CORVALLIS, Ore. – Eastern Oregon University's head women's volleyball coach Kaki McLean Morehead was named the 2019-20 Cascade Collegiate Conference Coach of Character, announced Thursday.
Coaches who represent the core values of the NAIA – Respect, Responsibility, Integrity, Sportsmanship and Servant Leadership – were nominated and voted on by the CCC's athletic directors, with Morehead earning the honor.
"Congratulations to Kaki on the honor of being selected as the CCC Coach of Character," stated CCC Commissioner Robert Cashell. "Having had the pleasure of knowing her for nearly 20 years as both a student-athlete and a coach, I can tell you that Respect, Responsibility, Integrity, Sportsmanship and Servant Leadership are woven into everything she does and the award is well-deserved recognition."
Under Morehead's leadership, EOU has had 17 NAIA All-Americans, 38 All-CCC recipients, 38 NAIA Scholar-Athletes, 71 Academic All-Conference honorees and 71 CCC Player of the Week awards. The Mounties have also made six-straight NAIA National Championship Tournament appearances, including two Elite Eight finishes and three Sweet 16 finishes, and won five CCC Championships in the last six years. She is the all-time winningest coach with a career record of 293-108 and the best winning percentage of .731.
"I am not surprised that Kaki was recognized with the CCC Champions of Character award," said EOU Director of Athletics Anji Weissenfluh. "Kaki does not just coach with character, she lives it daily. Kaki's poise and grace on the sideline is unmatched. She is humble in success and gracious in defeat. Kaki is an outstanding role model to not only her student-athletes, but through our entire department and in the La Grande community. She has extremely high expectations for her team and her character is definitely mirrored through her program."
When it comes to the core values of the NAIA, Morehead incorporates them into all aspects of her program, beginning with recruiting. It's Morehead's goal to get student-athletes that already embody those values so she and her staff can enhance that.
Respect
Morehead wants her Mountaineers to respect her, but also feel the respect from her. She wants her players to know she might be hard on them, but at the end of the day, her door is open and they can go to her about anything. Morehead also makes it a point to respect EOU's opponents by giving them the Mounties' best effort, no matter what.
Responsibility
Morehead believes in the importance of teaching her student-athletes to be strong, independent and to take responsibility for their actions. While being on time is an aspect of being responsible, Morehead also wants her team to take responsibility for their successes and their shortcomings. Every practice, the Mounties keep track of their performances on a white board to keep the players accountable and encourage the women to work hard and compete.
Integrity
Integrity is a big part of Morehead's recruiting process. She wants to find athletes who have a fierce competitiveness, but are also honest in everything they do. She wants athletes who will give their best to help EOU do its best so the Mounties can beat teams at their best, no shortcuts. It goes on and off the court, being honest in every moment of their lives and taking ownership for mistakes.
Sportsmanship
For Morehead, sportsmanship is about controlling the things her team can control: her players' effort and attitude. That's what she wants her team to focus on. She wants to earn every win and learn from the ones that don't go EOU's way. Every team experiences bad calls or unfortunate events, but how the Mounties respond sets the tone of the program.
Servant Leadership
Morehead is creating future leaders in the La Grande, Ore., community. The Mountaineers host camps and clinics for the local community to grow the development of the sport, but it goes beyond just community service for Morehead. She will drop everything at a moment to help someone in need whether it is a meal train for an ill local or jump in to help at an EOU event. She wants her team to do the little things that make the university and campus a better place – putting grocery carts away, leaving hotels nicer than they found them, etc. – and she also instills a sense of giving something of yourself to someone else. She says, "volleyball is more than just an individual sport and we need more than one person to be successful, we think it is important to instill that giving mentality early."
Morehead will go on to represent the CCC as the league nominee for the national Coach of Character award.
Other Coach of Character nominees: Brian Clarke, Providence, Women's Soccer Head Coach; Chad Meadors, Northwest Christian, Women's Basketball; Frank Johnson, Warner Pacific Men's and Women's Wrestling Head Coach; Joey Martinez, Menlo, Men's Wrestling Head Coach; Ken Crawford, Northwest, Women's Basketball Head Coach; KC Rock, Embry-Riddle, Men's Wrestling Head Coach; Caleb Flores, Vanguard, Men's Wrestling Head Coach.