playing and when you finish playing it’s, ‘Now what do I do?’ "

DeRuiter finished her playing career in 1998 at Fresno Pacific University. She played four years for the Sunbirds (1995-1998), entering the program as an outside hitter and ending up a starting defensive specialist as a junior and senior. That has influenced her coaching style. “My emphasis is on defense,” she said. “Playing defense is so important. If you can’t pass and serve-receive, your team will not be successful.” Exeter coach Alana Montgomery said DeRuiter brings plenty to the game. “She’s extremely knowledgeable,” said Montgomery, whose team won a Central Section D-III title this season. “She’s very motivated. She strives to do well in anything she does. And I think she really loves coaching volleyball.” Yes, she does. “It’s just really fulfilling staying in a sport you love and competing in a sport you love and being around it on a daily basis,” DeRuiter said. But what about juggling work, motherhood and studies? DeRuiter is five months pregnant and on track to earn a master’s degree from Fresno Pacific in education and kinesiology in 2009. Luckily, she said she has “Team DeRuiter,” made up of her husband, Geremy; her parents, Ron and Judy Brown; and her older sister, Patty. The “team” can be found at Clovis West games cheering, taking stats and keeping an eye on Jadyn. “My family 100% makes it possible for me to coach,” DeRuiter said. And then there’s the support she receives from Clovis West.

“It’s been a great four years and one of the reasons is I really get to focus on coaching,” she said. “This is a great program at Clovis West. I have a huge amount of help from parents, from boosters and from the administration and that makes it possible for me to focus on coaching.”

DeRuiter said she is “definitely in it for next year.”

“After going through it with a toddler and a newborn, we’ll re-evaluate after that,” she said.

The reporter can be reached at mslaby@fresnobee.com or at (559) 441-6758.