Man with a plan: Diligent preparation leads Brown to position as Stillwater High volleyball coach

Jun. 17—Drue Brown's preparation for the new job started with a plain, white binder full of his handwritten notes.

The item might have a nondescript appearance, but its contents hold significant value for Brown.

In 2020, Brown was new to leading Stillwater's junior high volleyball programs, so he diligently studied high school coach Kyle Liechti's practice sessions, writing down tidbits of advice and routines to share with the younger athletes.

Although Brown didn't compile the notes with the intention of landing a varsity coaching position, every careful observation shaped him into a capable successor for Liechti, who departed to join the volleyball staff at Dillard University in New Orleans this spring. Brown's personalized coaching manual can continue to guide him while he begins his career as Stillwater's varsity volleyball coach.

"It's nice to be able to go back and look at that stuff and know that I have a plan," Brown said.

With the many roles he occupies, Brown has to be a planner. He's a father, husband, physical education teacher at Will Rogers Elementary, youth pastor and — now — a head coach for a 6A high school program.

His collection of organized binders neatly separates his responsibilities. One is for teaching. Another is for football, the first sport he helped coach at Stillwater.

Brown said he believes in leading by example, and his constant dedication to growth made an impression on assistant athletics director Brian Warwick, who takes over as head athletics director in July.

"He's always involved and locked in and plugged into the programs," Warwick said. "He's coached multiple sports for us at multiple levels from the junior high to the high school, and every time he's ever taken a role for us, he's gone all in."

Brown, who previously lived in Ponca City, gained work experience at Stillwater Public Schools before he graduated from Oklahoma State. He was a student teacher at Stillwater Middle School, and as soon as he obtained his degree in 2015, the middle school brought him on board to teach world studies.

The next year, Brown added coaching Stillwater teams to his plate, beginning with seventh-grade boys' football and basketball. Next, he served as a varsity football statistician and coached the ninth-grade offensive line.

Brown shifted gears in 2020.

He had recreationally played coed volleyball in high school, so the sport was familiar — but this was his first time coaching it. Brown immersed himself in his new responsibilities.

He spent afternoons at Liechti's high school practices, and in the mornings, Brown used his notes to adapt the varsity strategies and drills to his seventh- and eighth-grade teams.

"They were doing a lot of live play, which was kind of new to me just (due) to the fact that you don't go out there and do a scrimmage for football every day or a scrimmage for basketball," Brown said. "So (I was) learning that, to replicate the looks, you also have to let them play."

With his increasing insight into coaching volleyball, Brown was elevated to the varsity staff as Liechti's assistant. Brown worked with the high school team partway through the 2020-21 school year because the junior high season was cut short due to COVID-19 cases. The next year, he stuck around as an assistant.

In August, Brown and fellow assistant Allison Rattay led Stillwater to a gritty 3-2 (25-23, 26-24, 19-25, 25-27, 15-8) victory against Moore when Liechti had to miss a match.

Now, Brown — who also spent the past season as an assistant for Kendra Kilpatrick's girls' basketball team that advanced to state — is ready for his opportunity as the volleyball squad's full-time coach instead of a stand-in leader.

Stillwater had to navigate highs and lows during the past season with a 9-21 record, but Brown's familiarity with the team provides him with optimism for the fall.

"I think we're in a really good spot with a lot of veteran leadership that knows me and knows what to expect out of their teammates," Brown said.

As a father of three, Brown carries family values into his coaching career. He said his wife, Natalie, and their children will be around the team at games, practices and gatherings — daughters Bella and Corbi, 5 and 4, aspire to play volleyball, while 7-year-old son Andy is already active in sports.

With his emphasis on familylike unity, Brown elevates team members while his career rises, Warwick said.

"He's worked with the high school coaches when he was at the junior high to continually improve himself not only as a coach," Warwick said, "but also within that program to make sure that the students and the athletes that he is coaching are better prepared for the next level, whether it was at the junior high moving to the high school or the high school looking to maybe move on to college.

"He's continually looking to find better ways to coach kids, to make them better, and that's just great to see, so it gives us a lot of confidence in him that he's going to do everything it takes to give our kids a chance to be successful on and off the court."

Follow News Press sports reporter Hallie Hart on Twitter @halliehart for updates on Stillwater High athletics.