After coaching for more than 20 years at the college level, Kathy Richey-Walton accepted a coaching/teaching position in the DeKalb County School System in Decatur, Georgia. Ms. Richey-Walton coached and taught for two years at McNair Middle School before transferring to Southwest DeKalb High School in 2002. Since arriving at Southwest DeKalb High School (SWD), the girl’s basketball program has posted a 70-33 record. In her first year at SWD the Lady Panthers finished third in the 7AAAAA Region making it to the State AAAAA Sweet 16. In 2005 and 2006 the Lady Panthers finished second in the 5AAAA Sub-Region and once again advanced to the Georgia High School State Play-Offs. During her tenure at Southwest DeKalb high school, her teams have been named DeKalb County Tip-Off Club Team of the Year and Team of the Month and she has been named Coach of the Year and Coach of the Month during the same time.
Coach Walton gained national experience when she coached the Blue Team to a Silver Medal during at the 2005 USA Olympic Youth Development Festival in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She also coached the Georgia Metros 16 and Under team to four national championships, winning the 16 and Under AAU Nationals and the 17 and Under United States Junior Nationals (USJN) in Washington, D.C in 2005. The Georgia Metros went on to repeat as the 17 and Under USJN Champions and won the Nike National Championships in Augusta, Georgia in 2006. Coach Walton also coached the Georgia Elite AAU Junior Olympic Team that reached the elite eight at the Junior Olympics in Hampton, VA in 1999.
Before becoming a teacher and coach in the DeKalb County School System, Coach Walton served as the Talent Coordinator for the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA). In March 2006, Ms. Richey-Walton joined the WBCA organization again as the National Chair for the WBCA Girl’s High School Basketball Committee.
Prior to her two-year stint at the WBCA, Ms. Richey-Walton was a member of the faculty at Spelman College as an Instructor/Coach. Mrs. Richey-Walton also represented the Department of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation as their Chair and Athletic Director. Coach Walton was the first basketball and track and field coach for intercollegiate athletics at Spelman College where the program earned respect for having outstanding student athletes. As a non-scholarship institution, the team posted a 48-8 record against non-scholarship schools while concurrently competing primarily against Division II institutions.
Coach Walton first garnered international experience when she trained the Nigerian National Women’s Basketball team in 1991. Her other international experiences included working on several Olympic projects prior to the arrival of the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1994, Mrs. Richey-Walton served as the Envoy for the Nigerian Olympic Team. Then, from August 1995 to August 1996 she was the Assistant Project Director for The Olympic Woman: A Curriculum for Georgia Middle School Students. Finally, during the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games she volunteered as a training site manager for the basketball venues.
Ms. Richey-Walton’s professional experiences also include six years at Slippery Rock University, Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania, where she taught method courses and activity courses while coaching the women’s basketball team to appearances in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament five times, winning the PSAC post-season tournament in 1986. Included in her coaching career at “The Rock” is the team’s participation in the NCAA Division II playoffs in 1985-1986.
Before accepting the position at Slippery Rock University, Mrs. Richey-Walton was an Assistant Basketball coach at the University of Iowa and helped direct that team to second place at the IAIAW Division I tournament in 1979. At the University of Wisconsin, she moved to the top assistant post and was instrumental in guiding the Wisconsin team to the quarter-round of the Division I AIAW Nationals in 1982.
Mrs. Richey-Walton received her Bachelor of Science degree from Ashland College, Ashland, Ohio, and Masters of Arts degree from the University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa. She currently resides in Decatur, Georgia with her husband, William, and her three children, Richey, Stephan, and Sydnee.
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