Five years ago, Jim Moore turned down the chance to coach the Oregon volleyball program.
However, almost immediately, he regretted the decision, so when the chance to coach in Eugene resurfaced after the 2004-05 season, Moore was elated to have another opportunity to don the green and yellow.
“As soon as I turned it down, I knew it was a mistake,” Moore said. “This was a job I really sought after.”
After a disappointing end to last season, Oregon again offered the position to Moore and eventually named him head coach in January. He will have the task of resurrecting a program that has won only 18 Pac-10 games in the past 12 years, including a 1-17 record last season.
But if the past is any indication, Moore is well qualified.
He brings a 355-154 overall record to Eugene. This is his sixth head coaching stop in 16 years.
The 46-year-old Moore broke onto the scene by winning a state title at his former high school, Rim of the World in Lake Arrowhead, Calif. He then spent four years at Mayfair High School, before making the jump to the collegiate ranks.
Since then, Moore has built a solid reputation for taking teams from mediocrity to excellence.
In his first collegiate tenure at Northern Michigan, which began in 1989, Moore led the Wildcats to the Division II National Championship game in consecutive years, losing to Portland State in 1992 and defeating Cal-State Bakersfield in 1993.
Northern Michigan had never finished higher than fourth in the league before Moore’s arrival.
“It was a very special time,” Moore said. “You couldn’t write a fairy tale better than what actually happened.”
During his time at Northern Michigan, Moore was reunited with Stacy Metro, a former player from Mayfair High who transferred to Northern Michigan after a short time at the University of Colorado.
Metro, a setter, ended her career as one of Northern Michigan’s most decorated athletes. She was a three-time All-American and two-time National Player of the Year, as well as an instrumental part of helping Moore’s Wildcats reach prominence.
Little did Moore know, this 6-foot-1 standout would later impact his life more off the court than on it.
“As player and coach, we could not stand each other,” Moore admitted. “I tried to kick her off the team, but she was the national player of the year, so I couldn’t really do that.”
In 1994, Moore accepted his next challenge at Kansas State, a team that had a 0-36 Big Eight (now Big Ten) record in the previous three years. Upon graduating, Metro asked to follow Moore to Kansas State, and join him as his assistant coach.
Moore was initially apprehensive, but eventually conceded and hired Metro on staff.
“I hired her for two years, and told her she had to go away after that,” Moore said.
Eventually, however, their rocky relationship changed dramatically, as did the fortunes of the Wildcats, who finished with a winning season after one year under the duo’s guidance.
Off the court, Moore and Metro got married in December of 1995.
“She (Metro) developed an unbelievable rapport with the players,” Moore said. “She knows the game better than anyone I know.”
“We still butt heads, probably more now,” Metro said. “I’ve been around him so much that I know what he is going to say before he says it.”
In 1996, the couple led the team to the second round of the NCAA tournament.
In the next seven years, Moore landed three different jobs including the University of Texas, where he became the winningest coach in Texas history after only three years.
Moore then coached at Chico State before rejoining Northern Michigan in 2003 with his now family of four. (Metro gave birth to son Matthew in 1997 and Michael in 1998). But when the Ducks came calling again this year, Moore knew Eugene would be the perfect fit for him and his family.
“(Eugene) is great,” Moore said. “It’s not a large city but it has all the things you want. This is it for us; we are never moving again.”
Growing up in the San Bernardino Mountains, Eugene requires little adjustment for Moore who summed up his move thus far as “very hectic.”
Moore arrived in early January for a meet-and-greet with the team before returning to Michigan. Since then, Moore has paid recruiting visits to Las Vegas, Nebraska, Munich and Belgrade with assistant coach and Belgrade-native Marko Majstorovic.
In addition to Majstorovic, Metro will join Moore’s staff as a volunteer assistant for the Ducks, along with former Texas assistant Tina Johnson-Lockhart.
“I am thrilled with our staff,” Moore said. “We have the things in place to be successful.”
Combine Moore’s passion and enthusiasm with his impressive track record, and Duck fans have reason to be optimistic about the years ahead.
“He’s a great coach,” junior Heather Madison said. “We’re all excited.”
Finally a duck
Daily Emerald
September 18, 2005
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