Greg Peters

Ramone, in the 2009 movie "The Proposal," wore a few hats in the small town of Sitka, Alaska. He's a waiter, a store clerk, a minister, and, last but certainly not least, a past-his-prime exotic male dancer for Sitka-area bachelorette parties.

According to Ramone, he can tell which women are good dancers by the way they drink their soda pop.

Even though Ramone is a fictional movie character, most every small town has a Ramone. It's what gives each small town their own character.

I may not dance onstage to "Relax" like Ramone, but I do wear a few volunteer hats in River Falls. One of the volunteer hats I wear is broadcasting the play-by-play live web streams for Wildcat volleyball and girls' basketball on the River Falls Sports Broadcasting YouTube channel.

I have known Wildcat Head Volleyball Coach Sara Kealy since 2009. My youngest daughter, Ava, has been a setter on the Wildcat volleyball team the past two seasons.

Another hat I wear is sports columnist for the Pierce County Journal a couple times per month. There is an inspirational story about Sara Kealy needing to be told, but you, as the reader, have to trust there is no ulterior motive in me telling it. My parent hat is off and thrown in the corner. My reporter hat is on, similar to Ramone switching from dancer by night to minister the next day.    

I can tell a good past-their-prime reporter by the way they drink their soda pop.

This time two seasons ago, Sara Kealy was ready to quit coaching volleyball for good.

"When you stop loving what you do," said Kealy, "Then you shouldn't be doing it anymore."

From an outside view, everything looked great. The Wildcat volleyball team was on their way to qualifying for their sixth straight state tournament in October 2021. Kealy had built a perennial power and coaches around the state knew River Falls' volleyball doesn't rebuild; they reload.

Nothing happens by luck with Kealy concerning her program. Everything is intentional. Everything is planned. She talks to fifth graders and their parents about possibilities and plans and, in most cases, four and five years later, voila, the plan comes to fruition.

"Sara sees her team years in advance," said former assistant coach Fred Barr.

"If you're not doing that," said Kealy, "You're failing your program."

Wildcat volleyball had seen five head coaches in six years before Kealy arrived for the 2010 season. The season before she arrived, the team was 4-31 and had not won a set during conference play.

"We did skills and drills for a few years, and we needed that as a program," said Kealy. "But in 2015, Fred (Assistant Coach Fred Barr) said the girls knew the skills, but we needed to work on culture."

At that time, Kealy told Barr it was her job to teach the girls volleyball and she couldn't control whether they were friends off the court.

That statement is a common one among former great athletes turned coaches and Sara Kealy (Sorrell) was a great athlete. When Sara Sorrell played at Muncie Central, she was named the Gatorade Indiana Player-of-The-Year in 1995. She played four years at the University of Illinois and was one of the better hitters in the Big Ten during her four-year career, tallying over 1,000 kills.

Great athletes have a different mindset compared to the average high school student-athlete. In many cases, they have a much more difficult time communicating with kids that aren't nearly as driven or talented as they were.

"Now I know communication and relationship building is everything and it took a few years to figure that out," said Kealy, "Right now, for this year's team, it's a mental game. I'm trying to build their mental toughness for their club seasons. That's my job as their coach right now, to make them mentally tough, because this group is really, really good. It's about getting them out of their comfort zone. They won't grow and improve unless they fail.

"I love showing up every day and working with this team. When you're spending time away from your own kids, you don't want it to be a job; you want to be passionate about it. Last year's team and this year's team have brought my passion back and that's why I love them."

Rewind the clock back to October 2021. Kealy was going through a divorce and coaching had turned into a job for her. She wanted to be done with it. Kealy credits conversations with River Falls High School Activities Director David Crail for helping her find her find her “why” again.

"He was a great A.D. and even better friend," said Kealy.

"My why didn't become about me. It became how can I be the person they (my kids and my team) need me to be. My why constantly changes. If I'm the same person right now that I am five years from now, I'm not doing it right. I need to grow and my why should always evolve."

Ironically, Kealy received her own coaching lesson from the game of life. The 2021 season placed her far outside of her own comfort zone, but she grew. She became a better coach from it and even though the Wildcats lost in the section finals last season in a five-set thriller to Chippewa Falls, it prompted Crail to send her a post-game text that read:

"Tonight, in the middle of an intense match, your spark and your smile were there, and it was really fun to watch. Our girls our blessed to have you as their coach."

The Wisconsin Badger volleyball team is currently ranked #1 in the country and won the national title in 2021. Badger Head Coach Kelly Sheffield is originally from Muncie, Ind. The Kentucky Wildcat volleyball team is currently ranked 23rd in the country and they won the national title in 2020. Kentucky Head Coach Craig Skinner is also originally from Muncie, the same town where Kealy grew up.

"Sheff and Craig were young J-V coaches at our cross-town rival when I was in high school," said Kealy with a smile. "I knew those guys when they had bad hair and wore Zubaz."

Sheffield called Kealy earlier this season and offered her a six-figure assistant coaching job with the Badgers. She said "thanks" but "no thanks."

"There isn't much teaching (in college coaching) and it's more of a business and the travel is horrible at that level," said Kealy. "I love it right here in River Falls and want my kids to grow up here. I'm also trying to give all the girls the same opportunities I was so lucky to have growing up. That's my responsibility as a coach to make sure it's done the right way."

As Coach Sara Kealy and the Wildcat volleyball team gear up for post-season play this week, success can be found and defined in those same words Crail gave Kealy a year ago, have the spark and have the smile and know you’re blessed to be playing a game you love to play.   

Ramone said he can tell Coach Kealy is a good coach by the way she drinks her soda pop.