BYU had a magical season last year. It reached an incredible level when they met Penn State in the NCAA DI Women’s Volleyball Championship. Despite the fact that BYU fell to the Nittany Lions, it does not put a damper on the fantastic season that the Lady Cougars ended up having. During the tournament, a lot of media coverage concerning BYU led with the narrative that they were a borderline Cinderella story, which is candidly an unfair characterization of that team. The team had an abundance of talent including (but certainly not limited to) Jennifer Hamson (2 time AVCA first team All-American), Alexa Gray (2013 third team All-American, 2014 2nd team All-American), Amy Boswell (2014 Honorable Mention All-American), and a boatload of unheralded Lady Cougars that I’m sure will make their way into recognition in the near future.
One of the most underrated and unquantifiable aspects of sports is how the coaching staff and its players work together to win. Coaches not only have to be able to help players hone their skills and have a good grasp of “X’s and O’s”, but they must also be able to connect with their players in such a way that the players can exceed their own limitations. BYU’s coaching staff clearly had this in abundance when the Lady Cougars made their deep run to the Championship match. The duo of Shawn and Heather Olmstead were the main catalysts of this important dynamic (although they would be the first ones to say that it was really a credit to the entire coaching staff for continuing the strong culture that exists with BYU Volleyball). Shawn recently took over the BYU Men’s Volleyball team, and Heather was promoted to the Head Coach of the Women’s team. When she took some time out of her busy schedule for an interview with us here at the Net Set, several of her obviously great coaching qualities became readily apparent.
Volleyball Knowledge
This knowledge is an obvious necessity in order to be an excellent coach, but there were several instances in which she demonstrated her strong Volleyball acumen. And the crazy thing is, she wasn’t trying to show off at all, she was just being herself. For example, when she was asked how the team’s goals for this season she said, “That’s still to be determined. We’ll meet with the team before the preseason to talk about goals. The obvious goals are to keep improving every day and things will usually take care of themselves. We’ll also want to win the West Coast Conference championship and make it to the (NCAA) tournament.” This statement demonstrates a thorough understanding of the process it takes to be successful as an elite collegiate Volleyball team. She didn’t heap a lot of pressure onto her team by saying something about making it to the same place we did last season. Coach Olmstead clearly knows that this is a very long and grueling process, and not allowing herself or the team to think that far ahead is a very smart decision. Some cynics will read that quote and think that is just another example of “coach-speak”, where the Head Coach will do an interview or interact with the media in some fashion but not really give any information (i.e. most NFL Head Coach interviews). This situation could not be farther from the truth regarding Coach Olmstead.
Coach Olmstead also played professionally in Croatia, and while it is not a foregone conclusion that great players will automatically be great coaches (i.e. Isiah Thomas and Pete Rose), she definitely excels in both aspects of the game. She called it “one of the best decisions I have ever made.” Having this kind of experience to fall back on is an incredibly powerful asset that has no doubt already served her very well, and will do so again in the future.
Extensive Team Knowledge
Probably one of the biggest reasons why Olmstead was promoted to take over for her brother was the familiarity she had with the team. Continuity is such an important factor with any successful program; just look at what the San Antonio Spurs and the New England Patriots accomplish season after season. “Shawn and I were on the same page in terms of training, how to lead a team and there were a few minor disagreements, but by and large we were on the same page.”
In all athletics though, change in some form is inevitable. The Lady Cougars will have to make up for the lost production of the recently graduated Hamson (she is currently playing for the Los Angeles Spark in the WNBA). Where Coach Olmstead’s intimate knowledge of the team comes into play here is that she knows how she can get the entire team to fill that void collectively.
“There is no replacing Jennifer Hamson, she definitely left her mark at BYU. The advantage we have is that we did it in 2013 when she redshirted, and we made it to the sweet 16. Our girls found their identity during that season and I think they’ll be able to do that again this season. We have kids that are excited and ready to step up now and show what they’re capable of.”
When asked if Alexa Grey was going to shoulder more of the load this upcoming season Coach Olmstead had a simple answer: No. “Not really… she’s been awesome for three years for but we’re going to distribute the offense evenly… we can’t expect one player to get three or four more kills per set to make up for Jen.”
It became overwhelmingly apparent that BYU made the right decision in promoting Coach Olmstead by the conclusion of our interview. Her extensive Volleyball knowledge and experience, with the Lady Cougars and in her own playing career, will prove to be significant aids as she leads BYU into the next chapter of its storied program. The passion with which she talked about her players and talked about the upcoming challenges that lay ahead of her are strong indicators that she is more than willing to take on any obstacles that are sure to try and hinder the team, and that they will overcome them. There is no doubt in my mind that she will be successful, and that success will in turn lead to many years of success for the Lady Cougars.
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