Kent and Merris Schaub have been heavily involved in volleyball for most of their adult lives, just in different roles.

Kent Schaub has been a registered volleyball official for 33 years, while Merris spent most of that time as a volleyball coach at Ness City and Bazine. 

After retiring as a coach and teacher, Merris was looking to stay involved in the sport she loved. She decided to become a registered official about four years ago. 

The Schaubs, who have been married for 45 years, now work high school and junior high matches together, providing a valuable service for the area and a rewarding experience for the couple. 

“We go places as a team,” Kent Schaub said. "[Merris] has only been certified for four years but she’s coached for so long that she knows the game, knows the rules, knows how things should work and what to expect. I’ve had several (officiating partners) over the years and they’ve always quit or moved or something and not continued for some reason. It’s way more comfortable to work with someone all the time. You kind of know what to expect.”

“It really works out pretty well because we can fit it into our schedule," Merris Schaub said. “Being able to go and do that together is nice."

Merris is originally from Helena, Montana while Kent is a Great Bend native and Washburn University garduate. He went to the University of Montana and later worked in the parks and recreation department in Helena. While in Montana, he met Merris, who was doing her student teaching at the time. 

The couple moved to Ness City in 1977. 

“The only reason I started reffing volleyball around here is because I came here to start the recreation commission that they didn’t have here in Ness City for the school district and the whole area around here," Kent Schuab said. “One day the grade school principal didn’t have a volleyball ref and he knew that we had a volleyball program, and he asked me if I’d officiate.

"I was pretty hesitant, but I said, ‘OK, I’ll try it.’ The more I did, the more I liked it and then I ended up getting certified."

Merris helped start the volleyball program in Ness City and coached for nearly 30 years. 

“I coached volleyball until they made the rule that you could be with your team during the summer," she said. "Since I go to Montana to visit my family during the summer that didn’t work for me, but I wanted to keep up with volleyball, so I decided to go ahead and officiate."

Like Kent, Merris immediately took a liking to officiating and rather seamlessly made the transition from coach to referee. 

“I have just always loved the game of volleyball,” Merris said. “It’s one way to keep your foot in the door and stay involved and also is really nice because you stay in contact with some of the school personnel and students.

“It was hard to go from looking at what was going on, and thinking, ‘OK, how can we improve this,’ to just blowing the whistle when I saw a problem,” she added. “That was the transition. But I had coached for so long that it was not that hard. It’s just a different point of view."

While he's always liked officiating high school, Kent Schaub said he gets just as much enjoyment out of officiating middle school and junior high players who are just starting to get acclimated to the rules. 

“I’ll do varsity any day, but I really like to do middle school and junior high, because a lot of times you can help them," Kent said. "A lot of times they don’t understand alignments, and we can help them with that. Not penalize, but just fix something. 

"It’s just kind of fun staying in contact with everybody, and we’ve gotten to know everybody around this area, especially."

When Kent started, there were a handful of volleyball officials in the Ness City/Ransom area. Now, Merris and Kent are the only full-time volleyball in the area, speaking to the officiating shortage that has been a concern state and nationwide. 

The Schaubs say they've been foturnate to have only positive interactions with coaches and fans.

“We just really don’t have negative interactions with fans,” Kent said. “Over of all the years I’ve officiated, I would say maybe three times. As far as coaches and fans, knock on wood, we have not had that kind of problem. You hear some horror stories, but we’ve always gotten along good with a crowd.”

For those interested in offictating, the Schaubs suggest starting out a younger level. 

“I’d say start by getting your foot in the door with some schools by doing some junior high matches to get used to the whole routine,” Merris said. 

“I started out at junior high, and that’s definitely a slower pace,” Kent Schaub said. “Going from junior high to good varsity competition, there’s a big difference. You have to be on the ball, and if you don’t blow the whistle right now on a violation, it’s too late."

"When I started volleyball the game was almost entirely different," Merris added. "There have been so many changes that have just been incredible."

Kent said he's considered retiring from officiating in recent years but hasn't been able to bring himself to completely hang up his whistle. 

"I used to do probably anywhere between 23 and 26 dates, depending on if I did any postseason," Kent said. I’ve cut back. We probably have a dozen dates.

“I’ve said every year for the last three or four years, ‘Absolutely, this is my last year.' But when August comes around, I register and take the test and I’m ready to go.”