Long-time North Adams volleyball coach Katie Ragan has developed one of the most successful programs in southeast Ohio, but has also developed a program that has produced other volleyball coaches with five former Lady Devils on the sidelines this season. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)
By Mark Carpenter
People’s Defender
It has been stated over and over again in these pages over the years- that being the Southern Hills Athletic Conference dominance of Coach Katie Ragan and her North Adams Lady Devils volleyball squads. The numbers are impressive- 17 conference championships, 11 of those being undefeated conference gold ball seasons, with lengthy lists of all-conference and all-district athletes.
But going into the 2025 volleyball season, there is something else that is showing just how successful the North Adams program has been. The Katie Ragan coaching tree has begun to spread its branches with five of Ragan’s former Lady Devils moving into the coaching ranks themselves, two of those at the varsity level, Marah Call at Whiteoak and Charlee Louden at Western Brown. Wylie Shipley will be the JV assistant at Whiteoak while Sydney (Kendall) Campbell and Adison (Wright) Dryden will be staying home, taking over the junior high programs at North Adams. All of these first-year coaches spoke top the Defender about how they got where they are and the influence and inspiration they got as Lady Devils.
“When I was first hired as a teacher in the Bright Local School District, I also had the opportunity to coach,” said Marah Call. ” Once I got established, God opened a path for my teaching career to continue on a journey I had already begun at another school. With the trust and support I was given from Whiteoak, I was still able to step into the role of head coach to continue working with the girls. It wasn’t something I originally planned, but it’s been an incredible blessing and an opportunity I’m grateful for.”
“My North Adams coaches not only taught me discipline and how to work hard, but also how important it is to be a family and good community member. They instilled in me to take pride in my play, teammates, and school. There will always be a soft spot in my heart for North Adams because of the family and community I will stay a part of, but my competitive nature will take over (when the two teams meet). There is a ton of potential within my team and I have great confidence that they will bring their best game.”
Wylie Shipley will also be with the Whiteoak Lady Cats, serving as Call’s assistant.
“Back in the spring one of my closest friends ( Marah) told me she had been asked to coach varsity volleyball at White high school and wanted me to join her for this season to help coach. I was super excited and thought this would be a fun experience and opportunity to mentor a group of girls and share all of the amazing character and athletic qualities that our North Adams athletic program had instilled in us.”
“During my time playing both volleyball and basketball at North Adams high school, our coaches always had very high standards for us. We were expected to be respectful to not only each other, but every coach, official, school administrator and community member. Our teams were highly dedicated, disciplined, and hard working. I learned so many life lessons during my time in each program and while we had great athletic success, we also had very strong bonds with one another and kept well representing our school, family’s and God at the heart of everything we did. All of these pieces have been instrumental in shaping the volleyball program for Whiteoak.”
When asked about the awkwarness of their match up with North Adams later this season, Shipley explained, “We’ve already scrimmaged North Adams a few times over the summer and I’ve just felt joy in seeing this all come full circle. I’m thankful to have my North Adams community be so supportive of us coaching elsewhere. At the end of the day every athlete deserves time, attention, and encouragement to play to the best of their ability and enjoy a high school sport. North Adams will always be home for me and I’m so grateful for every opportunity I had to step on that court. Getting to be on the coaching side of things has given me a whole new insight to the responsibility, time and care that my coaches gave me and it’s just been an amazing experience so far.”
Also jumping in at the varsity level will be foremer Lady Devil Charlee Louden, taking over the reins with the Western Brown Lady Broncos.
“I always knew I wanted to stay involved with the game of volleyball somehow,” Louden explained. “During my college years I helped coach an 18s club team and really enjoyed it. This made we realize I wanted to coach at the high school level. It’s more fast paced and I wanted to share my knowledge of the game. Last season I was lucky enough to be offered the JV coaching position at Western Brown. I took it and had a decent season. This season the varsity position became available and I wasn’t sure about it at first. I still felt pretty young and I didn’t know if I was ready to take on such a big role. So far I’m glad I did and I’m super excited for the future with this program.”
“Looking back on my high school coaches and how they ran their programs really helps guide me. My coaches, (Katie Ragan and Rob Davis) taught us that we had to put in the hard work to get rewarded. That goes for on and off the court. They also focused on team bonding and I believe that helped us play so well together. This summer I’ve ran into my previous high school coaches and we talked about how crazy it is that all of this has gone full circle. Not only will I coach against my high school volleyball coach this season but I’ve also coached against other girls I played with. It’s nice to see so many NAHS alumni in the next journey of their sport careers.”
Straying not too far from home base were Adison (Wright) Dryden and Sydney (Kendall) Campbell, both of whom had standout volleyball careers at NAHS and are now giving back to their school as the leaders of the junior high programs.
“Former North Adams junior high coach and close family friend, DeLaney (Harper) McCormick reached out to me when her time coaching was done,” says Dryden. She told me Sydney Campbell would be the other junior high coach and I jumped at the opportunity! Sydney is also family and I grew up playing volleyball with her. I knew our work ethic, coaching styles, and love for the game would make for a great season.”
“Katie encouraged up to play club and the majority of us did. This exposed up to different drills, coaching techniques, and new opportunities within the volleyball community. This helped me as an athlete and coach, to develop drills and practice techniques to utilize with my athletes this season. I’m really happy with the group of athletes Sydney and I will be working with this season. They have positive mindsets and are willing to work hard. Us coaches hope to share our love of the sport, develop fundamental skills, and build the North Adams volleyball program for years to come.”
Campbell also described her route to the coaching sidelines.
“The pipeline from college volleyball player to coach is pretty direct, and so I knew I wanted to coach and continue to be involved in the sport. The previous junior high coach reached out to me and asked if I would be interested, and with it being my alma mater and the program I grew up in, I knew I had to take the opportunity. A lot of my fellow teammates (both from MVNU and high school) had already stepped into coaching positions so they encouraged me to take it on as well, and now I get to coach with my good friend and high school teammate, Adison Dryden!”
”Katie definitely took a chance on me as a player. I honestly was not very good my first few years in the program, I even got cut from the team my seventh grade year, so I had no plans to be a record breaking player. She saw potential in me, and I think that is really inspiring me now to see that potential in my girls and encourage them to be the best players they can be.”
Campbell continued, “I am really excited to be a part of the North Adams volleyball program, especially at the Junior High level. Coach Dryden and I are hoping to build some great foundations, habits, and technical skills that these girls can carry into high school and on. But most importantly, we really want to instill the love of the game that has carried us from being players to coaches.”
Coach Ragan herself was much more simplistic about the evolution of her players into coaches.
“I’m happy that the girls learned to love the sport enough top continue,” said Ragan. “We work hard here at North Adams, but we have fun and I’m glad to see that the future of volleyball is bright.”
“It makes me feel oled. Maybe, it’s time for me to retire from coaching.”
