Girls volleyball: Genoa-Kingston’s Keith Foster takes DeKalb head coach position

Keith Foster spent 14 years as the coach of the Genoa-Kingston volleyball team, winning a state championship with the Cogs in 2022.

And even with the graduation of three NCAA Division I recruits, he said the team won the Big Northern Conference junior varsity title last season and had a bright future.

All that made the decision to leave the program excruciating, he said. Foster on Thursday was named the head coach at DeKalb.

“It was not an easy decision, but at the end of the day it was the best decision for my family,” Foster said. “That’s why I made it. The program itself is phenomenal, it’s intact and it’s poised to win the next three, four, five years. I’m not running from it. I love it and I’m looking forward to building that same love and passion for DeKalb. They’re my home team now, and I’ll be with them every step of the way until I retire.”

Foster came to Genoa in 2010 after four years as the coach in Elgin. He played volleyball at Lake Park when the school was in the same district as DeKalb.

Foster compiled a 273-171-2 record with the Cogs. His first regional title came during a 34-2 season in 2021. The team then captured the state championship in 2022, finishing 38-4. This past year, the Cogs finished 37-2 and reached a sectional for the third straight year.

The Cogs had three key pieces from the past three years graduate and sign to play at NCAA Division I schools. Alivia Keegan signed with Belmont, Hannah Langton with Tennessee Tech and Alayna Pierce with Central Michigan. Pierce was a two-time Daily Chronicle all-area player of the year and is the reigning girls athlete of the year.

Foster said he always focused on process more than wins, and that is what has set up the Cogs for success.

“I know we’re graduating a lot of tough kids, but we won JV conference last year,” Foster said. “We have a really good next four or five years set up and ready to go with the same culture we have had the last decade. It was a really hard decision to leave. I just think it’s time.”

Now he said he’s looking to bring that to DeKalb. The Barbs finished 6-22 last year and last had a winning season in 2017.

Foster said he’s familiar with a lot of the players from his club team, Aggression.

“There’s a lot of tough kids,” Foster said. “There’s a lot of kids who are willing to put it all out there and work as hard as they possibly can to get to whatever they’re able to get to. Those are the kind of kids I like to work with. I don’t know where the program is currently. I only know their record, which is a small glimpse into a program.”

Genoa-Kingston athletic director Phil Jerbi said there’s no time frame in place for Foster’s replacement. He said Foster put the communities of Genoa and Kingston in the spotlight for an athletic program, and they’ll always be grateful for that.

“He basically took it and put it back on the map,” Jerbi said. “He gave it accountability. He created a program that has organization. There was a plan. Every day, practice had a plan. Every season had a plan.”

DeKalb athletic director Peter Goff said Foster has the type of resume that jumps off the page.

“When we did the first interview, myself and [assistant athletic director Mark Sykes], we liked what we saw,” Goff said. “We brought him in for the PE and health job and he blew everybody away. Then we brought him in for the volleyball interview, with an assistant coach on our staff, and it just seemed like such a good match. It was the type of interview where you walk out the door and go yup, that’s going to work out well.”

Goff said he’s excited for the future of the program under Foster.

“We’re excited to get a coach of that caliber,” Goff said. “He gets kids to the next level. He has success on the court. And since we’re in one of the toughest conferences in the DVC, I think hopefully we can keep working on getting our numbers and building that success over the next 12 to 14 years before he retires.”

Foster, who will teach health in the DeKalb School District 428 as well as coach the volleyball team, said he’ll forever be grateful for his time at Genoa-Kingston.

“This opportunity has made me a better dad, a better husband, a better teacher, a better man,” Foster said. “I’ve learned so much. I’ve learned through failure and success. I have so much respect for the athletes that have come and gone through Genoa-Kingston, as well as the students, how much heart they have, how hard they’ll work, how they’ll do anything to take it to the next level. This experience here has been nothing short of a dream. It’s been a privilege to serve this community as long as I did and brought so much pride to the volleyball program and notoriety to the town for people who have never heard of Genoa or Kingston.”