Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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UNDER THE DOME Five Questions With … VOLLEYBALL HEAD COACH JIM MCLAUGHLIN Jim McLaughlin, named Notre Dame's new head coach in January, is the only coach that has won NCAA titles in both men's and women's volleyball. He led USC's men's team to the NCAA title in 1989-90, and also was at the helm for the Washington women's national championship team in 2005. Blue & Gold Illustrated: What ultimately attracted you to Notre Dame at this point in your career? McLaughlin: "In the back of your mind, there are always places that come up … I'm a Catholic guy, and it just seemed like a really neat place. I mean, it's Notre Dame. So when UCLA called me I didn't talk to them, and same when SC called and when Ohio State called. "But when Notre Dame called, there was just a feeling like, 'I have to look at this.' … I flew out here, and I really felt like Notre Dame is one of the few places in the whole country, where if you choose to do it, you can be excellent." Blue & Gold Illustrated: How have you changed as a head coach over time? McLaughlin: "Every year, you get better in this business. You get better at the process, better with people and relationships. You get better at the content, better at the ability to teach and getting people to think right. This job is so competitive, you absolutely have to keep moving forward, in everything you do. I ask myself every few days, 'Am I doing everything I can for these kids?'" Blue & Gold Illustrated: What were your priorities in piecing together your coaching staff? McLaughlin: "Number one, I wanted really good people, and people that work really hard. Mike Johnson, I've known him since he was 19 years old, he was a student at Washington. He helped our program, grew as a coach, unbelievable with people. "Katie Wilson, she adopted what we did at Washington and was very successful as a high school coach. She understands the stuff we do, it's all about the kids. "Kevin [Prendergast], our director of operations, is phenomenal. He takes initiative; he always tries to do things better. I'm very lucky; we've put together a very good staff." Blue & Gold Illustrated: What's the single biggest contributing factor to a national championship team? McLaughlin: "There are really two things. Clearly they had ability, but everyone had ability. What separates them is the commitment level. They went hard at it every day, and I pushed them. "We also had the right team mentality, they were saying and doing things to each other that made them better. A couple of kids would get it going, and it spread throughout the team. They would challenge themselves every day." Blue & Gold Illustrated: How are you approaching the process of improving the Irish program? McLaughlin: "You've got to engage in a process. The kids are learning the routines, and how to stay in the process. … Every kid has to learn to be mindful in the process, asking what their body is doing, what do they want it to do, how do they see situations. It's getting people to commit, and the varying levels of commitment are the deal. It's not human nature to say, 'go hard every play,' so I work to get these kids to understand that concept and how just three or four plays in a match can be a deciding factor. These girls want to do it, they just have to learn." — Jordan Wells MCLAUGHLIN