The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1291402
OCTOBER 2020 THE WOLVERINE 9 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS Sitting Down With Volleyball Coach Mark Rosen Michigan volleyball coach Mark Rosen is excited about what he calls potentially one of his best teams at Michigan. His group won't play this fall due to COVID-19 concerns, but they're still gearing up for a season this school year. Rosen detailed the return and more in this exclusive Q&A: The Wolverine: What have you heard from the NCAA and the administration about when you're going to play? Rosen: "We're going to be winter/spring. It's two different beats because the NCAA governs all other sports in terms of championship, but it doesn't govern the football cham- pionship. For us, when they canceled the fall, they started plans on how they were going to move us to the spring and have championships. We've already got some things going … I think our games are already pretty close to being set, from length of the season, start dates, championships, all that stuff. "We're going to be in the winter, which is fine. I don't want to mess with all of a sudden trying to get ready to go in a short period of time, having a truncated season. I'd rather us have as much of a normal season as possible." The Wolverine: What was your team's reaction to the news, and how did you adjust? Rosen: "It was a relief. We were three days into practice when we found out, but we all knew it was coming. We said, 'Okay, now we know … we can just start training with a different purpose.' "We knocked down the [training] time a lot. They came back and were not close to ready because they hadn't done anything since March. It wasn't that they didn't want to. Not only were they not here, but even where they were, gyms weren't open; weight rooms weren't open. There was no access for them to do anything. "We had to start in a place we've never been before. Most of them had never gone that long without playing, practicing, working out since they were like 10. We slowed everything down — three days a week for an hour, then an hour and a half, then four days a week, graduating into it. "We're finally back to point if we had to go hard right now, we probably could do it, though it wouldn't be ideal. We still don't want to, but if they called and said we could play in two weeks, we could." The Wolverine: You were even spotted work- ing outdoors. How different was that? Rosen: "We were until the governor changed the 10-per- son rule. That was big for us, because we need more than 10 people on a court to make a game. We set up some outdoor courts to be able to come together as a group. "We didn't use them a lot, but it was better than not to have our team together. But the wind, the sun … those are factors that are not part of our game, typically. When the ball only weighs 12 ounces, it moves a lot in the wind. And the things we do in terms of offense are very intricate and fast paced, so any time the ball moves just a little bit, it breaks down." The Wolverine: How good can you be when the season starts? Rosen: "I love this group. We're going to be really good. I think this is the most talented group we've ever had in the 22 years we've been here. We're good in every position, competitive in every position. "I really think we have a great group … and we're young, especially with this extra year of eligibility. Our top kids, we have one really strong junior who is going to be a junior twice, and then we've got great sophomores and freshmen. We're young and really talented." The Wolverine: How difficult is it going to be to manage the roster given the extra year of eligibility the players have been awarded? Rosen: "Our scholarships are all or nothing, which is diffi- cult, so it makes it really hard to manage how we bring kids back … how do we do that financially without going over our limit of 12? "It's been a challenge. We've had some tough decisions and some tough conversations. But you know, everybody's having tough conversations. Twenty-one people lost their jobs here [at the university] recently. "We were just really honest with the kids and said, 'Hey, these are the things we have to do.' They were all okay with it, all understood it, and I think we ended up in a pretty good place bringing kids back we think can make a big impact for that extra year, and at the same time honoring recruits we had already committed to." — Chris Balas Rosen's team, which he thinks is potentially one of the best in his 22 years at U-M, is preparing to compete during the winter and spring. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY