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Short description: American volleyball coach
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Hi @JTtheOG: just checking in about this review. I realize it's not the most convenient timing with NPP drive, so let me know what you'd like to do. It's very close - most of my comments are minor or optional - so if we can finish this up in the next couple weeks that'd be great. Or if you prefer, I can procedurally close for now and would be happy to give it an expedited re-review whenever you're ready. Best, Zzz plant (talk) 21:44, 20 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]
@Zzz plant: My apologies (again). I started a large edit to address all the concerns and then lost all my work with a quick "show preview", so I got discouraged and evidently forgot about it. I shall report back tomorrow with an update. JTtheOG (talk) 07:48, 21 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]
Hi, thanks so much for your work on this article- the lede and overall organization read much smoother to me and the prose is in great shape. I'm basically ready to promote this; I just have two minor nits left: 1) "unsuspecting" word choice 2) considering whether it is needed to name his non-notable, living children in personal life section. Best, Zzz plant (talk) 16:55, 22 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]
I will provide a more in-depth review of prose/MoS after the first pass, but my overall impression is that the article is already in very good shape. the prose is clear and engaging, and no MoS problems jump out (although I may have some optional suggestions later about section organization). the only thing I'll flag off the top is that I think the lede - while not bad by any means - is the weakest part of the article currently, when I compare it to the depth, synthesis, and narrative strength present throughout the body. more specific suggestions to follow! Zzz plant (talk)
the organization is sufficient for GA, but I did notice some jumping around in chronology during my read. I would suggest something like this, however to be clear re-org is not required to pass GA, as it's already organized well enough to meet criteria 1:
/Early life and education/ - recommend introducing parents here
/Military service and introduction to volleyball/
/Coaching career/
//High school coaching// - I would use a more descriptive subsection header instead of just "Service" - I think from that title many readers will assume it's about military service
//Club coaching///
//College coaching//
//Coaching philosophy and legacy// - optional, but I think there's enough material here to have a standalone section on either one or both of these concepts
Do you see a good place I can sneak the "Alaskan representative teams" subsection in without messing with the chronological order too much? JTtheOG (talk) 08:30, 2 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]
I think it would fit decently between West Anchorage (1979–1984) and Service High School (1985–2003), maybe titled something like Arctic Winter Games and representative coaching (1984–1986). Zzz plant (talk) 13:43, 2 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]
also optional, but you might also consider adding year ranges to the subsection headers for extra clarity to help the reader follow the timeline Zzz plant (talk) 14:35, 21 December 2025 (UTC)Y[reply]
I was curious how you suggested I do this. Perhaps Service High School (1985–2003) or Service High School: 1985–2003? Or should I omit "School"? JTtheOG (talk) 08:29, 2 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]
I prefer the parentheses on a subjective style level but either one is completely fine. I'd keep "high school" in the title just because if a reader is scanning through the table of contents, they may assume service refers to his military service without that added context. Zzz plant (talk) 13:47, 2 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]
I would suggest an opening line that conveys more about his significance, something like "Virgil Dean Hooe (born 1947 or 1948) is an American volleyball coach who played a central role in the development of high school and club volleyball in Alaska."Zzz plant (talk) 13:10, 21 December 2025 (UTC)Y[reply]
for the second para a bit of biographical context would help I think. Something like "A multi-sport athlete in his youth, Hooe played football, basketball, track, and baseball while growing up in Illinois. He was introduced to volleyball only after moving to Alaska during his U.S. Army service in the 1970s..." or more briefly, "Raised in Illinois and initially indifferent to volleyball, Hooe was introduced to the sport after moving to Alaska during his Army service in the 1970s..."Zzz plant (talk) 13:10, 21 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]
I would move his early life biographical information from personal life up here; it seems a bit odd to go straight into his high school activities and then later circle back to his parents. Zzz plant (talk) 13:10, 21 December 2025 (UTC)Y[reply]
without context, "The Sullivan Chiefs were later inducted into the Illinois Amateur Softball Association Hall of Fame in 2015." seems like a bit of a non-sequitur - I would clarify if this honor had anything to do with Hooe's involvement and remove it if it doesn't Zzz plant (talk) 13:10, 21 December 2025 (UTC)Y[reply]
My bad, I will amend the text to reflect the fact that it was the 1970 Sullivan Chiefs squad specifically that was inducted into the Hall. JTtheOG (talk) 00:21, 3 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]
I personally would re-org so this is all in chronological order, e.g. his beginnings playing military intramural matches in 1972, his move to Alaska introduced all at the same time rather than circling back in this section Zzz plant (talk) 14:35, 21 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]
"In a 1991 interview with the Anchorage Daily News, Hooe admitted that he "was one of those people who thought [volleyball] was a sissy's game" prior to his involvement in the sport." I would use a different verb here besides "admitted", it does have an implication of wrongdoing or guilt. I think just "said" would be fine, especially since you're directly quoting from the source. Zzz plant (talk) 14:35, 21 December 2025 (UTC)Y[reply]
"Hooe attended coaches' clinics and played for top-level military teams." this feels a little vague; I wonder if you could expand upon this thought from the sources. Zzz plant (talk) 14:35, 21 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]
"In 1983, Hooe led West Anchorage to a state runner-up finish after compiling an unsuspecting 9–6 record in league play." what is an unsuspecting record? I don't think I've heard that turn of phrase. Unexpected might sound more natural Zzz plant (talk) 14:35, 21 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Hmmm I can't think of the precise word I was looking for. The idea I tried to convey was that almost nobody would expect a team to advance to the state championship game after finishing league play with a mediocre win-loss record of 9–6. If I can't remember, I wonder if something like "unimpressive" or "relatively poor" would work? JTtheOG (talk) 23:30, 2 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]
"In 1984, the Eagles went 20–1 (14–1 in league play) and captured the state title under his helm." - "captured the state title under his helm" sounds a bit odd to me. maybe "under his leadership"? Zzz plant (talk) 14:35, 21 December 2025 (UTC)Y[reply]
references are formatted appropriately, uses consistent date formatting and wikilinks to publication names so readers can easily check out the source credentials if they're interested in learning more. Zzz plant (talk) 00:09, 21 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]
optional but highly encouraged suggestion: add archive URLs to prevent link rot. wayback machine thankfully works on newspaper.com clippings. Zzz plant (talk) 00:09, 21 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]
optional suggestion: add redlinks for non-wikilinked publications (e.g. Mattoon Daily Journal-Gazette and Moultrie County News) if you think they may be notable. Zzz plant (talk) 00:09, 21 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]
article relies heavily on newspaper clippings from a variety of outlets- major-ish metro area papers like the Sacramento Bee, local/regional papers like the Decatur Herald, and Eastern Illinois University's yearbook. the only non-news source I see is his Alaska Sports Hall of Fame biography, which seems at least somewhat reliable and isn't used to support anything controversial or laudatory. (it's also supplemented by secondary reporting in two out of three uses). no red flags, source reliability looks good overall. Zzz plant (talk) 00:09, 21 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]
[12]: "...graduating from Sullivan in 1965." fully verified, although I think you have a typo in the reference title, it should be "list" YZzz plant (talk) 00:09, 21 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]
[16][23]: "In track, Hooe ran the three miles outdoors and the two miles indoors,[16] notably forming part of the first indoor track team in school history in 1967." fully verified Y
[27]: "After earning his B.S. in education from EIU, Hooe began teaching biology and physical science at his alma mater, Sullivan High School."YZzz plant (talk) 00:09, 21 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]
[43][44]: "He conducted clinics, officiated collegiate games, coached the women's state representative team, and served as the United States Volleyball Association Commissioner for Alaska." fully verified YZzz plant (talk) 00:09, 21 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]
[41]: "Two months after stepping down from the West Anchorage job, Hooe was contacted by coach Susie Holway to join her staff at Service High School." mostly verified, although I don't see the "two months" piece - but it's a longish clipping, so lmk if I missed a temporal marker Y/?Zzz plant (talk) 00:09, 21 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Hi yes, it appears in the second column. The exact quote is Two months later, Service coach Susie Holloway called Hoe, and for the next three seasons, he would work with her as he had with Dudley. P.S. A little cheat code for clippings is that you can click the image and it allows you to use the search function. Well, it allows me to do that anyway... I hope it's not just cuz I was the one who clipped it... JTtheOG (talk) 23:48, 2 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]
[65]: "That would be their only loss on the season, as Hooe guided the Cougars to a 25–1 record and the state championship title." fully verified YZzz plant (talk) 00:09, 21 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]
a thorough sports BLP, covers everything it needs to. there are no clear gaps in coverage or time jumps where the reader is left wondering- wait, what was he doing during this period? Zzz plant (talk) 14:35, 21 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]
I flagged one sentence during prose review where the relevance isn't immediately clear to me, but besides that small question mark- article stays on topic. there are no noticeable detours of excessive detail. Zzz plant (talk) 14:35, 21 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]
encyclopedic, formal tone. praise is attributed, not stated as fact. The inclusion of Hooe's initial impression of volleyball plus the block quote about how "all pretenses of friendship are dropped" during practice also really helps this feel like a biography of a real person, not just quote-farming the positive, laudatory highlights. no NPOV concerns. Zzz plant (talk) 14:35, 21 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]
constructive (and very brief) edit history, as you'd expect for a low-controversy sports biography. no indication of lingering content disputes in recent article history or talk page. Zzz plant (talk) 00:09, 21 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]
sadly no image, but sometimes that can't be helped if there's nothing in PD. not a GA barrier if freely licensed images aren't available. Zzz plant (talk) 00:09, 21 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Zzz plant (talk) 00:09, 21 December 2025 (UTC)
