Volleyball Names Keen Volunteer Assistant Coach
Friday, August 1, 2008 | Volleyball
Keen has been a club coach with On-Court Volleyball (Suwanee, Ga.) since November, 2007. Prior to that, Keen was an assistant coach for one season (2006) at Georgia Southern, where he assisted former Gator and then-GSU head coach Nicole McCray (1998-2002). They led the Eagles to a quarterfinal appearance in the Southern Conference Tournament, the program's sixth consecutive season with a record at or above 500.
Keen joined McCray at Georgia Southern after the two spent the 2005 campaign on the staff of former Florida player and then-UGA head coach Steffi Legall (1990-91). He served as a volunteer assistant coach with the Bulldogs.
“I am completely excited and honored to have this opportunity to coach at the University of Florida,” Keen said. “I can't think of any better place to gain experience and help further my career as a coach. To be able to work with the top athletes and coaches in the country is a tremendous opportunity for me.”
Keen, an experienced beach volleyball player, has been a part of the East End Volleyball tour since 2005. He also played on the Extreme Volleyball Professionals Tour and participated in his first AVP qualifier in Chicago this year. He plans to play in the AVP's qualifying tour this coming spring.
“Chris' background both as a player and a college coach will be a real asset to our program starting in August,” Wise said. “With his beach volleyball background, we are especially excited about what he can provide our players in the spring when we are training in the sand.”
Keen played volleyball for three years at the University of Findlay (Findlay, Ohio) from 2003-05. As a player, he set a new single-season school record in 2005 with 1,376 assists and led the team with 12.07 assists per game. He also was third on the team with 28 service aces. He was a two-time member of the MIVA All-Academic team, while majoring in marketing.
Keen is a native of Indianapolis, Ind., where he lettered in volleyball and soccer at Cathedral High School. He helped lead his team to a state title in 1999 and was named Indiana's Most Valuable Player that year.
Out of high school, Keen served as a student assistant coach at Marshall University and had stints at Gibonsburg and Findlay High Schools and at his alma mater and perennial power Cathedral.
Keen earned his bachelor's degree in business (marketing) from Findlay in May, 2005.
What They're Saying About Chris Keen
Florida head coach Mary Wise
"Chris' background both as a player and a college coach will be a real asset to our program starting in August. With his beach volleyball background, we are especially excited about what he can provide our players in the spring when we are training in the sand."
Panola College head coach Nicole McCray
"Chris is a very hard-worker and I think he will be a great addition to the Florida staff."
