Spring 2024 Issue

The newest members of Central’s Athletics Hall of Honor were inducted as part of Homecoming weekend.  Left to right: Alicia Whisner Fisher ’07, track and field and volleyball standout, George Wares ’76, Central’s head women’s softball coach and lecturer of kinesiology, and Don De Waard ’82, retired football defensive coordinator.

Three graduates who shined on the NCAA postseason stage are the newest inductees in the Central College Athletics Hall of Honor.

Don De Waard ’82, longtime football defensive coordinator, Alicia Whisner Fisher ’07, former NCAA Division III javelin champion and volleyball standout, and George Wares ’76, Central’s lecturer of kinesiology and head women’s softball coach and the winningest softball coach in Division III history, were inducted as part of Central’s Homecoming 2023 weekend.

Established in 2002, Central’s Hall of Honor is intended to recognize those who were not only exceptional performers in the athletics arena as a student-athlete, coach or administrator but who have distinguished themselves in life after graduation through service and leadership. To be eligible for consideration, a nominee must have graduated or served as a Central coach and/or administrator for at least 15 years. Current Central staff members are typically not considered. This year’s inductions will raise the hall’s membership level to 69. A rotating nine-member selection committee includes alumni from four different eras (prior to 1980, 1980-89, 1990-99 and 2000-09) as well as two alumni at-large, along with athletics director Eric Van Kley, director of athletics and head men’s wrestling coach, and two other staff members.

Don De Waard ’82

De Waard displayed a passionate sideline persona in masterminding some of Central’s stingiest football defenses during a memorable 35-year run as football defensive coordinator and linebacker coach. In his tenure, De Waard was named the AFCA’s Division III Assistant Coach of the Year in 2000 and the Dutch were 302-55 (.801) with 55 shutouts, 18 conference crowns and 18 NCAA berths.

De Waard also helped coach a team of AFCA Division III all-stars at the Aztec Bowl and the Tazon de Estrellas in Mexico, serving as U.S. head coach for six seasons.

A longtime certified public accountant, he was elected as Pella’s mayor in 2020 and was actively involved in several major city development projects. For more than 15 years, De Waard also volunteered with Partners Worldwide, sometimes traveling to Honduras twice each year to help residents start and grow businesses. Active in numerous roles at Faith Christian Reformed Church, he was a board member for the Well Resource Center in Pella, which offers assistance to those in need, and for the Cary (Mississippi) Christian Center in one of America’s poorest counties.

Alicia Whisner Fisher ’07

Graduating with honors while competing year-round, Fisher captured the 2007 NCAA Division III women’s javelin crown in her final Central performance.

Fisher was a four-time All-America honoree, with previous seventh-, fifth- and fourth-place national meet javelin showings. She was also 13th in the 2007 NCAA shot put. In the conference outdoor meet, she placed four times in the javelin, twice in the discus and once in the shot put while also placing in the 2007 indoor weight throw and shot put.

Fisher was named Central’s 2007 Most Valuable Field Events Performer and was a team co-captain.

A part of four conference volleyball crowns, Fisher was a member of three NCAA tournament teams. She was a two-year team co-captain, receiving the team’s Academic Award in 2005 and Leadership Award in 2006.

An NCAA postgraduate scholarship recipient, Fisher was the conference’s nominee for the NCAA Woman of the Year award.

In 2013 Fisher received a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from Des Moines University, returning to her hometown of Adel, Iowa, to serve as a physical therapist for Core Physical Therapy.

George Wares ’76

The nation’s winningest NCAA Division III softball coach, Wares, posted a staggering 1232-437-3 (.737) record over 40 seasons at the time of his induction, with four national championships, 13 national finals appearances and a record 31 NCAA tourney berths.

Wares inherited a losing program in 1985 and built one of the country’s most impactful by challenging his players to relentlessly pursue seemingly unattainable goals on and off the field. The longest-tenured coach in Central history, Wares was inducted into the NFCA Hall of Fame in 2007 and the Pleasantville High School Hall of Fame in 2022. He served on the NCAA Division III Softball Championships Committee from 2017-19 and chaired the Midwest Region Advisory Committee and the NFCA Division III All-America Selection Committee. He also served on the NFCA’s Coaching Staff of the Year Committee and Top 25 Poll Committee.

Wares previously spent seven years as girls softball coach at NESCO (Zearing) High School, posting a 214-94 record, while also coaching boys basketball at NESCO and Pella High School, with an 18-season mark of 259-106.