Hokie ClubAs part of Virginia Tech Athletics' celebration of Black History Month, the department will be sharing compelling stories of its staff and their amazing accomplishments throughout the month. We are reminded in this series that athletics serves as a great equalizer and provides an aspirational narrative and opportunity for all. We continue the series with Virginia Tech volleyball head coach Marci Byers.
Being a great coach is measured in more than just wins and losses.
Sure, winning is the ultimate goal for any program to be deemed successful, but the real impact is made in the relationships built on and off the court.
Virginia Tech Volleyball Head Coach Marci Byers is living proof of it.
Even to this day, she still gets phone calls and text messages from players she coached many years ago, and every success story is a reminder that she's not just molding rosters to compete in college. She's helping shape the lives of young adults for what comes after athletics. Whether it's a coach, mentor, friend or second mother, she's whatever her players need her to be.
"I was driving in a car with my mom and two daughters when one of my players from Radford called and told me about the work she did for the Grammys and the NBA during All-Star Weekend in Utah."
"The fact that she reached out to me just to give me that kind of news is humbling, and it actually makes me a bit emotional as well. Just to know I had that kind of impact on her, honestly, it's kind of cool."
A shift in coaching direction
Something else to throw in the "cool" category is the fact that Coach Byers never set out to be a volleyball coach in the beginning of her career.
Basketball was her first love, and she was always looking to follow in her dad's footsteps as a coach in the sport. She even remembers going to practices with him as a kid and drawing up plays on the sidelines.
Volleyball wasn't even on the radar until some things out of her control forced her to shift directions after spending eight years coaching high school basketball.
That's when Coach Skip Weston offered her an opportunity to serve as an assistant coach under him in club volleyball.
"He sent me all over the country in different gyms just to learn," said Coach Byers.
It was basically a crash course on volleyball that built a bridge of trust between the two coaches.
As Coach Byers got deeper into the sport, she eventually learned that Coach Weston and his wife coached at Godwin High School, which had a program with multiple volleyball state championships.
However, the couple was looking to move on to other things, and they were grooming Coach Byers to ultimately step in and take their place.
"Skip Weston ended up being my mentor, and just to have him believe in me enough to take over such a successful program was huge for me," Coach Byers said.
"I've always been kind of a loyal person, and I just never wanted to let him down. So I worked really hard at learning the craft of volleyball in and out to make sure I did a great job."
The transition was seamless, and Godwin High School continued to have success under Coach Byers' watch for a few years until she decided to move on.
But then it was time for the next challenge.
Coach Byers really wanted to take a crack at a college team to see what she could do at the next level. After putting in multiple applications for jobs, she finally heard back from Chowan University, which is an NCAA Division II school in North Carolina.
That opportunity is probably where the most growth occurred for Coach Byers, considering she went from a winning high school program to a place where she had only a couple of kids that really knew how to play volleyball.
In her first year with the program, the team won nine games, including just four conference meetings.
It was the most humbling experience of her career, but it also made for a great comeback story.
"Honestly, there was a lot of crying," said Byers. "And after I finished crying, I just beat the path to recruiting and said, 'This is not a feeling I want to have anymore.' I went in and brought in 17 kids that actually knew how to play volleyball, and we went from six total wins to 26 wins in the 2007 season."
The Division I offer
It was such a remarkable turnaround that it led to Coach Byers taking up another opportunity and landing a Division I gig with Radford University, two years after starting her first collegiate coaching job at Chowan.
The momentum continued as she turned Radford into a powerhouse program that saw its first NCAA Tournament berth while she was the coach.
There's one common thread in all of the success: Coach Byers' willingness to roll up her sleeves and do the hard work, whether it's coaching, recruiting or building those close relationships.
"I think my parents raised me to have a work ethic and want to be able to work for things," said Coach Byers. "My story has always been so different from most volleyball coaches. Most people played at a pretty high level, and they might have been a graduate assistant somewhere or gotten on somebody's staff and moved their way up. But that was not my path."
"I was never really anybody's assistant, aside from the one year under Coach Weston. And I never really had an assistant when I started. So everything — every move and every decision — has always been on me."
Making a lasting impact
That unwavering mentality to put in the work regardless of the circumstances is a big reason why Virginia Tech came calling with an offer for Coach Byers.
Of course, an opportunity to coach for a Power Five school was another challenge she felt like she couldn't turn down.
When it's all said and done, this job might also give her the chance to make the biggest impact considering she's the only black female head coach at Virginia Tech — something she isn't taking lightly.
"Throughout my entire career, I probably always had to be a little bit better and be on my P's and Q's. I had to be very aware of my surroundings, too, not just the physical ones but the social and administrative spaces as well," said Coach Byers.
"All of that has always been at the forefront of my mind, but I've tried to not let it drive me because I do know a lot of this happened for me because of my hard work."
"I just kind of put my head down and go to work because I know I'm a role model for a lot of people. Something that has carried me well is the fact that I've always been so consistent in who I am, what I believe, and how I approach things. But at the end of the day, I know I hold an important place in history, too. I understand that."
Coach Byers is constantly reminded of her place in history when she receives calls and updates from former players she used to coach. Those conversations serve as a reminder of the impact she's had on so many lives.
And to think, she nearly chose basketball over volleyball. Even the most diehard of skeptics might find it tough to argue Coach Byers wasn't meant to be on this journey.
Coaching basketball might have been her dream, but volleyball was her destiny.