KEY STOPS ON TOM BLACK‘S ROAD TO ATHENS
- San Diego, California: Five seasons as head women’s coach of UC San Diego, compiling a 115-29 record
- Los Angeles, California: Seven seasons as head women’s coach at Loyola Marymount, including three trips to the NCAA Tournament and a Sweet 16 appearance in 2015
- Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: Assistant coach for Team USA women, earning a bronze medal
- Athens, Georgia: Named 7th head coach of the Georgia Bulldogs, compiling a 15-7 with seven matches remaining in his first season after taking over a program that had won just 18 games combined in the two seasons prior to his arrival
With top-tier opponents and storied programs at every turn, the SEC presents a challenge for any head coach. It’s an even taller task if you’ve been hired to turn around a program and have only been on the job since last December. VolleyMob was able to catch up with Georgia head coach Tom Black to hear about his experiences so far—and learn what comes next for the Dawgs.
VM: Can you walk us through those first days after you were named head coach?
TB: It was just a lot of the craziness that you’d expect. We were spending Christmas with my parents in San Antonio and living in Los Angeles at the time. The first day was a really happy day because you’re calling all the Georgia people and current Georgia players and it’s all exciting. Then the second day is just miserable because I’m calling everyone at Loyola Marymount.
VM: How about the first weeks?
TB: We just had a ton of work to do. We were evaluating kids who had already committed and casting our net as wide as possible. After watching some of the team’s past matches, I also knew there would be some dramatic changes in how we played and what we taught. We were trying to become fundamentally sound and we were trying to get a culture in place, trying to be great learners and that was basically the deal. We started from the ground up and the team was awesome.
VM: Can you point to anything during your spring season that helped lay the groundwork for what’s happening this fall?
TB: I think just how hard the team was willing to work. I was expecting a lot of dysfunction in work habits and how they dealt with each other. It couldn’t have been further from that. It was a real pleasant surprise. I was just kind of blown away by the pride they have in being a part of Georgia athletics and how badly they wanted to do well. It’s really cool to help people like that.
VM: Who did you play in the spring?
TB: We went to Duke for the first spring tournament to play Duke, Wake Forest, North Carolina and North Carolina State and we got our butts kicked. After that, you could tell the team was so demoralized because they had been working so hard for the past months and really wanted it to pay off. Then the team took off in the next three tournaments. You know, it’s spring so you can’t go by those results, but the team did well. At one of the tournaments, we played the Beijing professional team and lost in four, but taking a set from them was nice and it was a tale of two springs after that. It was really cool to see the team progress.
VM: Let’s talk about the season. Which matches have stood out and why?
TB: Every coach has some general notion of what you think the team can do, but I also think the longer you coach, the more you understand you really don’t know and you’re going to find out together. So every match—especially with it being my first year and the SEC—becomes memorable because I’m learning so much. Playing Georgia Tech for the first time was great because I could see the rivalry and what it meant to people. Then entering SEC play, it’s pretty much the first time I’ve ever played every team we play. I’m just learning a ton. It’s a huge learning curve for me alongside of the team. And I try to make that clear: We’re all learning and we’re all trying to get better here.
VM: What has surprised you most about the season so far?
TB: I don’t feel very surprised. Even though we expected it, we have been impressed by how much this area supports the athletic program, both at the matches and the way the local community and kids from elementary schools look up to the players.
VM: Any unsung contributions on your staff?
TB: I don’t know if there’s enough time to talk about all that. This really is a team effort. There are so many people here who are doing so much work for not very much credit. Dave Dantes is the Director of Volleyball Operations, but is also doing technical coordinator duties, just carrying a huge load for us. Felicia Arriola played for me and coached with me at LMU and is doing an extraordinary job with our block defense—the girls have complete trust in her. Aaron Benning was also with me at Loyola and I think he’s one of the best recruiters in the country. He hit the ground running as soon as we came out here.
VM: How about the players?
TB: I could go on and on. We have some players who don’t get talked about at all, like Caroline Ostman, who’s coming off knee surgery. She’s doing mental reps every practice for the last three months, trying to get everything out of it and helping people while on crutches. Our serving specialist, Sydney Gilliam, is another, and Katie Houser hasn’t gotten as much playing time, but she’s competing every single day without any change in effort. Anna Kate Carsten was starting and isn’t right now and still competing—she’s the first to arrive at practice and last to leave. I know people like T’Ara Ceasar get well-deserved credit and she’s working as hard as anyone, but I think when people who aren’t getting a lot of credit are working and behaving like that, it commands everyone’s respect. I think the competition between Kendall Kazor and Amanda Dachs for opposite is two people who’ve started their entire college careers and are supporting each other while competing for the same spot. We’ve been coaching a long time and it’s not like this on every team. They think about how they’re carrying themselves and that’s why this team has the character it has.
VM: What impact have your past experiences had on where things are going?
TB: What I’ve been most grateful for in my career is that I’ve been able to coach step-by-step. I’ve been an assistant and head coach in high school and a junior college men’s head coach. I’ve coached boys’ and girls’ club and run a boys’ club. Then I was a Division I assistant for the USC men’s program and a head women’s coach and coach on the national team. I’ve had experience at almost every level and I’m really grateful for that. I don’t think it’s very common anymore and it has helped me—I still have a long way to go as a teacher—but I feel it has helped me in my teaching by seeing different levels and how people respond.
VM: What in particular about your national team experience has been helpful?
TB: I was grateful for that for a lot of reasons, but one thing that was really cool was just to see what the best players struggle with when they’re working on changes and dealing with stuff. It helps you to be patient with the lower levels, too, because you’re thinking if a player at this caliber is struggling with this, I need to help a younger or lower-level player even more. So I think it really helped my teaching in that regard.
VM: What were some memorable moments from Rio itself?
TB: The opening ceremonies. You really feel connected to the whole world and you realize how small a piece you are of something so awesome and you’re grateful for it. I was appreciative of Karch [Team USA head coach Karch Kiraly] for letting me go because only two coaches were allowed and we had a big staff. He picked Joe Trinsey and me because we hadn’t gone to opening ceremonies before.
VM: And the matches themselves?
TB: They were great until that match with Serbia, where we had a pretty big disappointment, losing in five. The team responded well against the Netherlands. It was bittersweet, but it was good to see the girls respond so strong in the end.
VM: Anything else you’d like to share about the program or your experiences so far?
TB: It’s just been a good learning opportunity for me. Any time you go out of your comfort zone, you learn a lot in ways you hadn’t thought of yet. I’m definitely feeling that and it’s been pushing me as a coach and pushing my staff. So I’m just really grateful for that opportunity.
Check out some of our favorite shots from last night as we opened #TheSteg pic.twitter.com/naunpZ68Sk
— Georgia Volleyball (@UGAVolleyball) October 12, 2017
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