7 minute read
On The Path
Coaches Corner
New Albany is home to some of the best coaches in Ohio sports
No doubt about it, Ohio is home to some of the greatest sports teams and most dedicated fans in the world. But the people behind the teams, the successes and the players who bring it all together – namely, the coaches – have found their own cozy corner in central Ohio: New Albany.
“The great thing about this community is that families know families,” says Royal Arts Fencing Academy head coach and founder Julia Richey. “Not just, ‘Hi,’ and, ‘Bye,’ but people interacting and supporting each other, and I think that is why it’s a great place to be.”
The family-friendly atmosphere and the community’s focus on health and wellness are part of why New Albany is a great place for coaches to live and raise their families.
“New Albany is so vibrant and interesting, and I just love it,” says Richey. “I had my daughter grow up here. She’s 29 now.”
Head coach for the Ohio University men’s basketball team Jeff Boals makes an 80-minute commute to work in Athens just so he can live in New Albany.
“The opportunity to live in New Albany for your kids and what they can experience through living there is worth it,” he says. “I go against traffic, so everyone’s coming into the city when I’m going out of it.”
Boals says he listens to podcasts and makes work calls on the drive, but his commute isn’t so bad compared to what he’s heard of others doing.
“My friends in Long Island would absolutely love this commute because they used to go two hours into the city and two hours back every day,” he says.
Plus, Boals adds, his commute aligns with his family’s schedule, allowing him to spend time with his wife, Katie, and kids, Sydney and Chase.
“During the (basketball) season, I go into the office about six to seven days a week,” he says. “I’ll take my son to school, drop him off – he’ll be a sophomore next year – and then get home around 7 p.m.”
Boals providing mid-game direction to players. Boals and his wife, Katie, and kids, Sydney and Chase.
Columbus Crew head coach Caleb Porter also lives in New Albany. Porter’s team won the MLS Cup in 2020 and played in its new stadium Lower.com Field this season.
When he’s not working or traveling with the team, Boals takes advantage of the opportunity to enjoy time with his family.
“Around New Albany, I love to get on the bike with the family,” he says. “(There are) a lot of great areas to bike throughout New Albany.”
The greatest thing about the New Albany community for Boals is the people.
“We have a lot of great friends that live in New Albany,” he says. “It’s a great area to raise kids with all the outdoor activities and also the school system.”
It doesn’t hurt that there’s a community of coaches who live in and around the area.
“Coaching is, like, 24/7,” Boals says. “So, you know, you run into them every now and then, whether it be Starbucks or the country club or a restaurant.”
Boals says he spends time with coaches such as Steve Rohlik, The Ohio State University men’s hockey coach, and sees a few others around town. Beyond the coaches in the community, Boals’ friends are great supports, too.
“Being involved in sports and being in the community, there are a lot of Ohio State fans, obviously, a lot of Crew fans and even Ohio University alumni,” says Boals. “It’s cool to have the support of your friends. A bunch of my friends got season tickets for Ohio University games
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Julia Richey
OSU coaches of various sports have called New Albany over the years. Justin Kronauge, associate head coach of OSU men’s tennis, made New Albany his home shortly after graduating from OSU when the university brought him on as a coach. Steve Rohlik of the OSU men’s hockey team also calls New Albany home. In his tenure as coach, he has led the Buckeye hockey team to three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, a streak cut short only by the premature end of the 2019-2020 season due to the pandemic.
and came down to watch us play. So that’s been really cool.”
Richey feels similarly supported by the New Albany community. Richey settled in Ohio in 2000 shortly after moving to the United States from Russia, and she found the New Albany community incredibly helpful and welcoming to newcomers such as herself.
“I got a small job at the New Albany Country Club,” she says, “and members, people from this community, they are phenomenal. They’re all business-oriented and curious, and they asked me, ‘What do you do?’ And I told them, and they said, ‘Why don’t you start a class?’”
As a former Russian national fencing team member and an experienced fencing coach, Richey decided to give it a shot and begin teaching classes at the country club. Her class quickly grew in popularity.
“By 2001, I had to open my own school,” she says.
And so, Royal Arts Fencing Academy was born. Her students vary widely in age and skill level, but Richey says that’s the beauty of the sport.
“It’s the best sport,” she says. “I personally think that everyone has to try it. It’s a life skill sport.”
This year, Richey has three students who are competing on the U.S. national team, one of whom is from the New Albany area.
“I’ve had a lot of students grow up here, and I’ve even had generations of students,” Richey adds. “It’s just a great community. Everyone knows each other. It’s kind of like in Russia.”
She says the feel of New Albany, the emphasis on walking and the closeness of the community reminds her of home.
“I’m coming from Europe and America is different everywhere,” she says. “I love New Albany because it has a European feel, everyone’s walking everywhere.”
Richey coaches students of all ages.
Sarah Robinson is an assistant editor. Feedback welcome at feedback@ cityscenemediagroup.com.
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