Wake Forest Athletics
New coach brings fresh start to volleyball team
5/17/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
May 17, 2006
The 2005 Wake Forest volleyball team gets a new head coach and a fresh start in 2005. After serving five years as an assistant coach at Wake Forest, Heather Kahl was named the team's new head coach after Valorie Baker resigned. The team was very much in support of Kahl as a candidate for head coach, and the change has fostered a healthy anticipation for the upcoming season.
"As seniors, we've played for her for three years now, and she just brings so much intensity and energy to practice," said senior A.J. Nicholas. "(As an assistant) practice was really her time to coach us, and she brings out the best in her players, so we knew if we had her as a head coach she would be influential in terms of matches also.
"She definitely knows how to bring the best out of each player at each position and she knows how to motivate. I think this is going to be a smooth transition because we are used to her. In the past, she was a little confined in what she would say, but now we're ready for her to take over. She knows how to lead, and that's what we're so excited about. We want her to lead us through a great season."
Kahl brings a high energy level and is excited about taking over a program she has helped build. Now she wants to lead the team to a higher level of play by fostering competition within the team and instilling mental toughness. "It's an exciting year for me." Kahl said "(A head coaching job) is something I've been waiting for for awhile - trying to find the right job, the right spot, and it's a little bit of hard work and a little bit of luck. I landed at a great spot by being at the right place at the right time.
"The returning players know what's expected, and we've picked up the intensity. (Assistant coach) Chad (Willis) has a lot to do with that, and that's something I got with him - his high energy level, his intensity and ability to challenge the athletes. I wanted someone to kind of mimic me but bring some different drills, different philosophies as far as training goes. I've been with this program for five years, and I don't want these kids to get bored."
"We need to work on the fundamentals, and Heather is really good at that," senior Christy Williams said. "Progressively it has kind of gone downhill on focusing on the little things. We all got so worked up in whether we won or lost we forgot there is all this other stuff we can be working on to help us achieve that. Heather does a really great job of focusing on practice, being intense and aggressive, and focusing on the little things..."
The Deacons return four seniors in 2003 in Williams, who was an AVCA All-American honorable mention in 2003, Erin Borhart, Klarysa Henry and A.J. Nicholas. Their leadership and experience in handling the rigors of ACC play should help the team stay grounded. Kahl has put a definite focus on attitude and mental toughness this year.
"We have a lot of veterans, and what I've always told the team is that it is not the physical talent that we've always lacked, it's the mental part of challenging each other and ourselves," Kahl said. "They're their own worst critics. The faster we can recover from mistakes, the better we're going to be. Instead of beating ourselves down, we've got to pick ourselves up. We have a philosophy called 'details' where if you focus on the little things, things will fall into place."
Kahl is expecting Borhart and Williams to take over the team's leadership by example roles and Henry, Nicholas and junior Natasha Schaefer, the team's defensive specialist, to serve in other key leadership roles.
Jessica Furlong returns from a medical redshirt and is expected to bolster the lineup on the outside along with Lauren Petersen and Michael Faulkner. Furlong is a redshirt freshman and has some power, according to Kahl, who said she reminders her of former Deacon standout Valerie Rydberg.
In the middle, Williams looks to return to the form with which she was playing as a freshman and sophomore after struggling with injury as a junior. Jackie Lucas had a strong spring, and Kahl believes she will be ready to lift the level of her play after a strong freshman season in 2004. Natalie Mullikin is a 6-2 transfer from Penn State who will have four years of eligibility remaining. Ashley Homitz is a talented 6-1 freshman that should compete right away.
Borhart is the team's only experienced setter, but Jenna Doane and Natasha Schaefer will train as back-ups. Doane and freshman Shannan Homan will play the right side. Homan, a 6-4 freshman from Yorba Linda, Calif., should be able to transition well from the high school level to the collegiate ranks. She played with one of the top club teams in California and has a wealth of high-level experience for an incoming freshman.
"I'm looking for our block to be more a factor this year," Kahl said. "It has kind of been weak in the past, but we have a 6-4 freshman from Yorba Linda, a 6-2 middle from Jacksonville (Fla.), and a 6-2 transfer from Penn State. That brings high expectations for the team. That gives us more favorable match-ups, and it gives us depth. If someone is struggling we may need to switch it up and we can do that now."
Overall, Kahl is comfortable with the positions of each player but will foster competition within the team to determine playing time. "It's going to be a day-to-day thing, and they won't earn their spot until that week of practice," Kahl said. "As competitive as I want them to be, that's going to be what determines who can play. That's just who I am. It's not what you've done in the past. They know practice is when you get it done. I'm more strategic and analytical. I'll be the first one to pat their backs, but I'll be the first one to jump on them when they're not doing it right. I'm competitive by nature."
The Deacons were picked ninth in the 2005 ACC preseason rankings, most of which is based upon last year's results. It should, however, serve as motivation for a team with a new coach, a fresh start, and something to prove.
"Everybody, every year, it's tough," Kahl said of the ACC. "There is a lot of parity in the league, but I think we're going to sneak up on some people. We have some short-term goals, and we'll sit down with the team and set some team goals. Our first match is away against Louisville, who is ranked 16th in the nation. We've played them the last three years I believe, and we match up with them. We can challenge them."
The team will be on the road the first two weeks of the season but returns to Winston-Salem in the third weekend of the year in a four-team match to play Georgetown, Morehead State and South Dakota State.
