• How have you changed as a coach during your career?

Well, I am not sure the girls would agree with this, but I am a lot more patient now. Maybe not in the day-to-day practice environment, but with the overall process. I understand that in order to build a program, it takes time and patience. At times it’s hard because the fans, boosters, family and friends want things now, but it has been a fun process building the Pilot volleyball program.

• How has volleyball changed over the years you’ve been coaching?

More teams are better. There is no such thing as an easy win on the West Coast. Volleyball is a fast, beautiful, fun game; and there are numerous talented players competing. We have two WCC players competing at the Olympics, in fact one played for the bronze medal in beach volleyball.

A few times a year, I will have someone come to a match and they are instantly hooked. They all say, “I never knew the game was like this.”

• How do you go about finding the right players for your program?

Ryan (Goodwin) and I spend the majority of our time recruiting. Believe me, if you want to get into college coaching just to coach the game, don’t do it. Only a small part of our time is coaching. We really look at the Junior Olympic system to find players. We are especially lucky that we have such good volleyball in the state, so that we can recruit from that talent pool.

• What qualities besides athletic ability do you look for?

A great fit with the University of Portland. We want student-athletes who are academically oriented first, then great players. We have a wonderful school and city to attract volleyball talent, so we try to find players who will fit in well at UP, in Portland and in Oregon!

• How much did the switch to rally scoring change the way you coached?

Joe Etzel (former UP Athletics Director) was such big fan of the switch; I think it made him a true volleyball fan. It’s a faster, more exciting game to watch. I have taken a bit of a basketball coach approach to the scoring system. Like a hoops coach, we look for big point scoring runs to pull away from our opponents. We try to put our team in a position to make big runs at the appropriate times.

• How do you make academics a priority in your program?

It’s an easy formula: recruit players who are driven to be successful in life and the academics take care of themselves. Well, it’s not that easy, but the players have to be as driven to succeed in the classroom as on the court. We also monitor their progress, meet with them often, help them get the resources they need to do well, and be there for them when problems to arise.