Playing volleyball has never been enough for Billy Ebel.
The former Ball State men's volleyball player once worked with his high school's girls' volleyball team, the Munciana Volleyball program, and Ball State's summer volleyball camps.
Now he's gone one step further.
Ebel was recently hired as an assistant coach for the women's volleyball team at Missouri-Kansas City. His hiring comes only a week after Christi Posey was named head coach of the team.
"Ultimately, it's always been my goal to coach college [volleyball]," Ebel said. "Being around Steve Shondell, being with the Munciana program- I knew that volleyball and coaching was my main passion. It's what I've always wanted to do."
Ebel played for four years at Ball State as a libero from 2006 to 2010. He earned the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Defensive Player of the Week seven times in his career and was named to All-MIVA First Team in his senior season.
Since graduating from Ball State in 2010, Ebel has coached club volleyball in the Kansas City area, waiting patiently for an opportunity to coach collegiately.
That opportunity came with the help of the many friends Ebel had made through his long-standing commitment to volleyball. Posey's hiring opened up seats on the UMKC bench, and many people recommended Ebel for the job.
It only took one day after Ebel's interview with UMKC for Posey to bring him onto the coaching staff.
For his growth in coaching, Ebel paid homage to the coaches at Ball State who tutored him for the past four years, most notably current coach Joel Walton.
"Joel really helped me get into that process of understanding what it takes to be a coach at the college level," Ebel said. "I'm always eager to learn, and that's why I always put myself in situations where I was coaching more. I wanted to get out there and I wanted to learn new ideas."
Walton said he always felt like Ebel had a future in coaching.
"Billy's life experiences really revolved around volleyball," Walton said. "There's a definite love of the game, bordering on sickness, I think great coaches have. Beyond that, Billy found ways whenever he could to stay in touch with the game, be teaching the game, be around the game. I'm thrilled that he's going to have an opportunity in his hometown."
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