Coaches are supposed to be ambitious, right?
At 25, Kristy Newman was named Marietta’s volleyball coach, and she had a bold goal of turning the program around and competing for an Ohio Athletic Conference championship in three years.
“I was young and confident,” she says. “Then I learned how difficult the OAC is, and I knew it was going to take longer.”
Her first four seasons did not live up to her expectations, as the Pioneers had a 37-66 record and missed the conference tournament in 2021. However, Newman knew something special was happening.
“We were getting the type of player I wanted,” Newman says. “They were fitting into the culture I wanted to build, and you could see how much they cared about each other.”
Then, last season, her hard work and patience finally paid off.
The Pioneers went 19-9 overall and 6-3 in the OAC, the best season since 2006 (20-8). Two late-season losses knocked Marietta from first to third place in the conference. The Pioneers advanced to the semifinals before bowing out to conference champ Otterbein.
For the first time since she arrived, Marietta is considered one of the top volleyball teams in the conference — a big reason why is that the Pioneers have probably the most talented roster in the program’s history.
Any discussion about the roster starts with senior middle hitter Maggie Fellers, who became the program’s first All-American last year. But the roster depth is impressive. Sophomore setter Emory Spitler joined Fellers as a first-team All-OAC selection, while sophomore outside hitter Jillian Fellers — Maggie’s younger sister — was second team, and junior outside hitter Mia Silva was honorable mention.
Add another strong recruiting class this year, and it’s easy to see why Kristy is so excited about the 2023 season.
“This is the most excited I have ever been,” she says.
The Pioneers are currently 3-0 and travel to the Transylvania University Invitational on Friday (September 8). Marietta opens conference play on September 30 against Baldwin Wallace. “We want to win an OAC championship. We play eight teams in the Top 25 this season.”
Newman believes her roster transformation is why Marietta became more competitive, and it occurred when she changed her approach to recruiting.
“I had to change. I knew the potential of the players we had on the roster, so I had to be more honest and tell the recruits that it was going to be hard to get playing time,” Newman says. “I am unapologetically myself. When I took the job, I was trying to be someone I wasn’t. Now, I don’t sugarcoat things. I tell every recruit, ‘This is who we are, and this is what we are looking for.’ ”
Braya Elsea ’22, MAP’23, played five seasons for Newman and was the coach’s first recruit. Elsea saw the coaching transformation up close and personal.
“She deserves a lot of credit,” Elsea says. “I was fortunate to watch her mature as a coach. At first, she needed to control everything, and now she only tries to control the controllables. That has led to the team’s success. She allowed the players to take the reins on more things.”
Newman, however, focuses more on the women she has brought in for the program’s turnaround.
“It’s because of the women and who they are as people,” Newman says. “We are recruiting talent, but we are also recruiting the person. They need to fit our culture and buy into what we are trying to accomplish. Personality is 90 percent of it. We have an amazing group of young women, and I’m proud to be their coach.”
Elsea appreciates the relationship that she has with her former coach.
“I was in her office a lot — talking about life, volleyball, and school,” Elsea says. “I consider her to be one of my mentors. She played a large role in how I grew as a person.”
Following back-to-back USA South West Division Championships at Covenant College, Newman focused on making it three in a row. But Covenant coach Joanna Ehman encouraged her to apply for the Marietta opening.
“We were a perfect team. She was very organized. Everything was scheduled, and I am the complete opposite, but I learned it,” Newman says. “We balanced each other. She’s the reason I applied for this job. I implemented an entire offense at Covenant while she was on maternity leave, and I think that is why she felt I was ready. Of course, after I got the job, she tried to convince me to stay.”
Newman’s college coach, Kandis Schram, is pleased she made the move to Marietta and is impressed with what she has accomplished.
“Kristy is a hard-working professional who loves sharing her passion. Players can sense her genuine desire to help them be their best and play hard for her,” says Schram, who is in her 38th season at Maryville College in Tennessee. “Kristy was always a student of the game. She understood what it meant to be a member of a team and played with selflessness. Those are all vital qualities found in good coaches.”
Schram speaks with Newman regularly and is impressed with her focus and determination in building the Marietta program.
“I think another special thing to point out is Kristy’s commitment to Marietta and her girls,” Schram says. “She didn’t leave for better offers or when things were dismal. She stuck to her plan, worked hard, and believed in the mission.”
Now that her plan is coming together, Newman gets to be the coach she always knew she could be.
“My goal is to allow them to be themselves,” Newman says. “I want to see who they are on the court and off the court. We get to do life together, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”