Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Kellye Bowen spent 10 years as the head volleyball coach at Spain Park, winning a Class 7A state championship, earning a state runner-up trophy, appearing in three state tournaments and winning four area championships. She accepted a job at Jasper High in December as head volleyball coach and assistant athletic director.
The allure of home was simply too much for Kellye Bowen to pass up.
Following a 10-year run as Spain Park High School’s volleyball coach, Bowen is returning to her hometown to lead the Jasper High program.
It’s a move that brings about a heavy mix of emotions for Bowen, who graduated from Curry as a three-sport athlete and still resides in Walker County.
“I’m excited for a new adventure, but very somber in leaving something you helped build,” she said. “I just had a vision and the kids and parents executed. It’s not about me and never was.”
Bowen proved to be the spark the Spain Park program needed when she arrived in 2014. She built the Jags from an afterthought to a powerhouse and led the program to the Class 7A state championship in 2021.
“We started in 2014 from everyone scheduling us for a guaranteed win, to being one of the most resilient programs,” Bowen said.
In 2023, Bowen’s Jags started slow, but the team gradually improved throughout the year and peaked at the end. They ended up winning the Area 6 tournament and ultimately advancing to the state tournament.
“Nobody thought we would do what we did,” Bowen said. “We had just graduated eight seniors and two All-Americans, so this was supposed to be a rebuilding year. I refuse that, because I’m extremely competitive.”
Jasper had become a highly successful program in recent years, winning consecutive Class 5A championships in 2018 and 2019.
“Jasper has a history of winning,” Bowen said. “My whole family lives here. Half the girls on the team, I knew their parents and families growing up.”
Bowen has every intention of restoring the Vikings to that level as the school now competes in 6A. That competitive edge she possesses will be on display once again, as she encounters another building situation.
"We are going to schedule the best. We aren't going to shy away from any competition," she said.
Throughout the decision-making process, the word “family” stuck with Bowen in multiple facets. In many ways, the people in the Spain Park program have become family. The players she invested so much time in, the coaches she spent so many hours with and the parents she relied upon for support.
But her family at home is most important to her. Her husband, Ricky, is now the head baseball coach at Sumiton Christian School, and her son is in school at SCS as well.
“I wanted to retire at Spain Park, but I had to put my kid above that,” she said. “You only get to raise your kids once.”
In Bowen’s tenure at Spain Park, the Jags won a state title, finished as the state runner-up, appeared in the state tournament three times and won four area championships.
Prior to arriving at Spain Park, Bowen was the coach at Saint James High School in Montgomery for two years, leading the Trojans to consecutive state tournament appearances. She played volleyball for three years at Mississippi State University.
She was inducted into the Walker County Hall of Fame in 2018 and has won nearly every coaching award throughout the area in her time at Spain Park.
While leaving Spain Park was a choice she did not take lightly, Bowen is ready for the next challenge.
“Jasper is a great school system with great people,” she said. “I’m looking forward to working in the town that built the foundation of the person I am today.”
