In 1997, Iowa City High School’s head volleyball coach, Bond Shymansky, led his team to the state semifinals. The Little Hawks fell in a tight four-game match, but the effort was enough to make Shymansky a finalist for Mississippi Valley Conference Coach of the Year.

Most of Coach Shymansky’s 1997 starters were juniors, so with a talented crop of players returning, Bond was looking forward to perhaps an even more exciting 1998.

Practice has scarcely begun for the 1998 season, and Shymansky is already having a more exciting year. On August 18, the ISU Athletic Department announced that he would join Head Coach Kerry Miller on her inaugural staff.

Shymansky will serve as an assistant coach and will direct recruiting operations for the team. He served as head coach at Iowa City High School for two seasons.

Prior to his involvement with City High, Bond served as an assistant coach at Iowa City West and coached for the River City Volleyball Club, one of the most prestigious clubs in the state of Iowa. In 1995, Shymansky was named director of operations for the club, a position he has held ever since.

Senior Kelli Chesnut, of Iowa City High, played for Bond last year as a junior and also as a 14-year old on his club team.

“Coach Shymansky was very dedicated to his program. He really knows the game and he knows how to teach it.”

Chesnut was excited to be playing for a new coach (her third in four seasons), but said that Bond would be missed both on and off the court.

“He was a lot of fun. He was the most knowledgeable coach I’ve played for … and he helped a lot of us out who were looking at colleges by getting us information and providing contacts.”

Would Kelli enjoy the chance to play for her old coach again in college?

“Definitely.”

Coach Miller has also expressed enthusiasm over the new addition to her staff.

“We are excited to have Bond as a part of our program,” Miller said. “He possesses a great knowledge of high school club volleyball, and his personality and energy will be a great asset to our staff.”

Shymansky was also a member of the men’s volleyball club at the University of Iowa from 1992 to 1995. He graduated from Iowa in 1995 with a degree in communications. He later earned his master’s in secondary English education, also at Iowa.