While almost everybody else is enjoying the summer break, Kent Roberts, the Pahrump Valley High School principal, is spending some hectic hours in his office.

"We have three coaching vacancies; we thought we had one filled (in fast-pitch softball), but the lady backed out, so we're searching again," said Roberts from his office late Monday morning.

What has to concern him, and the rest of the Nye County School District administration, is that the quality of the coaches who left will be difficult to duplicate.

The vacancies are in girls' fast-pitch softball, boys and girls track, and girls' soccer.

Rich Lauver, who guided the Lady Trojans to three straight Nevada Class 3-A state championships from 2003 through 2005, resigned to pursue other goals and has moved to Pennsylvania.

Lauver left with no logical successor in place.

Steve Coleman is working at a job which is taking increasingly more time, so he has vacated his soccer team assignment. The last three girls' soccer teams have been contenders for Southern Nevada 3-A league and regional titles, setting school records for victories and ending a lengthy losing streak against arch-nemesis Boulder City.

As with Lauver, the number of people qualified to coach soccer at the high school level in Pahrump is a matter for debate. Preseason workouts are to begin Aug. 13, so there isn't much time for the search for Coleman's replacement.

And just last week, Jason Odegard, who helped guide the Pahrump Valley girls' track team to its first-ever state championship this past season, announced he is moving to North Dakota to become a high school principal.

Odegard, who was Hopkins' varsity assistant in basketball, had a quality group of assistant coaches -- Marcus Cornelius, Andy Schneider, Jill Harris, and Nick Moore -- who helped build PVHS into a state power in both boys' and girls' track.

The girls' title came just six years after only one relay team qualified for the state meet in 2001. The 2006 boys' team was second in Nevada 3-A.

During his tenure, the $500,000 all-weather quarter-mile track was built on the PVHS campus, precipitating a huge increase in the number of student-athletes competing in that sport.

Coaches still on the job are:

Brian Hug, football (and athletics director);

Gene Smith, boys' soccer;

Andy Andersen, boys' and girls' cross country;

Julie Floyd, girls' golf;

Richard Barker, volleyball;

Bob Hopkins, girls' basketball and boys' golf;

Craig Rieger, wrestling;

Lonnie Shereck, boys' basketball;

Doug Marion, baseball.

And filling coaching vacancies isn't the only situation Roberts and the administration face.

In the last Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association realignment, Pahrump Valley was placed in the Class 4-A Sunset Region Southwest Division, after almost two decades of the Trojans competing in the Southern 3-A League. PVHS has until Aug. 13 to file a petition with the NIAA, requesting it continue in 3-A when the next alignment of leagues goes into effect in the 2008-2009 school year.