February 19, 2025
The TC NIT Heart of Sport Award in volleyball is presented by Triple Crown Sports in honor of coaches and program directors who go the extra mile in developing players, building character and supporting the priorities of hard work and compassion while demonstrating the highest level of integrity to the sport, the players, the families and competitors.
In 2025, the award goes to Sue Keck, who has come to define excellence and achievement in the sport with a lifetime of energy directed at aspiring youth in the Chicagoland region. Keck, who helped launch both the Lions Juniors and 1st Alliance club programs, was named the 2019 Club Director of the Year by the AVCA.
For Sue Keck, the swift blossoming of her own family -- in the form of four daughters – got her to thinking about how to make their childhoods bloom with possibilities.
A well-rounded athletic talent in her own right, having played three sports in college at Illinois Benedictine, Keck shelved her part-time preschool teaching career and dove into coaching volleyball at a series of elementary and high schools through the late 1980’s into the 2000’s.
Eventually, the growing skill sets and competitive possibilities the young girls were evolving meant a more formal club setting was a definite need.
“We started with three 12-under teams, all local kids, and there was a lot of support from the local high school where my oldest daughter was,” Keck said. “It was really more of a pastime, nothing like it is today as a business. We provided an opportunity for kids to learn the game, an accelerated version as compared to school.
“Lions Juniors started in 1994. There were other clubs in the area, but all realized they couldn’t compete nationally. I was approached by two other directors who wanted to form an alliance in 2005. And that first year, we had a team finish second at Open Nationals.”
Since 1998, more than 630 1st Alliance athletes earned their way onto a college volleyball roster, and the program is ranked second in the nation for the number of Division-I athletes playing at the next level. The organization has secured 10 gold medal finishes for national championships at AAU and USAV; that goes along nicely with 18 silver medals and 21 bronze.
“Our priorities have been pretty consistent as far as putting a lot of resources in youth development, reaching into the community to get young kids involved. We’ve got some great athletes, and we gear it toward the family where it’s open and family friendly,” Keck said. “It’s been very positive working in volleyball. We don’t see the hard business side of it like you do in college, and the struggle for finances. Our history has been families supporting daughters playing competitive sports.
“You do almost have to take it day to day, because you get hit day to day with something hard. People make bad decisions, and parents want so much for their own child that they lose sight of reality.”
But Keck is quick to add there is always something around the bend anchoring her belief that a life in coaching is of the highest value.
“When I see a player who started when they were 10 years old, and they go through the whole program ... to see them as seniors, and regardless of where they go to college, there’s the fact they spent many years with us,” Keck added. “That brings the most joy; it’s also fun to see my own grandkids go through it all, the ups and downs.”
In fact, all four of Keck’s daughters are coaching 1st Alliance teams in the 2025 TC NIT.
Coaching timeline:
1988-95: Grades 6-8 at St. John of the Cross Elementary School.
1995-2005: Immaculate Heart of Mary High School (with varsity program beginning 1997).
2005-2015: Nazareth Academy.
Club: Primarily coaching 12’s-14’s, also coached a 16u team and have sat on the benches of every team in 1st Alliance program.
On staff for 17 Gold Open championship run in 2022 (daughter Meghan on the bench helping to coach as oldest granddaughter Jordan played setter).
