Coach Kelly Ricketts

Kelly Ricketts is someone who has never been afraid to work. Kelly played both basketball and volleyball in high school. She was talented enough to start on a varsity basketball team as a freshman. But it was not just talent which separated Kelly from the average athlete, it was her work ethic. Sometimes a multi-sport athlete uses one sport as “permission” not to do what is needed in another sport. Kelly never cut corners in either sport. For basketball, she never missed anything we did in the off-season.

But I think the big deal about Kelly is that she has always understood it is about “the process.”  She never took days off at practice- she was focused and worked every day. She accepted coaching, whether it was criticism or encouragement- she made eye contact and let you know she wanted to be coached. And Kelly did the “extras”, which separate athletes- she pushed herself in the weight room 12 months per year.

Why do I bring up her being into “the process?” "The process” is what coaching is all about. To be successful, the coach, and then the team must recognize they have to be willing to put in the grind. The old expression in sports- “everyone wants to win, only a few are willing to prepare to win.” Kelly is a natural for coaching because she is all about putting in the preparation to win.

I had a chance to do a Q/A with Kelly....

Massey-  I remember my first-year teaching being up at 2am typing a test for the next day. It seemed like the whole year was that way. You had taught awhile and coached awhile, but last year you took a new teaching job and a new coaching job. How demanding was it in terms of time for you? Was it more demanding than your first-year teaching?

Kelly- It was, without a doubt, more demanding than my first-year teaching. I think most teachers would agree that you don't REALLY know something until you've taught it, so I was teaching a new curriculum, getting my classroom ready and starting season at the same time. Last year definitely showed me why you don't see many English teachers as head coaches. Papers probably don't get graded quite as quickly as they should during season.

Massey- You have been a head coach and then an assistant and now a head coach again. From your perspective, what is the best part of being a head coach and what is the worst part of being a head coach?

Kelly- The best part of being a head coach is having the final say. When you have a vision in your head of what it will take to be successful, you want things done that way. When you are a head coach, you can make sure that things get done that way. The best part of being an assistant coach is that you get to coach the girls and be involved, but the pressure isn't all on your shoulders. Someone else is making the big decisions.

Massey-  When it comes to volleyball, Quincy is a big time program. I am guessing the players level of commitment is pretty impressive. What are some examples of their commitment?

Kelly- It is very impressive, especially with our current senior class. 7 of our varsity players played club throughout the winter and spring when we could not have "contact days". Three of our seniors traveled to St. Louis to play for Rockwood Thunder. This meant 4 hours round trip for practices twice a week and tournaments around the country most weekends. What is most impressive about this is that they never let that come in the way of our progress as Quincy High School Volleyball. We scheduled open gyms on nights that these girls didn't have practice and they were there to grow as a high school team, as well. One of these girls' teams qualified for nationals which meant that her club practices and tournaments continued through June. Of our 14 contact days in June, she only missed one day with us. This sometimes meant two practice sessions with us during the day, then driving to St. Louis for an evening club practice. 

Massey-  How are you a better coach than when you started at Knoxville?

Kelly- I could go on for days, ha. I think one major thing would be seeing the big picture. As a head coach, you have to see the program as a whole, starting with youth programs all the way up to the varsity level. Along with this, at Knoxville and even last year, I easily got caught up in where we were right then, when I should have been focusing more on what steps we needed to take now to ensure we would be where we wanted to come the end of October/beginning of November. I think my vision during games has expanded, as well. Early on, I'd find myself getting caught up on a technique correction or something small during a game whereas now I try to focus more one the game and our system as a whole.

Massey-  What have you taken from playing basketball and applied it to your coaching in volleyball?

Kelly- There are so many things that I think carry over in any athletic situation. Some of these things include athletic movements and mechanics. Of course there are some coaching things regarding game preparation and practice and game management. Probably most prevalent are some of the life lessons that I learned and that I try to teach my girls daily: things like responsibility, effective communication, role acceptance, always giving your best effort and taking care of your teammates. 

Massey-  Growing up with three brothers had to have had challenges. What did you learn from each of them? 

Kelly- Zach is so slow to judgement in any situation. There have been many times I've gone to Zach for advice, and he's directed me to Corinthians 13. The chapter is about how to love one another, and I think Zach lives by this daily. One thing Ryan has taught me is that there's not much laughter doesn't cure. Whenever I need a good laugh or someone to put a situation in perspective for me, Ryan is the go-to person. Matt has taught me that age doesn't always reflect wisdom. He's the youngest of all of us, but sometimes I questions whether he's also the wisest. I think Matt has watched plenty of trial and error in Zach, Ryan and my lives and has learned from all of it. It has also been fun throughout my teaching and coaching career to compare my students and athletes to Matt with them being the same age. I think this has given me better insight in certain situations.  

Massey- My brother coached volleyball. I know very little of the sport, but I watched his matches for 35 years (so an expert in my own mind). I could not have told you why it was happening in a game but when I tried to figure out if his team was good or really good, I looked at three things. Did they make unforced errors, could they defend or did the ball hit the floor a lot, and could they put the ball away. Of those three, it seemed to me his best teams defended. What do you feel is the most important?

Kelly- I would have to agree. We have some excellent attackers this year, and nothing is more frustrating than when you're swinging away and swinging away and sending over a smart tip and the ball just keeps getting returned. If a team is able to defend well, eventually their opponent's offense is likely to break down or make an unforced error themselves. 

Massey- Speaking of family observing your games. With your mom, your dad, and your brothers. After a tough game, who are you most likely to call?

Kelly- Ha... I would probably call mom and dad first for some encouragement to move on and get back to work the next day. Next, I would call Ryan to lighten me up a little bit (UNLESS it's bad enough I know he'll make fun of me for it, which also happens). Then, I would probably call Matt. Being a current athlete himself, I often look to him for a player's perspective or ideas that his coaches use that I can apply to volleyball. 

Massey- We need more females going into coaching and staying in coaching. What advice would you give to a young female thinking about coaching?

Kelly- My advice to young females thinking about coaching would be to realize that coaching is a career. I found myself in a situation that I think a lot of females going into coaching might. Being an athlete my whole life, I associated my success on the court with my identity to a certain extent: it was as though my success or our team's success on the court somehow defined who I was as a person. Over the past few years, and occasionally now, although I'm getting better about it, I've found myself so frustrated after a bad practice or a bad game that I couldn't separate myself from that. I'm sure there have been, and probably still are, times when I've just been miserable to be around because of volleyball. I've had to get myself to a point where I realize that this is a career, and just like it wouldn't be healthy for a businessman to bring work frustrations home, I don't think it's healthy for a coach to bring coaching frustrations home. I think some of that passion is necessary to be successful, and certainly coaching is a career where you have to be successful or you won't make it a lot of places, but in my opinion, I think finding that work/life balance would make it easier for more females to enter and stay in the coaching field. 

Massey- You got married this summer. Why Ireland? Did your brothers embarrass you?

Kelly- Mark and I wanted to do something that would fit us and be special for us and our families. Both of us love to travel. I studied and worked in Ireland for a summer and Mark studied abroad in New Zealand, so those were our two finalists. We decided on Ireland because with the flight being half as long as a flight to New Zealand, it was more realistic to make it work for our families. Beyond this, Mark and I both have some Irish ancestry. A very distant cousin of Mark's dad who lives in Ireland actually attended the wedding. 

On my brothers embarrassing me... Ryan brought a handheld camcorder with him and took it EVERYWHERE we went, from the time they left mom and dad’s house in Galesburg to the time they returned. He would pull it out every 30 minutes or so and get video updates. Shortly after we got home Matt edited it and turned it into a "professional" feature film. Quite comical. And something we'll cherish for many, many years, I'm sure.

Massey- You taught at GHS and now at QHS. What is the most impressive thing about QHS?

Kelly- The most impressive thing about QHS is the leadership. Our superintendent makes it into every classroom in the district twice a semester. He often will jump in and try to help a student with a question or learn something new himself. He always asks teachers face to face what we need. He has probably been at 75% of our volleyball games including pre-season scrimmages. And he does that for every sport and activity at every level. 

The most impressive thing about GHS is the diversity of the staff and their attempt to relate to each student. I think Galesburg does a good job of finding role models for students from every demographic. 

Massey- For those of us in Galesburg, sometimes we have trouble getting through the whole Quincy thing. What are the pleasant surprises you have found about the city of Quincy?

Kelly- There's really quite a bit to do. Because bigger cities are farther away (an hour and 45 minutes to Springfield or 2 hours to St. Louis), there is more shopping, entertainment, eating, etc. right in Quincy. TJ Maxx is definitely a plus (even though a miss Target terribly). The music scene is pretty strong, also. Any given weekend you have your choice of live music -- and it's pretty good live music. 

Massey- When Galesburg people go to Quincy for a game (any sport), and they are getting there early and want to go out for a nice meal- what is your recommendation?

Kelly- Definitely the Abbey on Spring and 18th. I'd say it's a mix between Sully's and The Iron Spike. 

In December of 2010, I did a Q/A with Kelly's mom- Cindy Ricketts. We talked about Cindy's experiences as an athlete, and being a mother of four athletes. So I guess now I just have 4 Ricketts to go. I can't wait!! The following is the Q/A with Cindy Ricketts....

https://masseybasketball.blogspot.com/2010/12/cindy-ricketts-athletic-mom.html