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By Mackala Krichbaum, KrichbaumM@Findlay.edu
Niekamp Arena has been off to a hot start for the women’s volleyball team as they strive for continued success on and off the court.
Women’s volleyball head coach Wick Colchagoff gives us an inside look at academics as well as athletically how the team is doing.
When looking into academics Colchagoff notes how every student is different. This means that each student-athlete will have different academic goals.
“So, our academic goals are to have each kid reach their fullest potential that they’re capable of,” Colchagoff said.
On the court, the team is achieving improvements as well as competitive matches and wins.
“We have the highest-rated offense in the conference (The Great Midwest Athletic Conference). We have several student-athletes that are leading statistical categories in the conference and some of them are very high up in the nation,” Colchagoff said. “So, it’s been a great start.”
Looking into leadership, the volleyball team uses a leadership council. This council allows every class to have a representative.
“We put a lot of emphasis on team culture and team cohesion. We spend a lot of time talking about how we can improve it,” Colchagoff said. “Every Monday that we practice, we have an open time called oil spill where anybody can bring up any grievances that they have that may have occurred in the last week and we can talk about it openly and nobody’s allowed to be offended by what is said during that time period because it’s for the betterment of the team.”
When facing diversity, the athletes trust the preparation that they have made as a team, as well as the preparation it took to get them to the collegiate level.
“So, we talk about no foam, which is fear of making errors. So, they can’t be worried about making errors,” Colchagoff said. “They need to be thinking about making positive plays and just trust that the training we’ve done is good enough for them to succeed.”
Preparing for opponents, the team has a routine where they watch films and then prepare the options that the opponents bring to the court. This routine slightly changes with away games, but the basis of it remains the same.
The success of the team is not necessarily based on the statistical wins and losses but more on how the team becomes a unit. Emphasizing what Colgolaff builds on the team with their culture and cohesion.
With academics coming first, the volleyball coaching staff is most proud of the achievements the team has made in the classroom.
“The fact that they know that academics is the first and foremost reason why they’re here at college, that’s something I’m very proud of,” Colchagoff said. “Then I’m also proud of the way they represent themselves as a team.”
The women’s volleyball team plays next on Oct. 4 at Niekamp Arena against GMAC opponent Ohio Dominican starting at 7 p.m.
