The New Mexico Military Institute Bronco volleyball team currently sits at 10th place on the National Junior College Athletic Association’s list of the top 20 Division 1 teams, with a 12-6 overall record.
Part of the reason for that top 10 ranking is the Broncos grueling pre-conference schedule. Since the start of the season and an 4-0 start in the NMMI Classic, the Broncos have competed in three straight weekend tournaments - 12 games total, nine of which were against nationally-ranked opponents.
And a few weekends ago at the Odessa College Invitational, NMMI head coach Shelby Forchtner notched her 500th career win.
The Broncos went 3-1 in Odessa with wins against Casper College (3-2), 20th-ranked Navarro College (3-0), and Seward County Community College (3-0). Their sole loss was 3-1 to 5th-ranked Barton Community College.
And that magical 500th win for Forchtner came against her alma mater, Seward.
“I knew going into this season that I was nine wins away,” said coach Forchtner. “Going into the match versus Seward, it wasn't at the forefront of my mind at all. We had lost some matches and I had completely lost track; didn’t realize it until after. But it’s a pretty cool full-circle moment.”
Forchtner began her high school playing career as a setter for the local Goddard Rockets, then earned a scholarship to play for Seward County Community College in Liberal, Kansas.
As a Saint, Forchtner amassed an amazing 106-8 record over two seasons, including one Jayhawk conference title, one NJCAA Region VI tournament crown, and one appearance at an NJCAA National Championship with a fifth-place finish.
Forchtner finished her sophomore season as a Saint as an All-Region Team selection with 1545 assists, which still sits at third all-time on the SCCC records list for a single season.
After SCCC, Forchtner continued her education – and her playing career – at Lubbock Christian College.
As a Chaparral in 2000, Forchtner earned NAIA Setter of the Week and Honorable Mention All-Conference honors, then as a senior, helped LCC earn a bid to the 2001 NAIA National Championships.
Forchtner graduated from Lubbock Chrisitan College in 2002 with a bachelor’s in Exercise and Sports Science. She returned to Roswell and was quickly hired as an assistant coach for the New Mexico Military Institute junior college volleyball team in 2003.
Forchtner got the call to be head coach of the Broncos in 2006 and has stayed with the ‘Black and Scarlet’ squad her entire career as a head coach – 20 seasons total, all with winning records, save two.
To give that earlier ‘full-circle’ comment even more meaning and significance, Forchtner’s first win as a head coach also came against the school where she earned her associate’s degree, Seward County CC.
Remember, too, that grueling schedule also mentioned above? It’s no surprise that as a brand-new head coach, one of Forchtner’s first moves was to go out and schedule some of the toughest teams in the country.
Thus, the 2006 Bronco volleyball team, with only 13 players on the roster, made the six-hour bus ride to Liberal, KS. They lost their first match to Garden City Community College without taking a set, but came back to win the next, a 3-0 sweep of the Saints on their home court.
The 2006 Broncos went just 12-26 that season.
“I had never been a part of a losing season like that,” said Forchtner. “After that first season, I made a list of all the things that I wanted to change within the program, within the culture, how we recruited and who we recruited, and why we recruited them.”
Change under Forchtner came swiftly and the results were easily measured with a quick glance at the win/loss columns. The very next year, the Broncos’ overall record improved drastically: 31-13. The program’s highest win total to date came just two seasons later in 2008, with a 35-12 season mark.
Under Forchtner, the Broncos have averaged 24.55 wins per season. With an average total of matches played per season at 36.45, that means 12 or fewer losses per season, as well.
Forchtner’s best winning percentage (.889) came just last year when the Broncos went 32-4.
Although for Forchtner, it’s not really about the numbers, but about the players and getting them to experience all the things she got to see and do and learn as a student athlete.
“I just wanted anybody that I coached to be able to experience what I experienced plus some,” said Forchtner. “I think it's the ultimate reward for all of your hard work, to be able to compete at the highest level and be one of the top three, or top five, or top eight teams in the nation. To even make it to a national championships is a special accomplishment, and even more to be one of the last teams standing.”
The Broncos have participated in the regional tournament 18 times under Forchtner, winning it eight times, including last season’s ‘reverse sweep’ against Weatherford College.
NMMI has made the NJCAA National Championships eight times, with their best finish at No. 2 in a 3-2 loss (15-13 in the final set) to Iowa Western Community College in 2021.
As for the change in recruitment and players, Forchtner has now ‘coached-up’ 12 NJCAA All-Americans, including two-time All-American Mio Yamamoto in the libero spot (2021 and 2022), and Marian Ovalle, the 2021 AVCA Player of the Year, an opposite-side hitter.
“I think the coolest thing about our teams, year after year, is that it's not always necessarily one kid that just really stands out as the defacto MVP or All American,” said Forchtner. The thing that I love most is that it's hard for other coaches to kind of decide who our best players are. We normally have numerous people across the board that are getting kills and standing out for us. We almost always have a really, really, really good defender that is better than most on the floor. And then we've always had pretty consistent setters that have been running our offense and making our hitters look really good. And so when you look at our starting six or seven that are out there, it's always hard to pick which kids you're going to nominate for all-conference.”
“I think it's always been more about the team chemistry,” continued Forchtner about making her players better every day and the values she tries to instill. “It’s about the way that we play and the way that our bench feeds off of the team that is on the court, and how the court feeds off of the bench. It’s about having good energy. I think our team helps create those kids that really stand out. We all bring out the All-American or Conference MVP in a player by the way that we play around each other, helping push them into that mental space of being that go-to person, anytime, all the time.”
“I am extremely proud of Shelby and what she has accomplished here at NMMI,” said NMMI Athletic Director Jose Barron. “She is a dedicated coach that sets a high standard for her team. To win 500 games is a testament to her longevity and persistence. Year-in and year-out, coach Forchtner takes these young women and makes them as good a volleyball player as they can be, while also helping each player get a great academic and leadership education, then helps them transfer to play at the next level. I look forward to seeing many more wins for Shelby during her career and again I am proud to have been here at NMMI during that span.”
“I don’t technically know how long I’m going to be in this,” finished Forchtner about her continuing career as a coach. “Ultimately, it’s God’s plan for me, and I feel like this was his design from the beginning. It all started kind of strange, but it’s the perfect place to be, in my hometown with family and friends. I just have a really great support system here. It all starts with my husband, Joe, and my kids. Because my husband was a head coach, I can talk and vent with him. ‘Doc’ Joe teaches sports psychology and nutrition, so I can throw all kinds of ideas at him, see what he thinks could help my program. I also have my parents here. They are at every single home game and they hug me whether we win or lose. They also scream at the TV when we are away. That’s just another part of that whole full circle moment.”
For Forchtner and the Broncos, the relentless conference season has just begun, and NMMI will have their WJCAC home opener this Wednesday, Sept. 24 against 14th-ranked Frank Phillips College at 6:00 pm in the Cahoon Armory gymnasium.
As with all athletic competitions on the NMMI campus, the public is welcome and encouraged to attend.