BY NATE KOTISSO | THE MONITOR
Edcouch-Elsa ISD athletic director Christian Navarro promoted E-E volleyball coach Ofelia Griffith to a new role as Edcouch-Elsa ISD’s assistant athletic director.
While coaching the Yellow Jackets volleyball team, Griffith served as E-E’s girls athletic coordinator.
“It had been something that the district and I had been working toward, and it finally came to fruition,” Griffith said.
“She’s been my right hand since I became athletic director,” Navarro said. “I’ve wanted her to be in an administrative position for a while, and I felt she already paid her dues. I thought it was time for her to move up.”
The promotion comes as a surprise with Griffith’s Yellow Jackets competing in the middle of her 15th season as head coach. Dragan Markovic is the interim volleyball coach at Edcouch-Elsa.
“She would only make the move if the program was going to be left in good hands with people she could trust,” Navarro said. “The plan was to guide them through the start of the season, and then Coach (Griffith) would take the position somewhere in the middle.”
Griffith went 321-169 in her 14-plus seasons, including 12 playoff appearances, seven district titles, five bi-district championships, three area championships and one regional tournament final appearance as coach.
“I’m very proud of all our girls and what we’ve done over the years,” Griffith said. “We had an excellent run, and that made taking the position that much more difficult. It’s not like you could make a decision to leave this team easily. It came down to opportunity and looking to have a bigger impact on students’ lives than I had before. I think this is going to work out well.”