Sierra High athletic director Anthony Chapman announced Tuesday that Vic DeAnda has been named the school’s new head softball coach.

DeAnda served as an assistant under previous head coach Nick Olmo for seven years. He took last spring off because of scheduling conflicts with work.

“He’s a great man, well-respected,” DeAnda said of his predecessor. “Nick was always good with the kids and he knows the game real well. I’m just looking to follow in his footsteps. He’s had some great years with the softball program.”

Olmo never had a losing season in his eight-year stint, finishing with a 151-57-5 record that included Valley Oak League and Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV titles in 2011 and 2013.

“It was a dream come true,” DeAnda said of the being part of the championship runs. “During basketball games I used to look up at the walls in the gym and think to myself that it would be great to see VOL and maybe even section banners up there for softball.”

DeAnda has had three daughters graduate from Sierra, and his fourth, Julie, is currently a junior at the school. She will play her third varsity season next spring.

DeAnda is rooted in Manteca. He graduated from East Union in 1982 and was a three-sport varsity athlete (football, soccer, baseball). He began coaching softball for the now-defunct All-City Softball Little League and continued to do so in the travel-ball ranks for the She Devils, Unity and R&R Gold.

“I just love teaching, and I love teaching softball,” DeAnda said. “I see this as a way to give back to the community and Sierra High School.”

DeAnda and the Timberwolves will have to move on without star pitcher Allie Walljasper, who is now at LSU. He insists the team should still be competitive.

“We have been real fortunate at Sierra to have had some great ball players,” DeAnda said. “We have three juniors coming back who played (varsity) as freshmen, and we had three freshmen playing up last year. We’ll be experienced.”