For the past few years, when the Gulf Breeze girls volleyball team won district championships, former head coach Jasmine King made sure to emphasize one thing.
That Steven Clay was just as much part of the team’s success, having been a longtime assistant coach with the Dolphins. Now, with the recent news that King has resigned to take a college coaching job, Clay has been named the head coach of the girls indoor volleyball team.
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Clay, who’s been with the program for the last decade as the freshman coach, JV coach and most recently assistant varsity coach, has put in his “sweat equity,” King told the PNJ.
“He is the utmost deserving person to take on this new role,” King said. “It, selfishly, makes me feel a lot better because if it was some random person or somebody who was an outsider that wasn’t familiar with the program, I would feel a bit more guilty walking away.”
“It’s mixed feelings, of course, because I’ve been involved with the program for so long. And the majority of the time it’s been with Coach King. It’s certainly different not having her be a part of this,” Clay told the PNJ after he had officially been announced as the head coach. “I’ve been at that gym every year for the last 11 or 12 years now. So, in that regard, it doesn’t feel that much different, honestly, because I’ve been doing this for so long.”
No matter what, what both King and Clay called that “unlikely duo” of a coaching staff between the two of them is now just Clay. King, who came in as a head coach fresh out of college, was in a completely different stage of her life than Clay, who was older and has two daughters of his own.
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King came in with high-level playing experience. Clay had the management experience.
And it was “just this beautiful symphony of trust and friendship and personalities that matched so well,” King mentioned.
“She hadn’t had a whole lot of life experience and managing experience. I very quickly realized she didn’t need any help with the sport of volleyball, but I think she would admit she could use some help on just trying to mange people and the program,” Clay said of that relationship. “The first couple years, I was just trying to do the best I could to sort of help her on all that. … She hasn’t needed my help in that for years. She’s all grown up. She’s married. She’s got kids of her own now. This program has 100% been her for years, and, as a friend and as someone who works closely with her, I’m just so proud of her. Coach King has grown into an exceptional leader, watching her grow into a very confident coach.”
That’s exactly why, when King and Clay told the team that she would be stepping down as head coach, that Clay tried to keep as much of the team meeting about King − recognizing just what she meant to the program.
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Clay noted that there had been some discussions about King’s future plans to hopefully join the college ranks “for awhile.” So the news that it was finally happening “wasn’t shocking” for Clay, he added, but it was “mixed feelings,” for sure.
“I support her like crazy and I would’ve loved to have continued coaching with her. But I also understand she’s at a point in her life where she needs to go explore other options. It was a very tough decision for her, but she’s got to do what’s best for her and her family. I’m thrilled for her,” Clay said. “We wanted the girls to hear it from her first (during that meeting). The focus that day, of course, was for it to be Coach King’s day and let the girls know what was going on. I just used it as an opportunity to let (the team) know that I indeed intended to apply for the job, and, if I got it, it was my intention to have all the remaining coaches return.”
With how long Clay has been part of the program, he’s also seen the recent success such as the six consecutive district crowns, and, most recently, the region final win over Oviedo plus the trip to the state championship game that ended in heartbreak.
So, on that front, Clay is hoping it’s a “relatively seamless” transition as he takes over.
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“There’s no one person that’s bigger than the program. So, in that regard, the program is a combination of the administration’s support, the parents, the girls that play and all the coaches. We all, collectively, make up Gulf Breeze girls indoor volleyball,” he said. “As people graduate and move on, we all try to lave the program a little bit better than we found it the prior year. So, Coach King being gone will leave a massive hole. But I’m very confident in the returning coaches and the administration, and parents and players.”
Nonetheless, taking over the head coach job is a “full circle moment” for Clay, he said. Clay, who’s not originally from Gulf Breeze but has been in the area for awhile after his parents retired here when he graduated from college, said he remembers taking his oldest to watch King play when she was in high school.
Now he’s in charge.
“I feel like I’ve blinked. To have coached the freshman and JV teams, and had, what I feel is, a meaningful role in the varsity program for years, I definitely think ‘full circle’ is a good way to put it for sure,” Clay said. “I think we’ll quickly pick up where we left off.”
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Gulf Breeze volleyball names Steven Clay next head coach of Dolphins
