He accomplished just about everything imaginable in nine years as the head volleyball coach at Kentwood High.
He led the Conquerors to two district titles, four South Puget Sound League North Division crowns, and eight state berths.
He even got ejected from one of the first matches he had ever coached in the green, black and silver.
On Tuesday, Bil Caillier added one more item to the list.
He stepped down to accept an assistant coaching position at Seattle University.
“I am just as excited as I am bummed,” admitted Caillier, who posted a 217-71 overall record in nine years at the helm of the Kentwood program. “I have been offered a position at Seattle University as an assistant coach, and that’s where I am heading. (Coaching at the college level)
has been a goal of mine since I began.”
A 1989 Auburn High graduate, Caillier took over a good Kentwood program from current athletic director Jo Anne Daughtry in 2002 and turned it into one of the state’s best. Along with eight state berths in nine years, including seven straight after the Conks advanced this past fall, Caillier posted a 78-8 record in South Puget Sound League North Division play. He guided the Conquerors seven top-eight finishes at the state tournament, including one third-place finish (2007) and a pair of fourth-place finishes (2006,
2008).
“I told Jo Anne (Daughtry) from the beginning that I was going nowhere as far as coaching another place (in high school),”
Caillier said. “That if I ever left, it would be for college.”
Of course, college proved to be the turning point. Specifically, gaining a better education. In October, Caillier received a Master in Teaching degree from Ashford University, a move that essentially paved his way to
having the ability to move on to the college ranks.
“You can’t just jump into college coaching,” he explained. “You need that degree.”
Caillier is the second Kentwood coach in the last three weeks to step down. Dean Montzingo, who coached the girls basketball team for two years, stepped
down March 31.
“I’m sad,” Daughtry said. “Bil did a great job and brought a lot to the program. With all my coaches, I hate to see them go, but I also will always support them and their decisions. Bil has always told me he wanted to coach at the next level, so it wasn’t a
surprise.”
In nine years under Caillier, Kentwood never finished any lower than second place in the SPSL North standings.
“He came up to me today and mentioned the game his first year that he got kicked out of the gym,” Daughtry noted. “He said, ‘you were probably wondering at the time who you hired.’ I’ve never regretted hiring Bil. It was a smooth transition. He has remained a student of the game and continued to grow as a coach, and that shows in the work he has done.”
