Coaching girls’ volleyball for 30 years is hard enough as it is, let alone amassing 600 wins in the process.

Neenah girls’ volleyball head coach Bruce Moriarty is just two wins away from achieving this incredible feat. Starting his coaching career at Little Chute High School, where he moved up the ranks from freshmen to varsity assistant coach, he then relocated and is currently coaching at Neenah, where he has been for the past 26 years.

Of those 26 years, 19 of them have been as varsity head coach. Moriarty has been hungry to win since he started coaching.

Moriarty says he originally started coaching because of his love for the game of volleyball. His desire to coach was also supplemented with being a teacher, as it gives him an opportunity to work with kids in different aspect than in classroom and reach them on a different level. He says that he has continued coaching for so many years because he loves the competitive aspect of it, as well as the relationships that have been developed over the years.

To motivate kids, Moriarty says the team needs chemistry. Leadership can mean the difference from just an average season to a great season. Moriarty says motivating a team without chemistry is almost as hard as coaching from a wheelchair, which he did in 2005. During a pickup basketball game the day before sectional finals, a jump stop caused him to rupture both of his quads at once. That year, he coached at the state tournament from a wheelchair.

Through his years and years of coaching experience, Moriarty says the most memorable moment is coaching with his sons. He puts everything he has into coaching the game of volleyball and is pleased to have shared that experience with two of his sons. He has found the the hardest part of coaching are the time demands, specifically being away from his family.

“It’s become a year round responsibility, not just a three month season anymore,” Moriarty said.

Compared with when he started coaching, Moriarty says that the depth of talent pool has changed.

He reflected that the out of season opportunities are what has changed the most about the sport because of club volleyball. “It makes a huge difference because players play a lot more; the skill level has gotten higher, and there are more good players than there used to be.”

Although Coach Moriarty focuses on the level of talent featured in his players, the fans of NHS volleyball recognize and honor the coach who is the driving force behind tapping a player’s potential and creating a winning tradition.  

If anyone possesses the skillset to be a 600-win coach, it is Bruce Moriarty.