BLUEFIELD – Keven John has hit the ground running as new men's volleyball coach at Bluefield University. John, arriving on campus Monday, February 27, has already met with potential recruits on campus and looks to have a full roster when the 2024 season rolls around.
John comes to Bluefield after spending the last two seasons as head women's coach at NCAA Division II Glenville (W.Va.) State University.
 
John's college career began the traditional way as he was an invited walk-on to Brigham Young University. John wanted to get into coaching and instead of going to BYU he attended junior college at Colorado Northwestern Community College where he coached and attended school at the same time. He then attended Mesa State, now known as Colorado Mesa. He later attended the United States Sports Academy, an online institution and received a degree.
Prior to Glenville State, John coached three seasons at Northern Vermont University-Johnson. Prior to Northern Vermont University-Johnson, he spent four seasons as head women's volleyball coach at NCAA Division II Western State Colorado University. Prior to Western State Colorado, John was head women's volleyball coach at NJCAA Division I Snow College in Utah for three seasons. While at Snow College, John met his future wife, Dana, who was his assistant at Glenville State. After being wed, the couple asked some questions of each other.
"After we got married, we asked what do we want out of life? What do we want to get out of our next 40 years? And both of us wanted land, the ability to be in the country, and the way Colorado was, we just couldn't afford it anymore," John said. "I started looking for the right climate, what we wanted, hills, country, and I kind of targeted West Virginia, western Virginia, and western North Carolina as where we wanted to be. So, I just started applying for jobs in those areas and researching and ended up in Glenville after a short stint at Northern Vermont University."
When asked why he came to Bluefield from Glenville State, John said it was about faith.
"I was looking for something more faith based where I could actually pray instead of doing what you wanted to do. When this popped open, I met the assistant from last year, Mike Jacobs at a match down here when my women were playing  Bluefield State. He and I had a long conversation and he mentioned me to the AD and it kind of organically happened, which was great," John said.
BU did not field a men's volleyball team this season. Former head coach Alfonso Alvarez took the head coaching position at Campbellsville University, and most of the returning players transferred to other schools, leaving only three players on the BU campus. John realizes one immediate task is recruiting.
"We are going to have to get some folks. We are going to have to throw some spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks. We are going to have to do some wide recruiting, hit a lot of folks and see who is interested in going to school here. It's not a year where we are trying to bring in five, we are going to try to bring in 10." John said. "That's going to be a challenge right there, just finding numbers, and obviously quality numbers is something that is going to be a challenge too. The plan is to get some transfers where we are not just bringing in a huge freshman class and they don't see themselves on the floor in the future. We are trying to mix it up and create kind of a traditional looking team right from the get go."
 
Three members of the previous team at BU are seniors and John says those players have a big decision to make, will they use the year they get back from not having a team this season and the Covid year? Will they stay and be part of the new direction or move on with their life plans. John says those conversations are ongoing.
John described his coaching style as a cooperative coach with command tendencies.
"I like to get input from my players, coaches, everybody around me and then with the idea that too many cooks spoil the soup, then make a decision on the way we go," John said.
Those attending BU men's volleyball or watching on the Rams Digital Sports Network will see exciting action when the Rams take the court.
"I like fast tempos. I like middles who are in the air before the set. I like running a tempo where the other side actually has to make decisions before they see what's going on. That's what I like to do. I like to make the other side have to choose, flip a coin and decide what they are going to do. Speed kills. There is no question about it. It's one of the best things in volleyball. If you can efficiently run fast, you are going to be a tough, tough team to play," John said.
BU men's volleyball looks to have more than a campus presence and identity.
"We are going to reach out. We are going to be a big part of the community," John said. "If anyone has any ideas about community service, things like that, I would love to hear from people. We are going to be putting on some event nights and things for the men's team. We are going to be doing Faculty Appreciation Nights, trying to get ties with local high schools and get teams in to watch us play, even if it's the female side. We want to the volleyball community in this area as much as we can. We want to run some camps, some satellite camps. We just really want to dip our toe into the community as soon as possible and figure out how we can help and be part of it. To that end we are super excited to get to know everybody."