He’s back: Ultra-successful Kris Kern named head volleyball coach at Logan H.S.
LOGAN – When Kris Kern took over as the head volleyball coach at the University of Pikeville, a Division II school in Kentucky, a little over a year ago, he thought it would be his final coaching job.
He had already accomplished so much in his career, which spans four decades as a high school and college coach, and his specialty is turning programs into winners immediately. He did exactly that at Pikeville last fall. The Bears won only four games the year before Kern arrived on campus, but like he always does, he worked his magic, and he guided them to 20 wins.
However, even though he liked Pikeville, Kern felt something was missing. He wanted to be closer to his son, Connor, who lives in Columbus, and his immediate family in Lancaster.
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Simply put, Kern missed home, so he decided to come back home, and in doing so, he is returning to the high school coaching ranks. Kern accepted the head volleyball coaching position at Logan High School.
“This move is 100 percent about my family,” Kern said. “In the last two weeks since I’ve been (back in Ohio), I’ve had three family dinners. It was four and half hours back home from Pikeville, and to be honest, I was kind of on an island at Pikeville. I loved the city, we had some success, but sometimes people are a fit for someplace and sometimes they are not. I enjoyed my experience at Pikeville, but I realized that I missed home.”
One of the main things that attracted Kern to Logan was the facilities.
“I have won everywhere I have been so that wasn’t the itch I needed to scratch,” Kern said. “When I started looking at opportunities, college, or high school, and I started talking with Logan, and then when I visited the school and walked around the campus, I have never seen high school facilities like this. The gymnasium is nice, then add that to the Chieftain Center and you have 10 volleyball courts within a mile radius. The way I like to do clubs, camps lessons, and things like that, it was a great opportunity.”
Kern has won 909 career games at the high school and college level, including an astounding 762-82 career high school record and has hit the ground running at Logan. He knows it will be a challenge, but quickly turning the culture around is what Kern does best.
“(Logan) won 15 games last year, but they certainly aren’t playing the same schedule next year,” Kern said. “There is talent there, and I’m excited. I’ve already been there and talked with the players. We have a strength and conditioning coach; we’ve had open gyms where we had 50-55 kids. I’m just going to do what I do. We will have a challenging summer schedule.”
Kern, who was ultra-successful when he coached at Lancaster from 1994 to 2005, will face the Gales twice a year because Logan is joining the Ohio Capital Conference and will be playing in the same division. “Folks know I prepare and how competitive I will be.”
Building a winning culture every step of the way
Kern has built a winning culture everywhere he has coached, which began in 1981 at Columbus Wehrle. He led the Wolverines to four league championships, two district titles, and a state Final Four appearance in 1990. From there, he coached at Pickerington and Pickerington North. In seven seasons at North, Kern compiled an amazing 172-14 record and guided the Panthers to seven Ohio Capital Conference championships and four district titles. North was 91-1 in OCC play, including an 86-match winning streak.
Kern would then return to his high school alma mater to coach Lancaster, where he won 300 games, 11 OCC championships, and two Buckeye Athletic Conference titles. He coached at a few other high schools, including Logan Elm for one season in 2016. He once again worked his magic and led the Braves to a 28-1 record and a berth in the state tournament.
Kern tested his coaching skills at the college level when West Virginia State University came calling in 2017. As he has done everywhere he has coached, Kern turned the Yellow Jackets into an instant winner even though they had only won four games the previous year.
In six seasons, Kern matched the single-season program record with 25 wins, which was the first winning season in almost a decade. Following a 30-5 season in 2021 that included a conference championship, Kern was named the Mountain East Conference Coach of the Year. His 125-54 record (.698) is the highest win percentage in WVSU history. He then moved on to Pikeville last year and led the Bears to a 20-12 record.
Tom Wilson is a sports reporter for the Lancaster Eagle-Gazette. Contact him at 740-689-5150 or via email at twilson@gannett.com for comments or story tips. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @twil2323.
This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: Ultra-successful Kris Kern named head volleyball coach at Logan H.S.
