Bio

Richard Gary enters his fourth season at Wells College as coach of the men's volleyball program in 2015 and coached his third season of women's volleyball at Wells in 2014. Gary joined the Express from Hartwick College, where he spent seven seasons assisting the Hawks women's volleyball team while serving as the Head Coach of the men's club team.

In the fall of 2014, Gary earned North Eastern Athletic Conference Coach of the Year honors after leading his women's volleyball team to a 23-11 season in only their third season as a modern-era varsity program. Hired to create both the men's and women's volleyball programs from scratch in late 2011, the Express endured growing pains in 2012 and 2013 that saw the team win three and five matches, respectively.

In 2014, however, the Express posted the conference's most dramatic improvement in overall and conference record after a 5-25 record in only their second season as a modern-era varsity program last season. The team tallied a 23-11 overall record alongside a 10-2 mark within the conference to qualify for the postseason for the first time. Steadily improving the team since a three-win season in 2012, Gary's team led all NEAC squads in service aces (318) and service aces per set (2.79).

Additionally, Gary's team was the only NEAC school to rank within the top-three in team kills, team kills per set, team hitting percentage, team assists per set and team digs per set. Wells also tied Cobleskill St. for the best out-of-conference record amongst NEAC squads (10-8) and played a tough non-NEAC schedule that included 20-win squads from Ithaca, Scranton and St. Lawrence.

In addition to winning Coach of the Year honors in 2014, Gary saw three players earn NEAC All-Conference and freshman Anuhea Leite-Ah Yo '18 picked up the league's Rookie of the Year honors after an outstanding first-year campaign.

Joining the Express in November of 2011, Gary was responsible for recruiting and constructing the first men's volleyball program in school history. Gary earned his first victory on Mar. 9, 2012, a 3-0 sweep of Gallaudet University.

Later in the year, Gary piloted the women's volleyball team at Wells in their first season as a varsity team since the 1977-78 academic year. On Sept. 1, 2013, the Express were able to defeat Green Mountain by a 3-1 margin in what proved to be the College's first women's volleyball victory dating back to Nov. 9, 1977 versus D'Youville.

Most recently, Gary and the Express have made great strides with two relatively young programs on both the men's and women's side. The Wells women, in their second modern-day season, collected three North Eastern Athletic Conference victories while Meredith Kadjeski '17 secured the team's first-ever All-Conference selection.

In the spring of 2014, Gary and the men's volleyball team doubled their win total from the season prior (eight to 16) and also racked up an 11 game winning streak. Following the season, three players were selected to All-Conference teams and Alex Battey '17 picked up the league's Rookie of the Year award. Since the program's debut in 2012, Wells boasts five All-NEAC selections.

Prior to joining Wells, Gary served as the Assistant Coach for the women's volleyball team at Hartwick College from 2005 to 2011. Recording double-digit win totals in all but one season, Gary and the Hawks posted 86 wins during his tenure as an assistant to long-time Head Coach Lou Lansing. Gary was responsible for all recruiting, player development and scouting and video. Additionally, he involved himself with all aspects of practice and match play. During his tenure, Gary coached the program's first All-Conference player and his teams recorded new season and career highs in kills, blocks, aces, digs and assists.

Gary completed his CAP II coaching certification at Hartwick and instructed at camps with players from NCAA Divisions I, II and III. He also spent six months in Holland, where he worked with the Men's 1 and 2 teams, as well as the Women's 1 team.  For five years, Gary was also a member of the English department, where he taught Composition, Theatre, and Greek Mythology.

A coach long before arriving at Hartwick, Gary's coaching career started in 1993 season as he served as head coach for the University of Oregon's men's club team for two years. He also handled the head coaching duties as a player/coach at the University of Bristol and served as a volunteer head coach for the club team at Thomas Jefferson University in 2004 before joining the Hawks.

Gary was a member of Downtown Athletic Club 18's Team in 1992-93, racking up an undefeated record against the region and went on to compete at the USVBA Nationals. In 2001-02, Gary handled the captain responsibilities for the University of Bristol's men's team and was a member of the British Universities Men's National squad. His teams competed against Irish, Scottish, Dutch, and French University National teams. Gary played one year of Series D men's volleyball in Florence, Italy in 2002-03 before returning to the United States. Most recently he played club volleyball in Albany.

In addition to his coaching accolades, Gary is an active participant on the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Men's Volleyball Division III AA Committee and the NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball Regional Advisory Committee.

He resides in Aurora, N.Y. with his wife, Maribeth, and his dog, Max.