Cavalier Corner

April 2023

Cavalier Corner is the publication just for UVa sports fans!

Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1494955

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 27 of 35

STEVE GARLAND Head Coach, Wrestling Q: Tell us about your coaching experience at UVA. How did you get here? How has coaching shaped who you are today? A: This is my 17th season as head coach at the University of Virginia. When I got here in 2006, I was the youngest head coach in the nation. Craig Littlepage stuck with me, and with the help of a great staff in four short years we won the first ACC wrestling championship in 33 years! We improved very quickly. We won another ACC team title in 2015, had NCAA finalists in 2017 and 2019 and had two guys make world teams as well. I started at Cornell University fresh out of college. I was an assistant coach there from 2000-2006 and owe Rob Koll for the great experience. He gave me a chance, believed in me, and made me want to be a head coach. I think the hardest thing about being a head coach is that leadership is a lot tougher than folks may think. You need to be able to take the arrows when things aren't going right and deflect praise when things are going well. I have learned lessons in humility the hard way through this profession. Q: What did your UVA student-athlete scholarship mean to you? (If not a scholarship, what did your student-athlete experience mean?) A: When I was a wrestler at UVA (1996-2000) our program wasn't fully funded. I didn't receive scholarship money until my senior year because there wasn't enough money to go around. When I did get the grant in aid, I appreciated the scholarship probably more than most because I had been broke my whole life. Not having to worry about how I was going to pay rent each month was huge. I can't thank Coach Bernstein enough for investing in me back then. Q: Why do you give back to support your program? A: This program changed my life. How can I not help out now? Q: Provide a quote that has impacted your coaching career. A: "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as if working for the Lord and not for men…" Colossians 3:23 MATT CHULIS Associate Head Coach, Men's Soccer Q: Tell us about your coaching experience at UVA. How did you get here? How has coaching shaped who you are today? A: I feel incredibly honored and blessed to be a coach for the last 19 years at the University of Virginia. I have been able to work with some of the best student-athletes in the country and the world, and we learn from each other. I came to UVA from Central Islip, New York, on a full athletic scholarship and left before graduating to play professionally. After retiring from professional soccer a few years later, my dream was to come back to Charlottesville to coach at UVA, and I was afforded that opportunity by Coach Gelnovatch, when he invited me back to be a student assistant and earn my degree. The following year, a full-time position opened up, and I haven't looked back since. Q: What did your UVA student-athlete scholarship mean to you? (If not a scholarship, what did your student-athlete experience mean?) A: My UVA student-athlete scholarship enabled me to attend this wonderful institution without having to put the financial burden on my parents or myself. UVA stood out to me as a recruit due to its incredible soccer legacy and its emphasis on academics. However, if a scholarship hadn't been provided, I would have been forced to play for another university. To say that the UVA scholarship was life changing to me would be an understatement. I formed some tremendous friendships that are still intact to this day, and my wife and three children have immense pride for UVA athletics. Q: Why do you give back to support your program? A: I give back because I want to pay it forward – I want others to also have the same opportunities that I was given. Q: Provide a quote that has impacted your coaching career. A: "Champions adjust and pressure is a privilege" - Billie Jean King CONTINUED SUCCESS OUR COACHES WHO COMPETED FOR VIRGINIA AS STUDENT- ATHLETES MAKE SUPPORTING THE VAF A PRIORITY. MATT CHULIS STEVE GARLAND

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of Cavalier Corner - April 2023