Van Hedrick has been the only head coach the Lady Lions softball program has had in its 24 year-existance. During these years Coach Hedrick has led the Lady Lions to two conference championships and two regional championships. In 2009 the Lady Lions advanced to the NJCAA National Tournament in St. George, Utah for the first time in school history. In 2014, they repeated that feat and won two games at Nationals before being eliminated on the third day. The team returned to nationals again in 2017 with a record of 42-6 on the year.

Formerly the assistant to NCTC head baseball coach Kevin Darwin, Coach Hedrick has proven his ability to lead and inspire student athletes. He has also held the title of Athletic Director here at North Central from 2005-present. He holds a 931-517 winning record.  He is one of the winningest active Junior College coaches in the nation. Coach Hedrick was inducted to the Region V North Hall of Fame in 2019 as well as the NJCAA Softball Coaches Hall of Fame in 2021.

While attending Iowa Park High School, where he graduated in 1985, Van Hedrick was a three-sport letterman in football, basketball and baseball, and he earned All-District honors in all three sports. His pursuit of excellence on the playing field is no different in his work as the Lady Lions' first coach than it was in his playing days.

Coach Hedrick attended Vernon Regional Junior College from 1986-1988, playing shortstop and serving as a team tri-captain. After earning his Associate degree there, Hedrick attended Tarleton State University from 1988 to 1990. At Tarleton, he moved to the outfield and was used as a relief pitcher. An arm injury sidelined him for most of his junior season. During Hedrick's senior year at Tarleton, however, he was named "Comeback Player of the Year."

In 1990, Coach Hedrick earned his bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice, with a minor in Physical Education. After a year of assistant coaching at Hill College, he returned to Tarleton State and was a graduate assistant coach for two years while completing his Master of Education degree in 1992.

Coach Hedrick is married to Robyn Ruzicka Hedrick and they have three beautiful daughters Ashley, Allison and Autumn.  Robyn holds a master's degree in Early Childhood Development and teaches high school Family and Consumer Science in Lindsay, TX where the three girls all attend school. A highlight of Coach Hedrick's career is when his daughter Ashley signed to play for NCTC softball in 2017.