Q&A About the Championship with Coach Schaefer (4-12-11)
1). First of all I was wondering about your two teams. The website lists them as Division I and Division II and from what I saw the Division II team actually plays in Division III at nationals. Is that correct? Are they really like varsity and junior varsity?
Coach Schaefer: The reason it is stated like that is that at the NCVF national championship there are five Divisions - Division I, Division I-AA, Division I-AAA, Division II and Division III. If you have a team in Division I (which we always do) you can only enter another team in Division III at the national tournament. It really is like varsity and junior varsity for the entire season, with both teams getting to play in a ton of matches, traveling to tournaments and playing in at least one conference.
2). Talk a bit about the national tournament this weekend. Who were the stars for the Division I team and what were some of the impressive numbers? What do you think enabled you guys to take the title and why? What did the University of Notre Dame do well and what did Oshkosh do better, or at least do to win in the championship match?
Coach Schaefer: The most impressive thing about our team, and what I believe was a huge reason why we won the title is that we had so many offensive weapons. If one of our players were off, we could go to somebody else. In the semifinals against Indiana University, Dan Ruys only had one kill and we still won. The reason, Bill Meidenbauer had 12, Tyler Boddy had nine and Jordan Mattingly had nine digs. Since our loss in last year's national championship in the first round of the gold bracket this group of guys had one mission and that was to win the national championship. They took one match at a time, worked very hard in practice and were committed to each other the entire season.
The University of Notre Dame played with huge emotion the first set and we came out a little flat defensively. The first set really was a good wake up call for us, and the guys responded. We sprinted out to a 19-4 lead in the second set and took it from there. The huge advantage really deflated them and although they made it close at 10-10 in the third set, we really were in control the last two sets. I felt like Bill Meidenbauer brought his game to another level the entire weekend. Dan Ruys and Tyler Boddy were our emotional leaders and would not let the team lose. Our Division II team and the UW-Oshkosh women's club team were loud in the stands and that really helped, especially in the earlier rounds. It truly was a program win as you could see that the Division I team wanted to win for each other as well as for the Division II team.
3). What does winning the national title mean to you and your team? Did you think you had a good chance at the start of the year?
Coach Schaefer: We have been very successful and have won many conference titles, five national titles and are considered by most one of the best programs in the nation. I was asked once by a parent after we won the Midwest Ten Conference this year for the ninth straight time if it ever gets old? I responded by simply saying - "Never." This specific title means a lot to me because of the group of guys that won the championship. Tyler Boddy, Dan Ruys, Jordan Mattingly, Vince Odorizzi, Brian Fox and Andrew Schinner are fourth-year seniors that had never won the Division I title. They are incredible young men and have put a lot of time and effort to get to where they are as players and people. I am especially happy for them. Since my last year playing on the team, I have not been around a group of players that have cared about each other as much as this team. It really has been a special year and I don't think you can put into words what it means to everybody involved with this year's squad.
At the beginning of the season I knew we were good but we did have some uncertainty to start because we lost four starters, including three players that earned eight all-american honors. It took a little while to get everybody on the same page in terms of practicing as hard as they could every day and once that happened I have never seen a team so focused. With egos in check, it was ours to lose because talent wise we matched up against anybody in the nation at every position.
4). This is your third national championship at the Division I level? Do you have any other titles?
Coach Schaefer: We won the Division II national title in 1996 and won the Division III national title in 2010 (last year) and the other two Division I national titles were won in 2006 and 2007. We also took second in Division I in 2005 and 2009 and took second in Division III in 2007. Before 2010, we competed under the NIRSA affiliation. In 2010 the group that originally founded the collegiate club championship got together and formed the National Collegiate Volleyball Federation and that is what we play under now.
5). You've been named coach of the year nationally and regionally. What do you think makes you such a good coach? What has prepared you for coaching players and making them better?
Coach Schaefer: I think I am a good coach because I truly care about my players. I work extremely hard to try to make them not only better volleyball players, but also better men. I think recruiting has a lot to do with our success. We bring in top quality athletes that know the game, but then we also work hard in practice to fine tune their skills. The men's team has distinct differences in talent level so you have to mold your coaching style to who you are working with on any given day. The Division II guys this year needed a lot of direction because they were so young, whereas the Division I guys needed more direction on playing with focus. Every year that changes, and every year you need to adapt as a coach. This year we had a group of guys that made me want to work hard for them. I am honored to have this type of team and it doesn't come around every year, so when it does you savor it.
I am lucky to have an incredible assistant coach in Jason Wheelock. He is one of my best friends and we respect each other and feed off of each other's strengths. Our wins are as much his as mine and I believe in "coaching staff" accomplishments. The players recognize this and respect both of us because they know that this is not the case for most collegiate club programs.
I played at UW-Oshkosh with humble beginnings. We won a few Wisconsin Volleyball Conference titles, but we were not on the national stage we are now. But, I know that I can bring to the current team the knowledge that teamwork and caring about each other wins matches and as we proved this year - a national championship. When I played we played for each other and it was a special feeling to be part of that type of team. I think we have a group of young men on this squad that practice that ideal every day and I know that they will instill this message to the current younger players and our incoming group of guys.
6). Talk about the tournament play for the Division II team. It looks like they also did well in the tournament but didn't have the success that the first team did. What do you think about their performance and did you think they would do so well with no returning players from last season?
Coach Schaefer: The most important thing about the Division II team is that they did not care one bit about not have anybody from last year's team on this year's team. I have never coached a team that tried as hard as they did every day in practice. We had great leadership in Will Brydon, Andy Collins and Ryan Schultz. After Marcus Taylor took over at libero half way through the season he took this team to another level because of his competitiveness and knowledge of the game. I am very proud of how he mentored our younger back row players. I know that the team is disappointed because Indiana University II, a team that they barely lost to in three-sets took second place so they were right there with the top teams. Either way, to get to the gold bracket of the tournament is a great accomplishment and the team is hungry to keep getting better for next season.
I expect the Division II team to be a lot stronger next year because they gained a lot of experience this season. We have a lot of young talent and some good incoming freshmen ready to make an impact. It is hard to coach leadership; and although Collins and Schultz graduate, we have other guys to step into that roll. Besides Brydon, Eric Brandeburg and David Catoe are born leaders that will keep this team exactly where they should be in terms of togetherness and commitment.
7). What do you expect from the Division I team next year?
Coach Schaefer: Due to the fact that you can play six years of collegiate club volleyball and that we do not lose any of our fourth-year seniors it is not hard to figure out that another national championship should be our goal. The keys are to keep our team grounded, work hard in practice and to still get better. You have three days at the national championship to put the pieces together to win the ultimate prize and we have been lucky and talented enough to have the ball bounce our way most times. I think next year that we will need to give each other a few friendly reminders on how good it felt when the last point was scored and to keep that goal in mind the entire season.
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