Mar 27, 2022 7 min read

As one of the most respected and outstanding female athletes in the history of Washington High School, Julie Gaul has always stood out.

From her youthful days on the old 7th Ward playground competing with the girls and guys, it was obvious this girl had game – a whole lot of it.

Basketball, dodgeball, handball, home run derby, even a little tag football in the front lawn, there was nothing Gaul would not try or find success in.

To those who know her, however, and watched her become a superior volleyball player, solid basketball player and state champion javelin thrower at Washington High School, Julie Gaul was special.

She was beloved at 7th Ward, as a Prexie, at Pitt and now at Carlow University.

Athletics are part of the intrigue about her but it is her infectious smile, leadership, competitiveness and most of all her personality.

Gaul is as intense as she is humble.

She was easy to cheer for and admire.

“If she is not the best from Washington High School, she’s close,” said her coach Penny Starkey, a long-time volleyball, basketball and track and field coach at Washington.

“She’s a remarkable human being as well as being a great athlete and a great coach. Anything you can say good about a person, that’s Julie.”

She is a 2004 inductee to the Washington-Greene Co. Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame and a two-time Most Valuable Player, Field Events, at the Washington County Coaches Meet.

She won the PIAA Javelin championship her senior year -1979.

Gaul was team captain for the University of Pittsburgh volleyball team, Most Valuable Player and Big East Most Valuable Player.

She led Pitt to its first Big East Conference volleyball championship and served as Pitt’s assistant volleyball coach for two years.

Gaul was selected to the East Squad of the National Sports Festival (now called the Olympic Festival) and was voted captain for two years.

She was named Most Valuable Player of the 1982 AAU Jr. Olympic Tournament. A 1983 winner of the Clyde Barton Award for Outstanding Athletic and Academic Achievement, University of Pittsburgh.

“I have been so fortunate to be in the position I have been,” Gaul said. “I’ve been able to play games that I love, especially volleyball. I got to play in high school and college and then go on to coach the sport I love so much.

She credits her youthful days on the 7th Ward playground for helping her develop athletic skills and tenacity.

“We were always there, it’s how we spent our time,” Gaul added. “Whether it was playing pickup basketball, home run derby or football in the front yard. We’d play all day, went home for lunch and stayed until the streetlights came on. It was a fun way to grow up.”

Gaul earned a B.S. in Exercise Science in 1983 and M.S. Exercise Physiology in 1985 from the University of Pittsburgh.

Her mark is on Carlow University volleyball and athletics. She is the Celtics’ senior women’s administrator.

Gaul joined the Celtics coaching staff in 1993. She previously coached and directed Junior Olympic Volleyball in the Pittsburgh area for five years and coached the Pennsylvania High School team at the King Kamehameha Volleyball Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii for four years.

She is currently the sports chair for volleyball in the River States Conference.

Gaul has guided Carlow to the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) National Championships numerous times.

“I think Julie’s a first-class quality person with high values and I think that’s important from a coaching perspective,” said George Sliman, former volleyball coach at Carlow. “I met her during her playing days at Pitt and followed her through her Pitt career.

“We developed a friendship through volleyball. When we had an opening for an assistant coach, I asked her if she wanted to be involved. She was and we started coaching together.

“Julie puts the players first and the person first.

She looks at the total person. To her, it’s about the person and their personal development.”

Subhead: Support System

Gaul’s story starts with her family life and values.

“My mother (Betsy)) always said, ‘listen to your coach, do what you’re your told and respect the referees and have fun,” Gaul said. “My parents would not have it or accepted it any other way.”

Gaul’s father, Edwin Gaul, Jr. and her brother, Michael Gaul, are deceased. Her younger sister, Nancy, calls Julie Gaul her idol and her hero.

“To this day, she’s my role model,” said Nancy Gaul, who was an outstanding athlete at Washington High School and a highly-respected and accomplished assistant volleyball coach under Starkey at Washington.

“She let me tag along – there is a five-year difference in age – and it was always OK. We really did play at 7th Ward until the streetlights came on.

“Julie’s always been a great big sister and I was always under her wing. She never fussed about me being there. She was so giving and so sweet, always considerate of my feelings. Julie makes you feel like you were doing the special things.”

Some of those “special things” Julie Gaul accomplished include being a certified Clinical Exercise Physiologist through the American College of Sports Medicine. She is also a certified Holistic Stress Management Instructor and provides wellness and fitness programming to the Carlow community. Gaul completed her Master of Business Administration at Carlow University in 2010.

That diligence and persistence began at home.

“My family has always been my main support in everything that I do,” Julie Gaul said. “My parents were always in the stands, and not only were there for me but also there for my teammates.

“Mom is still the one I go to for life advice, I appreciate all that she’s done for me so much. Dad taught me my work ethic and my brother Mike brought out my competitive spirit. I miss them both dearly but they’ll always be in my heart.

“My sister Nancy was a great athlete at Wash High and coached there as well so it was always wonderful watching and supporting her journey. I’m so blessed to have her as my sister and best friend. My partner Bob and I live an active lifestyle and enjoy mountain biking. He refs and I coach so we are always on the go. It helps being on the same schedule and understanding what being ‘in season’ means.”

Starkey thinks so much of Julie Gaul that she named her daughter after her – Julie.

One of her favorite stories and memories of her pupil, came in Gaul’s junior year in high school at the WPIAL qualifiers.

“Julie threw the javelin (easily a length that would qualify for the WPIAL Championships),” Starkey said. “It was the best throw by a lot. She did it three times and each time the judge said the throw was flat and threw the throw out. Gaul was denied participating in the WPIAL meet.

“Julie made sure she trained and prepared for the next season. She went through the tough stuff. It was fuel for her senior season that ended with a state gold medal.

“Her family took me in when I came to Washington. I would eat dinner at their house. The Gauls have the parents. The Gaul family made a big difference. They were supportive of the district, the program and of anything their kids did.”

Added Nancy Gaul: “When she played at Pitt, I was so proud of her and the number 12 she wore. I was proud to wear my Pitt sweatshirt in there and after a while they recognized I was Julie’s sister because of our red hair. I was happy people knew because she was so darn good. I was more than happy to say: ‘yeah, that’s my sister.”