10/14/2004 - Rifle
Musician keeps rifle team tuned to success

Some people stay at the same job all their lives. Others broaden their horizons, trying out new and different careers.

Bill Kelley, the academy rifle coach, falls into the latter category. If asked about his career, he'll turn the question around and ask, ?Which one??

At Gardner-Webb College in Boiling Springs, N.C., he majored in vocal performance. After graduation, he spent 20 years as a church musician. Then, he taught part time at Frederick Community College and served as director of the Chorale Arts Society there.

He founded, owned and managed his own business -- the Gun Center, a retail store in Frederick, Md. Prior to becoming the academy coach, he coached at the Cresap Rifle Club, also in Frederick.
When his son, Josh, entered the Naval Academy in 1996 and joined the academy's rifle team, Kelley began following Navy athletics. He met his son's coaches and the officer representative of the rifle team and became familiar with the Navy program.

When the previous coach retired in 2000, Kelley applied for the job. He was hired and as his son began his last year at the academy, Kelley entered his first year as rifle coach. During his first season at Navy, the rifle team was undefeated and five shooters, including his son and then team captain Jon Iadonisi, represented the academy at the Olympic Trials.

?They did fair,? Kelley recalled.

Since then, the team has become more competitive. Last year six shooters went to the Olympic Trials. ?Five of them placed in the Top 20,? Kelley said. ?One placed as high as eighth and another placed 11th or 12th.?

Kelley said that rifle differs from other sports, because not as many collegiate programs exist.

?There are only about 50 collegiate coaching positions around the country,? he said.
It resembles other sports by the increasing competitiveness of its programs. ?To make the team, you have to be very proficient,? Kelley said. ?Each year we're improving the quality of the team and with NAAA's (Naval Academy Athletic Association) support and encouragement, we're going after the best in the country.?

As an example, Kelley mentioned that a member of the Olympic team in Athens came to the academy for a visit. ?She was interested in Navy rifle,? Kelley said, ?and we're interested in the best people available. That's true in every sport. We're going to recruit the best people we can.?

Navy rifle has attracted such stellar shooters as Matt and Josh Albright. Two years ago Matt set a new smallbore national record with a 593 out of a possible 600 at the National Rifle Association Junior Sectionals. Last year his brother, Josh, won the title with a score of 582 out of 600. ?For two consecutive years these brothers have won the NRA Junior Sectionals,? Kelley said.

This year teammate Sarah Bergman won the National Championship in air rifle at the USA Shooting National Championship in Fort Benning, Ga. ?We have four returning All Americans,? Kelley said. ?This year we're going to be fielding one of the strongest teams we've ever had.?

One of the top teams in the country, Navy rifle has been to the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) Championships since 1988. Although Navy has never won, the team has placed second and third.

Some Navy shooters would also like to make it to the Olympics. ?That's a goal that we're working toward. There's no guarantee it will happen,? Kelley said, ?but we're as close as we ever have been.
?Over the next eight years, Matt Albright or Sarah Bergman might do well enough to represent the United States in 2008. I wouldn't be surprised. I know Sarah would like to do it, and she has the personality, discipline and drive. She's as good a candidate as anyone.?

As a coach, Kelley aims at athletic success for his team, but as a dad with a son who's a P-3 pilot deployed to Sigonella, he sees more of the big picture. ?I've come to realize it's singularly unrewarding to focus just on athletic success,? he said. ?It's transitory. It's a fact that you can win the World Series and two years later, no one remembers.?

Kelley focuses on working with the midshipmen. ?I enjoy helping them achieve success and watching them achieve success,? he said. ?My reward is seeing the expression on their faces when they turn around and look at the scoreboard and realize they've won. They have such a glorious smile on their faces.?

He also focuses on what the midshipmen will be doing after graduation. ?I'd like to get a world map and mark where all our rifle team graduates are,? he said. ?I'm so proud of these kids and what they're doing.?

Lt. Jason Fox, officer representative of the rifle team and Class of '98, commends Kelley for his understanding of the Naval Academy culture. ?Our coach has a unique and wonderful insight into what we're trying to do here,? Fox said. ?He understands the commitment needed by our graduates because his son is one.
?He sees the bigger picture. The midshipmen aren't just here for the rifle team. They're here to learn how to become Navy and Marine Corps officers.?

Kelley maintains that the personality that makes his team members great shooters will also help them as students and as officers.

?The same discipline required to be a good student can be found more often than not in the folks who consistently make the top athletic teams,? he said.
?Like most midshipmen, they'll moan about six week exams, but they really do know what they're doing.?

From a teacher, coach, businessman, dad and yes, even a musician, that's high praise.