Coach's Corner

AC dished with Hilarie's varsity coach, Jan Develli, of Park View HS in Sterling, VA, who was thrilled to share her memories of the starlet. Here's what she had to say about Hilarie, in her own words: Watching Hilarie on "One Tree Hill" is cool because her character is pretty much how she was in high school, except that she wasn't quite the vixen that she plays on that show. But she was loud, spirited and an excellent cheerleader. Hilarie was definitely a leader. She was so looked up to and admired by the younger squads, always encouraging and very nice to them. When Hilarie and her two best friends were freshmen, the varsity squad snubbed them. So when they became seniors, they decided to make a major effort never to treat underclassmen that way. They did a great job of always being willing to assist, answer questions and talk to them to really make the younger girls feel a part of the team. Hilarie went out of her way to do that.

One of the greatest memories I have of Hilarie is from the bus rides to and from competitions and games. We really took some really long road trips places. She would sing "My favorite Things" (she loved Sound of Music) and songs from Annie to entertain us. She has a beautiful voice. It was her dream forever to go to New York and make it, so it was absolutely no surprise to me at all when she landed the MTV spot [on "TRL"]. What you see is what you get with Hilarie. There's no facade. She's still that hometown girl. She remembers her roots and the simple things. She was an absolute joy to coach.