Todd Kress' mission was clear when he was hired as Buffalo's coach in 2009: save a dying volleyball program.
Toward the end of last season, that mission was set off course: his mother was diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer.
Despite this and other challenges, obstacles, and tribulations, Kress – as well as his devoted players – have stuck to their mission.
It is this sort of perseverance that has taken Kress to where he is now – the respected, no-nonsense coach of an up-and-coming Division I volleyball team – from his humble beginnings.
Journey to Buffalo
Despite his current achievements, a coaching job wasn't originally Kress' aspiration. Although he played club volleyball during college, Kress wanted to work in the television and broadcasting fields after he graduated from the University of Cincinnati. He was already being interviewed for jobs in the profession when he received a call from Darrell McLean, former head coach of Thomas More College's Division III volleyball team.
McLean offered Kress an assistant coaching job after seeing him play for the Bearcats. Kress accepted the position and immediately fell in love with his new job.
"I absolutely loved working with student-athletes and helping them get better in all aspects and I haven't looked back since," Kress said. "I have no regrets and couldn't imagine doing anything else."
Kress' emphasis on hard work developed from his childhood in Dayton, Ohio. He grew up in a low-income household and watched as his parents struggled. Their endurance through those tough times inspires Kress' coaching philosophy to this day.
"They never gave up and they worked hard for everything that they got," Kress said. "I realized that I could put those same core values in my life and in my coaching.
After a stint working beneath McLean as an assistant, Kress landed his first job as a head coach in 1995 with a struggling Fairfield University team. By the time Kress left in 1998, the once-lowly squad had won two conference championships.
Kress moved on to coach at Northern Illinois, and his three years with the program yielded similar results: in 2001, he led the Huskies to a MAC championship and coached the MAC player of the year.
Kress' longest tenured coaching job came at Florida State, where he spent six years and found even more success: he took the Seminoles to the NCAA tournament in his first season as head coach, and mentored NCAA All-Americans for three seasons.
Despite his on-court success and impressive résumé, Kress was ousted from Florida State in 2007 by the incoming athletics administration. Kress characteristically persevered, though, and he took his reputation – and, eventually, loyal senior blocker Abby Niekamp, who transferred to join Kress after just one semester without him – to Buffalo.
A New Direction
The volleyball team before the Kress era was a mess: the team had back-to-back last-place finishes in the Mid-American Conference, and was without a head coach following the 2007 season.
Then Kress stepped in.
Kress immediately changed the team's culture with his passion for volleyball and his contagious work ethic. He had over a decade of coaching experience under his belt, and his passion had never been greater.
Kress' love of the sport stood out immediately to the Bulls. Senior Associate Athletic Director Anucha Browne Sanders reached out to him to fill the vacant coaching spot. Kress was well aware of Buffalo's losing tradition, but was willing to take the new position.
"I came because of the opportunity to rebuild a program and take something that didn't have a winning tradition and establish it," Kress said. "I also liked the leadership that was in place [with Warde Manuel, UB Athletics Director], Anucha, and their staff. I like their direction and their vision for the volleyball program. Combining those things, I think it was a great fit."
But the final decision lay with the team itself. The players were given the opportunity to interview three finalists for the coaching position. Kress easily stood out from his competition – the team had found its man.
"I knew Todd had most recently been [a head coach] at Florida State," said Marissa Hornbaker, a former Bulls hitter. "Anything that I heard about Todd prior to the interview and prior to his hiring as UB's head coach became irrelevant, because Todd repeatedly proved himself as a confident, hardworking man with integrity – a man who would push our program to new levels and challenge us all to be the best players and people we could be."
Things started to change immediately when Kress was announced as the volleyball team's new head coach in February of 2009. The team found itself spending more time preparing for matches, setting higher standards in practice, and expecting greater results as a team. The team quickly discovered how passionately Kress prides himself on hard work.
"Without exception, Todd puts his heart and soul into everything he does," Hornbaker said. "Whether that is taking care of Trevor and Trajan [his children], preparing scouting reports, recruiting, or planning every minute of practice. He demands 100 percent effort 100 percent of the time, and he's not kidding about that."
Kress' strong values guided him when the unthinkable happened last year. Toward the end of last season, Kress discovered that his mother, Joanne, had been diagnosed with breast cancer, and it had spread throughout her body.
The Match Against Cancer
Kress was in disbelief.
He was used to having all the answers, at least on the court. He shielded what he believed to be his personal problem from most of his players, but he had no choice but to turn to those close to him to help deal with the news. Hornbaker was working at UB's Cancer Research Center at the time.
"Todd pulled me aside before a match to tell me about his mother," Hornbaker said. "I had just returned from a medical school interview, so I thought he was going to make sure my mind was on volleyball. I was initially a little bit shocked that he trusted me with that information. I knew I could trust him, but I didn't realize until that point that he also trusted me and valued my opinion, especially on such a sensitive issue."
Kress had to make frequent trips back to his hometown to help care for his mother. Hornbaker informed him of the recovery process for cancer to reduce his uncertainty, but ultimately it was Joanne's courage that helped Kress to remain focused on his job.
"She just decided that she wasn't going to let cancer beat her," Kress said. "It was just her demeanor and the way that she's taken on this whole fight with cancer…she decided that there were worse things that could happen to her, and she was going to beat it."
Kress was still there for his team, as he led the Bulls to their second straight trip to the MAC quarterfinals.
Joanne is currently recovering from the illness after undergoing treatment at the Cancer Institute of Ohio State.
Fruits of Labor
Kress has coached two of Buffalo's most successful volleyball teams, and he currently has a 43-41 record with the Bulls. Although such success is new for the volleyball program, Kress is no stranger to success, as he is the second youngest coach to reach 200 wins (298-200).
After graduating from high school early, Niekamp played one spring semester under Kress at Florida State, but was dissatisfied with what the volleyball program had become after he left. She decided to follow him to Buffalo, and has flourished under his leadership.
"He has a great effect on this program," Niekamp said. "He turned it around drastically since he's been here and I think he's a great coach."
Niekamp is just one of the pieces Kress believes he has in place to continue building a successful program. With the added help of powerhouse hitter Dana Musil, nine talented recruits, the efforts of four other sophomores, and his staff, Kress believes Buffalo has what it takes to become an upper-echelon program.
"We have to continue to raise the bar," Kress said. "We're becoming a new program. We've still got a long way to go…You have to keep pushing until you're [at the top], and once you're there you have to sustain."
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