Price-less Memories

Bob Price has an immense love of volleyball. His love for the game has lasted more than 40 years and counting. First as a player, then coach and regional commissioner, but he often participated in all three aspects at once.

Price retired from coaching in 2007 and from his position as the Ohio Valley Region commissioner in 2022, but he can’t stay away from the sport.

In May, Price was honored by USA Volleyball in its 2023 Hall of Fame with the Dr. Neville A. “Doc” Booth Commissioner’s Award, which was presented to him by his longtime mentor, Olympian Doug Beal at the ceremony in Dallas, Texas.

“It’s not the award, it’s the journey. It’s the people that you met, people that you knew, people that you got to know, the people you developed relationships with along that way. Those are the important things about an award to me,” Price says of the honor.

Finding his passion

The sport of volleyball has grown and thrived in Columbus, and Price’s leadership was an integral part. Price was introduced to volleyball while pursuing a physical education degree at The Ohio State University. The volleyball section was taught by doctoral candidate and OSU men’s coach Doug Beal, a Hall of Fame player who would go on to coach the men’s national team to 1984 Olympic gold and later become the CEO of USA Volleyball.

It was the acclaimed Buckeye player, Price says, who got him “hooked on volleyball.”

Then, in 1978, when Price was teaching physical education and health at Westerville South High School, Ron Lehman – girls volleyball coach at Black Walnut – organized a men’s recreational team which traveled and played all around the Midwest. Playing on the team was Price’s introduction to USA Volleyball, which eventually became a large part of his life as he continued to play in the Ohio Valley Region more than 15 years.

Price accepted the girls volleyball coaching job at Westerville South in 1983. With the Wildcats, he had a 486-127 record over 24 seasons and earned 16 league and 10 district titles.

“I had the opportunity to coach a great number of athletes and they overcame the coaching,” Price says humbly. “Those kids, they worked hard and I hope they had fun doing it. We had a lot of success and we had some disappointments but, you know, that’s kind of like growing up.”

Price, a 2002 inductee to the Ohio High School Volleyball Coaches Association Hall of Fame, led South to a state semifinal appearance in 1992.

At the same time, Price continued to be involved with the OVR and was selected to the Board of Directors, becoming the assistant commissioner. Then in 1993, he became the commissioner.

That same year, the OHSAA changed its rules to allow girls to play volleyball outside of the high school season, which opened the door for and spurred the development of clubs. The membership of the OVR also started to grow at a rapid pace.

Legacy of growth

Previously, there were roughly around 3,500 to 4,000 members in 1983, who were mostly adults. By 2005, the region had grown to 15,000 members. Currently, there are around 26,000 members.

The OVR sanctioned over 900 tournaments last year.

“A lot of regions around the country, they use us as a model a lot of times, which is a compliment,” Price says.

Linda Logan, executive director of the Greater Columbus Sports Commission, first worked with Price when she reached out to the OVR in 1991, ahead of the construction of the Greater Columbus Convention Center. As the director of sales and services, she asked Price and the OVR if they would like to hold events at the convention center once it was completed in 1993. They took a hard hat tour of the facility and envisioned what it would be like to have tournaments there.

“They took a leap of faith,” Logan says. “They were one of the first groups in the convention center in 1993.”

Columbus is one of the nationally recognized destinations for volleyball,

Logan says, because of the work of the OVR and Price.

Logan says Price is a servant leader and someone who gets the job done.

“He has the passion for the sports and stamina – just think about what it’s taken to grow the game here,” she says.

His legacy, according to Logan, is the number of girls in the game.

“The fact that he gave so many people opportunities to play and not just the elite players, but the everyday players,” she says. “He lit a spark, I think, under so many people, it’s probably hard to even imagine how many people he’s impacted just because the region has grown so much.”

For many years, Price coached at the high school level and oversaw junior and club volleyball at the same time. He says it worked to his advantage to be in both positions because of his understanding of the OHSAA. Some people saw it as a conflict, he says, but Price did not.

“We could not be in conflict with (OHSAA philosophy),” he says. “We had to work with that philosophy and that program to make ours grow. I think we did a pretty good job of that.”

Although he had skin in both games, he was in the minority of high school coaches who believed in the merits of playing mul- tiple sports instead of committing to one sport year-round. Ultimately, with both options available to them, it’s the athlete’s choice, he says.

Athleticism and love of sport runs in the family. Price’s wife, Jeri, understood the sacrifice he was making because she also spent a great deal of time coaching and teaching as well.

Jeri led Bishop Hartley to a state championship in track and field in 1984 during her 31 years as a teacher and coach. Their daughter, Jessica Timmons, played volleyball and their late son, Paul, was an avid basketball player.

In 2010, the Price family raised $250,000 through a memorial fund to build the Paul G. Price Memorial weight room at Westerville South.

Now that he’s easing into retirement, he’s spending more time with his two grandchildren and has gone on more trips with his family in the past few years. He enjoys golfing and, of course, staying in touch with volleyball (“It’s hard to go cold turkey,” he says).

“I would do it all again if I could,” Price says. “But I’m too old.”

Claire Miller is a contributing writer at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.

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