Official Site of College of the Desert Athletics

Bio

Marion Champion
Associate Head Coach
Office: 

A Delta Valley and California bay area product, Marion has been in a leadership role with the Roadrunner coaching staff since 2012. As an All-League and All-State athlete for Delta Valley College, she went on to nationally ranked Cal State Hayward (Now CSUEB) where she led the team to the NCAA tournament each year. Named Female Athlete of the Year in 1999 for her on-and-off-the-court contributions, she also held the CSUH school record for kills in a single season. Coach Champion was voted into the Cal State East Bay Athletic Hall of Fame in 2012. Her extensive coaching experience in the bay area with national power program Delta Valley VBC, combined with her tenure in the desert, gives her more than 20 years at the club and collegiate levels. Numerous All-Tournament selections and Player-of-the-Week honors during her collegiate years, plus several outdoor pairs titles on NCVA and Spike It Up tours, plus a Top 3 finish at USAV Nationals, makes Marion an exceptional role model for student athletes in our program.

Coach Champion assumed the role of Public Information Officer at College of the Desert in 2018, now giving her full-time career efforts to the success of the college and it’s students.

Marion enjoys sharing the sport of volleyball with young athletes along-side her husband and Co-Head Coach Detlev Rothe. They, with their three children Juliette, Landon and Grayson enjoy the many outdoor activities the Coachella Valley offers all year long.

Marion’s Coaching Philosophy

“The sport of volleyball has been a large part of my life for nearly 20 years as a source of recreation and community, as well as a driving force for my collegiate academic pursuits.  The many friends and colleagues I have gained in the volleyball communities of northern and southern California remain some of the closest and finest people in my life.

The hard work and dedication required to be an NCAA athlete taught me valuable life lessons that I wish to share with young athletes as they follow similar courses in their lives.  The satisfaction of a job well done and the personal and team success of working together is something I enjoy seeing in my teams season after season.  This sport has given me much joy and fun and as long as I have passion to share this wonderful sport and learning environment I will continue to enjoy seeing fine young people improve themselves in athletic and personal ways.”

— Bio current as of February 2021