KEIZER — Bruce Myers is still a virtual unknown in the Mid-Valley.
Bruce Myers is the new girls volleyball coach at McNary High School. Myers is No. 13 on the state’s all-time wins list, but he is one of the last to talk about his number of wins.
The few people who know him since he moved to Salem a few years ago know him as the 66-year-old jovial grandfather-type who happens to be the father of West Salem’s new basketball coach Travis Myers.
They don’t identify him as one of the most successful high school volleyball coaches in Oregon.
As he starts his first year as head coach at McNary, even the players still don’t know his true identity.
“No,” Myers said. “They don’t care.”
What they care about is what he brings as a coach.
Beyond bringing a passion for the game, along with an intricate knowledge of it, he has a record of helping to build an environment that fosters winning.
“He’s super into teaching us volleyball, not just teaching us the aspects of it, and like where to move, the mentality of it,” said junior defensive specialist Haley Debban.
“A lot of coaches teach you, get to that side of the court and then that’s it. He’s teaching us to be passionate, how to be mentally tough, and that’s important in the sport.”
Though Myers doesn’t care about the numbers from his past, they are impressive.
He is the No. 13 winningest high school volleyball coach in Oregon history with a record of 507-198 in 27 years at Douglas and Roseburg, won 10 league championships and guided Roseburg to the 2012 state championship game.
But before all that, Myers fell into coaching the sport.
After graduating from South Eugene in 1968, he played two years of football at Gray’s Harbor College in Aberdeen, Wash., then played for a short stint at Southern Oregon before a knee injury ended his career.
He started teaching at Douglas and joined the football coaching staff with designs on being a big-time high school football coach.
“I was coaching JV football and I learned that I don’t like meetings, I don’t like watching video and I don’t really care for practices,” said Myers, who coached eight-time NFL Pro Bowler Troy Polamalu in Little League baseball.
Days before the 1982 volleyball season, Myers got a call from the principal at Douglas asking if he would coach the team.
“I was taking time off and the Friday before the season would start on Monday, the principal called me and asked me what I knew about volleyball,” Myers said, and he was hired without an interview.
Since moving to Salem a few years ago, Myers coached Sprague’s freshman volleyball team the prior two seasons and was Sprague’s girls golf coach in 2015. He’s also coached club volleyball the past few years.
McNary has historically been one of the most successful volleyball programs in Salem-Keizer with nine league championships and three state tournament trophies.
Taking over for Kellie Scholl, now the head coach at Redmond, Myers does some things differently, but he has a lot of similar attributes in coaching style.
“Not really, there’s little things like he obviously has different drills than Kellie did,” said senior outside hitter Sydney Hunter.
“When he tells us to do a drill, we’re all kind of like, uh, we don’t know who that is. Kind of like little things like that are different, but it’s not that different.”
Though Myers has guided teams to lots of wins, he is the last one to ask about the numbers.
He concerns himself with other matters.
“How many wins do I have?” Myers said. “All I know is I’m about 10,000 short of Central Catholic’s Rick Lorenz. I could coach until I was 265 and still not beat him.”
bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com, 503-399-6701 or Twitter.com/bpoehler
Greater Valley Conference
McKay
Coach: Scott Coons, second year.
Last year’s record: 2-14 GVC, 3-17 overall.
Key athletes:
Gaby Santoyo, sr., L: A team leader who will play a bigger role this season.
Aliza Mackaravits, soph., OH: A returning varsity player and all-around athlete.
Outlook: The Royal Scots will be relatively inexperienced this season.
McNary
Coach: Bruce Myers, first year.
Last year’s record: 13-3 GVC, 20-7 overall, lost in second round of state playoffs.
Key athletes:
Sydney Hunter, sr., OH: A second-team all-league player and team captain as a junior who will play a bigger role offensively this season.
Jaylene Montano, sr., L: Takes over the defensive spot and covers a lot of ground on the back row.
Haley Debban, jr., DS: A significant contributor who will play an improved role.
Outlook: The Celtics have a lot of spots to fill due to graduation, but have an athletic group with size, including Valerie Diede, Caiya Ewert and Shaylee Williams, and will contend for a state playoff spot.
North Salem
Coach: Rebecca Johnston, first year.
Last year’s record: 1-15 GVC, 6-17 overall.
Key athletes:
Darcy Suda, jr., L: A returning starter and honorable mention all-league player as a sophomore.
Reianne Roberts, sr., MB: A returning starter and athletic multi-sport player.
Outlook: The Vikings have an athletic, young roster with a new coach yet again.
South Salem
Coach: Matt Leichty, seventh year.
Last year’s record: 10-6 GVC, 13-11 overall, lost in first round of state playoffs.
Key athletes:
Bridgette O’Connor, jr., OH: A first-team all-league player as a sophomore who led the team in attacking and makes an impact all around the court.
Selbie Christensen, jr., OH: Injuries held her back much of last season, but she is healthy and her all-around play will have a big influence.
Chloe Elmore, jr., OH: A versatile player who can play any front row spot and is a consistent passer.
Outlook: The Saxons have a strong group of juniors and a couple newcomers who will make an immediate impact and make the team a contender at the top of the league.
Sprague
Coach: Anne Olsen, sixth year.
Last year’s record: 7-9 GVC, 11-15 overall, lost in first round of state playoffs.
Key athletes:
Lindsey Grossman, jr., OH: A transfer from West Albany where she was honorable mention all-league as a sophomore.
Mollie Herron, sr., L: An important player in the back row for the Olympians.
Morgan Doll, soph., OH: An honorable mention all-league player as a freshman last season.
Outlook: The Olympians have some promising young players, but will need to improve to contend for a state playoff spot again.
West Salem
Coach: Katie Herber, fifth year.
Last year’s record: 15-1 GVC, 21-5 overall, placed sixth in state tournament.
Key athletes:
Paige Whipple, sr., OH: The Arizona commit was a first-team all-state player after a dominant junior season, she is one of the state’s top players.
Mattie Kelly, sr., S: A first-team all-league setter whose combination of size and skill make her a versatile threat on the front row.
Kasey Campbell, sr., OH: A hard-working player with a good all-around game who was first-team all-league as a junior and provides a strong compliment to Whipple on offense.
Outlook: The Titans didn’t have any players graduate off of last year’s team that won the league and should be a threat at the state level this season.
Also in the GVC
Forest Grove: The Grizzlies return a senior class that includes three all-league players and has the potential to move up in the league.
McMinnville: The Grizzlies have three senior starters and will fight for a playoff spot.
West Albany: The Bulldogs have a strong round of seniors including Jane Cale and Ally Benedict that should challenge for one of the league’s top three spots.
Mid-Willamette Conference: A Lebanon team that swept the league and placed third in the state is a heavy favorite to win the conference. Silverton had a strong, young group last season that reached the state tournament for the first time in decades. Central returns all-league players in Alex Dowdell, Krista Omlid, Elizabeth Chavez and Jori Kerr and will challenge for a state playoff spot despite a young squad. Dallas has all-league players in Isabell Topete and Tristin Savage and sophomores Emma Classen and Maggie Blaire and has the potential to compete for the playoffs.
Oregon West Conference: Cascade won the league championship last season and returns starters Meriah Kindell, Cassie Smock and Tori Lewis, but will receive a strong challenge at the top of the league by a Philomath team that has all-league players in Kaela Lindsey and Claire Kepner.
PacWest Conference: Salem Academy is the heavy favorite to repeat as the conference champion with a lineup including league player of the year Sydney Brown. Blanchet returns all-league players in Rachel Howard and Hailey Ostby along with a starters in Lani Salang and a strong sophomore group including Ally Jones, Kalea Salang and Shelby Halfman.
West Valley League: With a strong junior class including Leah Boyer and Rebeka Preston, Santiam Christian is expected to be one of the top team sin the state again. Amity returns seniors Samantha Brown, Shayla Pendergraft and Kennidee Richardson and has the potential to contend for a playoff spot.
Tri-River Conference: Kennedy and St. Paul again will contend for the top spot in the league. St. Paul returns all-league setter Marley Martinez, starters in Logan Robinson and Elizabeth Brentano and has some impressive freshmen in Isabella Wyss and Erin Counts. Kennedy features all-league setter Emily Frey and starters in Tressa Riedman and Hannah Arritola.
Casco League: Country Christian returns four all-league players off last year’s state champion team. Crosshill Christian should contend for the league championship with players including Hannah Schanz, Lindsey Mendez and Sarah Stoddard.