Who is that familiar face on the sidelines for our volleyball games? Well, it’s Ms. Keatley of course and she’s back with a vengeance ready to coach us to bump, set, and spike! If you didn’t already know, Coach Keatley played volleyball in high school for one year and intramural in college. Playing volleyball when she was younger is something that sparked her love for it. All of this eventually led up to her wanting to coach and teach athletes volleyball. Coach Keatley started coaching volleyball in Champion in Fall of 2006. She coached there for two years, then started coaching in Niles in Fall of 2008. 

Coach Keatley has coached seventh and eighth grade teams her whole career. However, she had to take some time off from coaching in order to care for a sick family member. But sometimes coaching is just in your blood so-to-speak, and when the opportunity came, Coach Keatley wanted in! Another perk to coming back to the court was Coach Keatley’s

goddaughter, Ella, wanting to play volleyball. Niles Middle School needed a coach, and everything fell into place perfectly. Students who knew and had Ms. Keatley for class were so excited that many more girls even tried out. 

Coach Keatley was excited to come back to coach and is a powerful and strong coach who supports her team! She said that she loves coaching the girls this year and that she couldn’t have asked for a better group of girls. 

“The girls are learning a lot and they give it their all every time.” Coach Keatley was asked how much longer she would be coaching and is always making jokes and being sarcastic; she said, “ I’m not sure; I think I’m getting too old to ride the bus to away games. I get extremely car sick, and it might push me back into retirement.” The team hopes that this is not her last year and that she will continue coaching for a while. She is an inspiring coach and brought fun and happiness to the team this year.

“Coaching this year has been very rewarding because the girls are so very respectful. They make me laugh every day! It’s always a wonderful thing to get to know our students outside the classroom setting!”

Along with Coach Keatley, Coach Arvin stepped up for the call to coach as well. Not only is she Coach Keatley’s best friend, she is also Ella’s mother. Both of the coaches are very strong, caring and kind people. They help the teams when they need help perfecting something they have been working on but couldn’t quite get. They also help encourage us if we ever feel bad about something.

 They are having a very fun season this year and all the girls are getting along very well. Addison Campbell said, “ We have learned so much more about the game, and we have a better relationship with the coaches.” They have gotten better from last year because the coaches have helped them improve their skills. They also have a very strong bond and are there to help and encourage each other. The coaches are giving them a lot of constructive feedback which is helping the team become better and stronger than last year.

Coach Keatley and Coach Arvin are the type of people who never give up and stay strong in victory and in defeat. They are teaching their team to be like them and to keep going even if they feel like giving up. But the latter is not an option in their world. The girls appreciate their coaches and hope they will continue coaching for a long time. Let’s hope future volleyball titles will just say, “Coach Keatley (Volleyball Coach) FOREVER!”