Inductees

The thought came to mind in her high school days: What if she took her love volleyball into the coaching world and perhaps made a nice impact?

Not that Francie McBride could see what her career – and a Class 1 school in Shannon County – would become.

“I could never see not having volleyball in my life. That was the focus,” McBride said. “We had some success when I was a high school player (in Eminence) but other teams were good. I thought, ‘What if I take what I learn and teach girls the right skills so they could make an impact?’”

McBride emerged as that coach for the Winona High School Volleyball Program, and her success is certainly worthy of induction into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame with the Class of 2020.

From the fall of 1997 through the fall of 2019, McBride coached Winona to a 579-217-4 record. Her teams advanced to 14 Final Fours since 2000, winning five state championships in Class 1 (2001, 2001, 2006, 2012, 2013, 2014).

Overall, her teams won 15 district titles and 18 league championships. She also guided 11 players to college scholarships, including two to NCAA Division I schools.

All this for a 1992 graduate of Eminence High School who helped the 1991 team reach the state quarterfinals before she played at Three Rivers Community College and Evangel University. Evangel coach Dani Helm was great influence.

“(Helm) could also teach the fundamentals as well as being motivating and encouraging, so she was an inspiration to me,” McBride said.

McBride grew up following Eminence High School’s volleyball team, which won state in 1981 and advanced to the Final Four three more times in the 1980s. She was there for the 1981 title game.

Her parents, Denny and Kaye, made sure she was involved in playing as much as she wished – including on a high school club team led by then-West Plains coach Trish Knight (MSHOF 2008).

And Jim Keeling came out of retirement – he coached the 1981 Eminence team – to coach her junior season.

As the end of college, McBride assisted the Eminence volleyball program. Then came a phone call from Mike Green, Superintendent of Winona, an Eminence rival only 11 miles to the south. McBride had moved back to the area because Eminence had hired her husband, Pete, as a coach.

“I think it was a feather in the cap to ‘steal’ an Eminence alum,” McBride said, laughing. “It turned out to be the best decision I could’ve made and the community welcomed me with open arms from Day 1.”

“Something they sold me on was really motivating – girls willing to work and show dedication at such a young age,” McBride added. “I was able to build from the ground up with full support from the community and that was vital to our success.”

Winona finished 18-8 in her second season, won the district tournament the next year and then, in Year 4, advanced to the Final Four.

Remarkably, a laser-focused McBride fueled more success in a town of only 1,335 in Shannon County’s Mark Twain National Forest. There, schools don’t have the luxury of a nearby metro where student-athletes are aplenty.

Additionally, McBride juggled the roles of teacher, coach, mom and wife in one of the most unique situations imaginable.

Her husband, Pete, is Eminence’s High School principal, basketball and baseball coach. Their son, Trent, helped Eminence basketball win a state title in 2018. He was born two days before the 2000 volleyball district semifinals. Their daughter, Joree, attends Winona.

“My kids were always gym rats and have loved being a part of all of it from the beginning,” McBride said. “And having the support and understanding of my husband has been vital throughout the years. He’s always been my rock – and a sounding board and source of great advice.”

McBride was the National Federation Midwest Sectional Coach of the Year (2002-2003), the Missouri High School Volleyball Coaches Association’s Coach of the Year five times and coached club volleyball for 14 years. She is a 2017 inductee of the MHSVCA Hall of Fame.

“I feel like coaching has been the most rewarding job I could have chosen. I love what I do because I get to watch young girls grow into strong, responsible, confident, self-sufficient women,” McBride said. “The greatest rewards are when your kids come back to you and thank you for instilling in them the work ethic and values to be successful in life.”