Hayfield grads take over Hayfield volleyball program

Samantha (McCamy) Thurman has taken over the head coaching position for the Hayfield Vikings volleyball program. Thurman is a 2007 graduate of Hayfield, earning eight varsity letters in volleyball, basketball, and golf during her time as a Viking. After high school, she played four years of basketball at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. At Luther, Thurman earned a double major in elementary education and special education, as well as a minor in coaching.
Growing up, Thurman was always interested in sports. In addition to playing sports as a young girl, she began coaching youth basketball and volleyball at the age of 14. She said she found out at a young age that she was built for coaching. Most of her free time in high school and college was spent coaching or giving private lessons.
After graduating from Luther College in 2011, Thurman worked and traveled for Ritchie Brothers, while also doing some recruiting for the Riverland College women’s basketball team in Austin. She then moved back to Hayfield and was hired as a special education teacher in 2014, teaching in the district for two school years. She also coached two years of junior high volleyball during her first stint in Hayfield. She then got a teaching job in Cannon Falls and would work there for six years. While at Cannon Falls, Thurman was the head girl’s basketball coach for four years, as well as being an assistant coach in volleyball for five years and track for two years.
Thurman returned to Hayfield in the Fall of 2022, accepting the Special Education Coordinator position, which is what she is currently doing. In addition to her head volleyball coaching position, she has also been a golf coach for two seasons since returning to Hayfield.
Thurman took over the head coaching position from Johanna Kruger, who just gave birth to her second daughter in late July. Thurman brought on fellow 2007 Hayfield graduate Margeaux (Demmer) Streiff to assist with the varsity coaching duties this season. Ironically, there are now four 2007 Hayfield graduates coaching at their alma mater, joining girls’ basketball coaches Kasey Krekling and Keefe Zelinske.
The varsity volleyball team has gotten off to an 0-2 start, with losses to a couple talented teams in Fillmore Central and Alden-Conger, who are both either ranked in state or receiving votes in the Class A polls. The Vikings host Medford on Thursday night and then host the Lions Fall Classic on Saturday starting at 8:30 a.m.
Thurman and her husband Travis, who is also a Hayfield graduate, reside in nearby Waltham, and have a five-year- old daughter, Edith, who will be attending kindergarten in Hayfield this Fall. Her mother, Paula McCamy, was a long-time elementary teacher at Hayfield as well.