Kyle Walton Hired as Assistant Volleyball Coach
Feb. 8, 2008
ST. LOUIS - Saint Louis University head volleyball coach Anne Kordes announced the addition of Kyle Walton to the coaching staff as assistant coach on Wednesday. Walton, who was an assistant at Southern Illinois last season, will begin his duties immediately. "We are extremely excited to bring Kyle in to be a part of our program," Kordes said. "I've known him for three years and I have always been impressed with his energy and knowledge of the game. He is just an incredible person with the highest level of integrity. Kyle will be working with our middle blockers and on our serving, as well as assuming the role of recruiting coordinator." "It has been a goal of mine to work with Anne (Kordes), and once the opportunity became available I knew I couldn't pass it up," Walton said. "Anne is one of the top coaches around and I'm looking forward to working with her and broadening my knowledge of the game. This is definitely a step up in my career to be associated with a top-50 team. I think I'll be able to relate to the players well and maybe bring a little different perspective than what they've been accustomed to." At Southern Illinois, he served as the recruiting coordinator for the Salukis while also scouting opponents and assisting with practice and practice planning. Walton, who was primarily in charge of the middle blockers and right-side hitters, helped SIU return to the six-team State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament for the first time since the 2002 season. Prior to his stint at Southern Illinois, Walton was an assistant coach at Division II University of Southern Indiana in Evansville for one season. From 2005-06, the Edon, Ohio, native, was the facility director and Director of Volleyball Operations at Synergy Sports in Toledo, Ohio. While working at Synergy Sports, Walton also coached two U16 volleyball club teams. Walton has been around the game of volleyball for most of his life with his father being in his 22nd year as the head coach at Edon High School. After assisting with his father's high school teams, he spent two years as a student assistant with the Otterbein College volleyball team while also competing as a student-athlete on the basketball and baseball teams.
Walton graduated from Otterbein College in Westerville, Ohio, in 2005 with a degree in sports management. He replaces assistant coach Dex Schroeder, who resigned to take over head coaching duties at Division I Samford in Birmingham, Ala. The Billikens, who are coming off a 23-7 campaign, finished third in the 2007 Atlantic 10 Conference regular-season race and fell just short of playing in their second-straight A-10 Championship title match. |
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