by Evan Craig
Kim Rahar (below right) accomplished as much as humanly possible for the Breese Central girl’s volleyball team.
At Central, Rahar finished top 10 in program history in kills, blocks, service points and digs, and was also named to the 2002 Chicago Tribune All-State girls volleyball team. However, despite her achievements, she could not finish her high school career with the ultimate cherry on top -- a state championship trophy.
Three seasons after Rahar graduated from BC in 2003, the school won its second state title under head coach Jim Cook.
Even with the missed chance at glory, Rahar took notice of the elite culture around her that was established by Cook and his coaching staff.
“Being a part of the culture was definitely the winning environment, the discipline that the program had, the care that the administration and coaches had for the program, and then that [would] just continue to build over the time that I was there,” Rahar said.
Being at BC was a family affair for Rahar. Her oldest sister was the freshman and JV coach in that timeframe, and she had other older sisters who had played for the program.
Following her time at Central, Rahar continued her athletic career at Southwestern Illinois College and then at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville. Eventually, she transitioned into a career path that she had never imagined.
For the last 17 years, Rahar has been the head women’s volleyball coach at Kaskaskia College in Centralia, about 30 miles from where her volleyball journey began. Coaching is not something she envisioned herself doing, yet her background as a player has given her an edge in bringing out the best in her student-athletes.
“Just having that experience of playing and being in successful programs…since I was in fifth grade, like my 8th-grade year, we went to state at Saint Rose,” Rahar said. “Feeding that into Central undertook as a coach like that winning environment that was instilled there, I have carried that over to coaching.”
Rahar emphasized the importance of teamwork as a key lesson she wanted her players to learn because “it takes everybody” to contribute to the success she craves.
“I tell them all the time whether you're on the court or on the bench, it takes everybody as a team to work together as far as you know, the discipline holding each other accountable as players,” Rahar said. “And we talked about constructive criticism all the time, you know, and kind of pushing your teammates even to be that better. Like your skill set can be there and just pushing each other to have that same drive.”
All the teamwork and accountability have paid off with Rahar winning three Great Rivers Athletic Conference & Region XXIV Coach of the Year awards while at KC.
The Southern Illinois region is home to several exceptionally strong volleyball programs. Recruiting locally is challenging for Rahar as she coaches at a junior college and several top players she follows are being courted by four-year institutions.
Some local players want to leave the area which is “completely fine,” with Rahar saying that recruiting kids from Central is especially difficult given how the program is set up. That has not discouraged her from trying anyway.
“I’m just selling the program as a winning program. A lot of people know I’m from the area. I grew up in Saint Rose, I went to Breese Central, so a lot of people know who I am and have come to the games or have talked,” Rahar said. “So it’s just reaching out to the coaches, getting the feel for the player, if they’ll be a good fit for our program.”
“That’s with any program, and then a lot of people are playing volleyball, reaching out to the club coaches as well and getting that vibe,” Rahar continued. “The coach knows what the athlete is planning [and] wanting to do -- is KC even an option for them? If it’s not, we’ll move on, and if it is, then we make those recruiting visits happen at KC and then move down the line from there.”
Rahar still lives in Breese and has enjoyed watching her alma mater’s athletic program develop and flourish while maintaining a winning environment.
“It’s nice to have that in our community, and in the community I also coach in and recruit from as well.”
This story is a part of the IHSA celebration of the first 50 years of the IHSA Girls Volleyball State Series. Click here for more on the Top 50 programs during the first 50 years.