Irons retires after 23 years leading Lady Red

Much of Karen Irons' life has been invested in Bellevue volleyball — as a great player, an assistant coach and finally as a decades-long head coach. Things will be a bit different for the Lady Red, and for Irons, in the fall. She's retiring from coaching following 23 years at the helm. "Over break I just did a lot of soul searching and I couldn't give the girls 110 percent, and it was affecting my work here at the school," Irons said. "I just came to the decision that it was time to take care of myself." Irons never imagined she'd get into coaching, and certainly not for the length of time she did. Her volleyball career started as a standout player. She helped Bellevue reach the 1984 state final four as a senior. The Lady Red beat Granville in the regional semifinal and Holland Springfield in the regional final before falling to eventual state champion Springfield Northwestern in the state semifinal. Following high school graduation, Irons played volleyball collegiately at Miami (Ohio). Irons then worked on the junior high staff for a couple years and helped Bill Cramer at the high school level for a bit before taking over at her alma mater. "After my college playing days were over, I didn't have any intention of ever coaching," Irons said. "The job came open, and here I am 23 years later." Bellevue did plenty of winning with Irons in charge, going 322-224 in her tenure. The Lady Red won five league championships, taking the Northern Ohio League crown in three consecutive years (2003, 2004, 2005) and then earning repeat SBC Lake Division titles in 2018 and 2019. "Back in those days, even when I played, it always seemed to be us and Norwalk," Irons said. "We always met at district finals. It was so hard going back and forth with Grace (Hutchinson). Those are the memories I'll remember. The coaches that when I played, then I coached against." That 2003 squad was the best team in program history, advancing to the regional final. They finished 24-4 that season, defeating Galion in the district final and Canal Winchester in the regional semifinal before falling to Maumee. "You're always striving to get to that point," Irons said. "It was a special group of girls. Over those first four years, I had my nieces on the team. It was nice to have the family connection on that team. Also on that team was (2022 Monroeville star) Maddie Daniel's mom, Katie Laub. That's what you strive for." Irons' final game in charge of Bellevue was a 2022 sectional final loss to Vermilion. The Lady Red extended Irons' career by a set, rallying from down 24-20 in the third to force a fourth against the eventual district champions. "All the girls that I've coached, all the young ladies, that's why you do it," Irons said. "You coach the young kids, give them opportunity, see them improve. When I told the girls before it became official, as a coach, you enjoy watching them mature over the years. That's where you get a lot of satisfaction. Yeah, the wins and losses and championships are great, but just working with the kids." Whoever takes over the Bellevue program will have a lot of returning talent. The 2022 group had two seniors, strong hitters Kailee Felder and Claire Turner, but should bring back the rest of their full-time roster — libero Bailey Fisher, setters Morgan Ray and Payton Hicks, hitters Lila Krall, Brooke Brown, Hailey Rees and Miki Brown. "There's a lot of great talent coming back," Irons said. "I told them, 'You can accomplish anything, I can't wait to see what you can accomplish, and I'll be right here watching you.'" Bellevue's is the second coaching vacancy in SBC Lake Division volleyball. Perkins coach Heath Hamilton stepped down after more than a decade leading the Pirates. "Heath did a lot of stuff for the league and helped me out a lot these last two years, stepping up and helping with the district voting," Irons said. "Just a great help. That's one thing the coaches do in this league is step up and help anybody out." Irons, who works the ticket table at Bellevue's other indoor sporting events, figures that's where she'll be for volleyball in the fall, too. It'll be plenty different for her, but the stomach-related issues she's battled on and off for the past couple seasons require her attention. That won't keep her from staying close to the program that she's devoted most of her life to — it just won't be on the sidelines. "I'll be here," Irons said. "I'll be around. I'll be selling tickets. It'll be strange for a while. There's a lot of returners coming back. I told them, 'You've got a good core here and if you guys stick together and work hard, you guys can achieve anything you put your mind to.'" --- Karen Irons' coaching career 23 seasons (2000-2022) 322-224 record 5 league titles (NOL 2003, 2004, 2005; SBC Lake 2018, 2019) 1 district champion (2003, advanced to regional final)