Theis fits nicely for Ohio
Bobcats introduce former Florida assistant as new volleyball coach
By Zach Swartz, Staff Writer
March 18, 2008 | 9:16 a.m.
Ohio University Director of Athletics Kirby Hocutt introduced a former University of Florida Gators assistant as the Bobcats’ new volleyball head coach Monday morning. Ryan Theis, who spent the last two seasons as offensive and recruiting coordinators in Gainesville, Fla., is well-known throughout the country as one of the best recruiters and offensive minds in the nation.
As an assistant to well-respected coach, Mary Wise, at Florida, who has won 17 consecutive Southeastern Conference titles, Theis helped lead the Gators to a 59-6 overall record, a 38-2 SEC record, two consecutive SEC Championships and two appearances in the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16. His offensive attack has broken the school’s record in kills twice, and the team was ranked in the top five in hitting percentage last season in Division I. Theis’ 2007 recruiting class was ranked in the top 10 in the nation, while this year’s group is deemed by many to be the best in the country, with four players ranked in the nation’s top 30.
“Ohio University has made an excellent choice in Ryan,” Wise said. “Our program is better today because of Ryan Theis. The Bobcats will soon learn what we have. Ryan has the skill set to be one of the premier young head coaches in the country.”
Prior to his stint at Florida, the Madison, Wis., native was an assistant at Northwestern, Indiana and Eastern Illinois, all of which made the NCAA Tournament during his time there.
Theis enters his first career head coaching position at one of the top programs in the country in Ohio. Over the past five years, under former coach and respected leader, Geoff Carlston, who left the Bobcats last month to become the head women’s coach at Ohio State, the Ohio women’s volleyball team was nothing short of spectacular. Having won five straight Mid-American Conference regular season championships, boasting a 93-3 in-conference record and a 143-22 overall record and claiming four of the past five MAC Players of the Year, the Bobcats finished last season ranked No. 19 in the nation to continue their 42-week stretch ranked in the top 25.
“My goal, as far as coming here, is to continue that tradition," Theis said.
In doing this, he does not expect many things to change.
"I don’t necessarily think that there is going to be any wholesale changes going on," Theis said. "There might be some slightly different techniques, some slightly different philosophies… For the most part, Geoff has done a terrific job, and with this talent he has in this program, I am very pleased with it. The style of play will be reflected on the talent we have, and that won’t change from one year to another.”
By no means is Theis unfamiliar with the Bobcats’ way of doing things. Because of Theis’ past experience coaching in the Big Ten, he and Carlston have known each other for over five years through Minnesota coach Mike Hebert. Because of that relationship, Theis admits that he has had his eye on Ohio’s program for some time.
“My goal has always been to come back to the Midwest,” Theis said. “Quite honestly, I’ve been trying to kick Geoff out the door the last few years so that I could try to apply for it. I’ve been watching this program and definitely wanted to be a part of it.”
But Theis is not the only one who has had his eye on the lookout. In the month-long process of finding a new coach, Hocutt said that he believed Theis was the best available candidate in the country.
“The comments that I received [about Theis] were that his work ethic and energy are unmatched in the country, that his attention to detail is incredible and nothing falls through the cracks, that he has an unbelievable will to be successful and that he will not fail. That, to me, matches our new head coach’s philosophy and work ethic to that of our volleyball program,” Hocutt said.
Hocutt has needed little time to observe this philosophy in his new volleyball coach. Theis, who has spent the last week in Athens, received word of his acceptance as Ohio’s new coach last Monday and was on a plane to Ohio only a few hours later, just three days after his wife, Jen, gave birth to the couple’s first son, Carter.
Still, Theis is thrilled to be able to lead a program on his own for the first time in his 12-year career.
“I think that I’ve paid my dues,” Theis said. “It’s great to finally know that … to be part of the final decision and the actual one making it is, to me, a huge part of being able to do things the way I would like them to be done.”
Theis promised that though the goal for his team is “to move forward and upward” on the court, he will also maintain a strong focus in academics and community involvement, ideals that he both learned from and demonstrated in his short time at Florida.
Because of these ideals, Theis is not the only one who is looking forward to the upcoming season.
“We’re excited, but it’s all going to be different,” said Ellen Herman, a sophomore outside hitter. “We’re put back in the freshman position where we don’t know what’s going to happen, whether it’s preseason, during the season or postseason … but we’re all nervous because we’re all on a fresh slate when it comes to starting lineups or who is going to play or how he’s going to run practice. We are all very excited.”
---