By Daniel Johnson, Staff Writer

Published in print Sept. 3, 2014

Corey Carlin began his tenure as the head coach of the volleyball team this weekend.

Carlin had spent the past five years as an assistant coach for his alma mater, Ball State University. Prior to that, Coach Carlin had been an assistant coach for two years at Eastern Kentucky and five years as both an assistant and head coach at Austin Peay. Coach reflected on his time before UNCG.

“ The number one thing would be not to take the job home with me,” Carlin discussed. “

As a young coach, it’s a challenge not to take losses too personally or second guess yourself when things don’t go as planned. But experience has taught me that it’s extremely important as a coach to think things through, then trust in your preparation and training without second guessing yourself”.

He also talked about the differences between coaching here at UNCG and at Ball State University.

“The biggest difference is that, while I was at Ball State, we had established a culture with that program.,” Coll expressed. “Everything from the expectations in how we train to the expectations off the court and in the classroom as well. As an assistant, I had a smaller, but specific role in that. Here, we are still building those foundations and I have a larger, more responsibilities in overseeing the entire project”.

Carlin in his first year will look to improve upon last season’s team. Last year, UNCG finished with a 17-13 record with a 10-6 record in the Southern Conference. Coach Carlin and the rest of the team made it a goal to improve from last year.

“ We know we have the talent and a schedule this year that allows us the opportunity to increase that win total,” Carlin added.

“The challenges will be to stay as healthy as possible and to determine our competitive identity as quickly as possible”.

Leaving Ball State for UNCG, Carlin explained he left his alma mater due to UNCG’s ability in three main factors:

“What type of resources and support are in place for the volleyball program, how is the relationship between coaches and administrators, and can they be competitive in the conference”.

Previewing this year’s team, Carlin was very open when asked about the strengths and weaknesses of the Volleyball team.

“ Right now, our biggest strength is our transition offense,” Carlin revealed. “We’ve spent a lot of time working on that aspect of the game and our players have really done well. One area we are always striving to improve is our consistency, especially when we are out of system. We are learning to stay calm in those situation and execute more effectively”.

Carlin had only positive things to say about the young women he is coaching here at UNCG.

“ I couldn’t ask for a better group of women in my first year here,” Carlin responded. “It was obvious from my first days on campus that this team craved structure and a defined path for success”.

On seniors Emily McMurtrey, Kelsey Sidney, and Vicky Harley, Carlin both appreciated the leadership they bring.

“ Our three seniors have been tremendous in their leadership for this team and that really began even before I was hired in February,” Carlin confirmed.

”They were organizing team workouts on their own before a new coach was hired. A team’s success is directly tied to it’s leadership and I couldn’t ask for a better group of seniors to lead us this year….

Judging what would be a rewarding first year, Carlin wants his team to compete in each game this year.

“ …If we truly want to be champions, we have to earn the respect of each opponent we play by how hard we consistently play, Carlin explained. “If we establish this mind-set, I’ll consider it a successful season no matter the record”.

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