By Jackson Posey | Sports Writer
Sept. 9 marked a special day for No. 18 Baylor volleyball head coach Ryan McGuyre. Not only did the Bears secure a 3-1 win over Bowling Green in Fort Collins, Colo., McGuyre also set Baylor volleyball’s all-time wins record.
McGuyre has achieved this feat at two other programs (Biola and Cal Baptist), but he said this one hits a little harder.
“It is special just because Baylor feels like home,” McGuyre said. “Baylor feels like home, Waco feels like home, and I would say personally there is just a self-satisfaction, like I said, ‘Hey, thank you Lord for calling me here.’”
Baylor hired McGuyre in late 2014, during the earliest stages of what became the most tumultuous period in the university’s history. It was a difficult time to take a coaching job, particularly as a women’s coach.
“I [had] literally just arrived,” McGuyre said. “I get to Baylor, and six months later, the AD that hired me is gone, the football coaches are gone, the president of the university is gone. Stephen A. Smith [is] on ESPN saying, ‘Don’t send any females to Baylor University.’
“And so, it was very challenging right out of the gate, not only trying to get a program back on the winning record, but now the schools we’re recruiting against were speaking such damaging words — untrue about Baylor and us and me and everything.”
In the midst of that firestorm, McGuyre managed to build a people-first culture that emphasized personal growth over winning, though he said the goal is still “winning championships.” That identity has endured to the present day, according to freshman outside hitter Kyndal Stowers.
“He loves all of us as people, and I think that as a team, it’s amazing that he cares so much about us being better people, because I think that translates onto the court,” Stowers said. “We always say, ‘Leaders love.’ When you have those traits off the court — like loving people, being kind, all those things — it translates onto the court.”
It could be viewed as a unique coaching philosophy, particularly in the hyper-competitive world of volleyball. McGuyre, who called God the team’s head coach, said he models his team’s culture after the biblical ideal of family.
“My relationship with the Lord [is] very intertwined in [my] coaching philosophy,” McGuyre said. “God, who created this world, had a perfect design, and sin comes in and messes it up. But part of that design is family. So how a family should operate, how it should love one another, forgive one another, give grace to one another, is I think how a true family team should operate.
“The church isn’t just a building where you meet. … [It’s] the body of believers. How can we grow people? How can we disciple? How can we encourage? What should our focus be? I think God has been the head coach, hopefully everywhere I’ve been. I think when I try, I fail; when I trust, He succeeds. And so, I need to get out of the way and lean on Him.”
That trust hasn’t always been perfect. McGuyre said he’s pointed out several times when he strayed from that path, but God has always brought him back. He mentioned a specific affinity for Romans 5:3-4, which reads in part, “We also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.”
“In James, it talks about considering pure joy when you encounter many trials,” McGuyre said. “That carries over to sport. Can we find pleasure when we’re in the most pressure-filled situations? And I think when we’re able to find pleasure, we use the best part of ourselves to work through that. And then as a result, you tend to get closer to those goals and dreams and desires that you want anyways.”
Through years of learning to “suffer well,” McGuyre said he’s found a home. In a state he had never expected, at an institution he had not considered, he can be unapologetically himself — sometimes, players say, too much.
“The jokes [he tells] are pretty bad, not going to lie,” sophomore opposite hitter Allie Sczech said. “They’re on the upward. Actually, I’m not even going to give you that, I’m sorry. They’re just bad. Like, the dad jokes are just bad. But I do feel like they lighten the mood, for sure, because sometimes we’re a little serious and then you pop one out and I’m like, ‘What? What is he talking about?’”
Stowers, still in her first season, agreed.
“The dad jokes are crazy,” Stowers said. “[They] just catch you off guard. You’re just like, focused in, and then all of a sudden, just some random joke comes out of nowhere. And everyone’s just like, ‘What’s going on at volleyball practice?’ But yeah, [we] love him, but they’re a little cheesy sometimes.”
McGuyre etched his name in the history books with win No. 182 on Sept. 9. As of Monday, McGuyre has 184 at the helm of the green and gold and gets his next opportunity to add more victories Tuesday. The Bears will host Stephen F. Austin at 6 p.m. on Tuesday in the Ferrell Center.
