Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1052705
volleyball through taking a class and then interacting with my instructor, Dr. Jim Coleman, who was the former USA Olympic and national team coach. I then took another coaching volleyball class from Taras Liskevych, who went on to coach the USA women in three Olympics. Volleyball was very popular at the school at that time and has produced a number of coaches. You were member of the George Williams team that won the NAIA championship in 1974 and were the captain of the 1975 team. You gradu- ated in 1975 and stayed on at George Williams for two years as a part-time coach for the women's and men's vol- leyball teams. To be accurate, I was a seldom-used sub on the George Williams '74 champi- onship team and captain of the '75 team where I did start and played all the time. Coach Coleman retired after the '74 sea- son, and Jerry Angle, who has become a lifelong friend, took over the team. I played for Jerry in '75 and then coached with him as an assistant coach for both women's and men's teams. Unlike today's career paths in coach- ing, I worked a myriad of jobs from sub- stitute teacher in multiple school districts, paying me $25 a day, in addi- tion to being a maintenance worker for a construction company. I also worked part-time for a cleaning service that cleaned out restaurants at midnight. I also continued officiating high school sports during the day to subsidize my interest in getting into coaching. I think I was paid a total of $400 to help coach both women's and men's college teams. I donated the money to buy gasoline when we qualified for the national champi- onships in Pocatello, Idaho, and I had to drive one of the two vans there, vans that I also hustled to get donated for the trip. You got your master's degree at Ne- braska and coached defense for its women's volleyball team for two years. In 1979, you were hired by Penn State to coach its then-two-year-old women's volleyball team. How did that come about? When I graduated from George Williams and wanted to get into coach- ing I was passed over because of a lack of experience. At that time, schools wanted coaches to have multiple responsibilities at a number of schools. I also didn't have an advanced degree. So I looked to try and get both. I actually was already ad- mitted into Nebraska's grad school the year before to get my master's after tak- ing a year leave to coach a professional men's team in Puerto Rico. Nebraska said I could attend the following year, and they had a teaching graduate assist- antship available. When I arrived, the head coach had just left for another school, and they asked if I wanted to be the coach. I could have taken the job but I said I would work with whoever they hired, as I was there to get my master's degree. I completed my master's in sport psy- chology, and after the second season at Nebraska I was looking to get a coaching position. I was looking at various schools and had actually agreed in prin- ciple to accept a teaching assistantship at BYU at the recommendation of Coach Coleman to pursue a doctorate, and then the Penn State position opened up. I was hired primarily to teach. One- third of my appointment was activity classes and one-third was teaching ele- mentary physical education. The last third of the appointment was as the head volleyball coach. I don't think the coaches coming to Penn State or enter- ing the profession now could even fathom what that was like to teach a class 8 to 8:50 and then 9:05 to 10:10. Then 10:15 to 11:05 and then another from 11:15 to 12:05. We would teach four classes be- fore noon. Then, you would go to your office and take off your teaching hat and prepare to be the coach for the remainder of the day. So, you would teach three to four classes on a Monday-Wednesday- Friday [schedule] and maybe something on a Tuesday-Thursday. What were you teaching? Back then I was teaching volleyball, basketball, tennis, golf, bowling, fitness and games. You're the last of the varsity coaches who still teaches. For nearly 75 years until the mid-1980s, that was part of each coach's assignments. What do you teach, and why do you continue to do it? I only teach in the fall semester, and I teach an ethics in coaching class that meets two days a week at 8 a.m. The rea- son is twofold. As I said, when I came in '79 my contract was two-thirds teaching and one-third coaching. I understand that I don't have to continue to teach, but it is what I signed up for, and that's what I was trained for as an undergradu- ate and graduate student. It's probably why I've read hundreds and hundreds of books, and I still enjoy the connection I have teaching that class. I don't think I would have the same interest if they said, "Hey, we're going to give you the

