UCF's Coach Todd Dagenais - Part 3 of 3

In Part 3 we ask Coach Dagenais to rank the Top 5 Volleyball States and to share ideas as to recruiting for both UCF and in general. In addition we discuss the ability for a player to prove themselves as a walk-on.






SFVR: Seeing that you have been involved in Volleyball Internationally, nationally and in Volleyball Mecca, please rank the top 5 states when it comes to Volleyball?
DAGENAIS:
1) California- the number of scholarship players coming from California is astounding. You can literally go down to the beach and see 5 year old kids peppering in the sand. Volleyball is so much more than a sport out there, it’s a culture and a lifestyle.
2) Illinois- Probably has one of the most organized club systems in the country which has helped them skyrocket in the last 20 years. For the longest time the best teams in the BIG 10 had the best players from Illinois on their roster.
3) Texas- There are so many players who play the game in Texas, and it’s such a big deal to play volleyball down there. High school and club are very well supported by fans and media.
4)Florida- I know some will criticize me for putting Florida this high, but I’m telling you, there are a number of world class athletes here in the state of Florida. The better our state gets at getting these players to play volleyball, the quicker Florida will rise in the world of volleyball.
5)Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio….gosh… I don’t know they all do such a great job in their high school and club systems. If the club system is well established and well organized, chances are that the state will get recognition in the sport. Just look at regional pockets in the Great Lakes, Plains areas, Inter-Mountain, Missouri Valley….volleyball has really taken off in the past few years.

SFVR:Coach, we couldn't agree more with you. What many people do not realize nationally is that the lady athletes from Florida can play and train year round both inside a gym and in grass and beach tournaments. In addition to great weather, players are playing at a younger age. More clubs and nationally renowned tournaments are being played locally in our state - all of which add up to Florida being a solid number 4 nationally.

RECRUITING

SFVR: When it comes to recruiting do you look at the State of Florida for some of your players?
DAGENAIS: We will always look to the Central Florida area first, expand to the Florida area next, then to the Southeastern part of the USA, then nationally. If we can find the best players in Florida and convince them to stay closer to home, then I think we can be a consistent top 25 program.

I’m very proud of our early success recruiting nationally. We have depended on our list of contacts to help deliver the talent we need to take the next step, but I really would like to do this with as much home grown talent as possible. Too many people say it can’t be done, and that’s exactly the reason I want to do it.

We absolutely need the help of our local clubs if we are going to achieve the goal of winning with Florida talent. So far about 90% of those clubs out there are doing everything they can to give us a boost. For some reason a few others haven’t been as supportive. It’s going to be a lot more exciting if we can find a way to get everyone on the same page. I think we have a great staff, experienced coaches, a beautiful campus, and a fantastic education. I’m sure we will be able to attract the players we need to get.



SFVR: What do you look for in a recruit?
DAGENAIS: First they must be one of two things right away. They must be as athletic as the top players in our conference, or they must be as skilled as the top players in our conference. I can watch them for a few minutes and tell if they pass this test or not. If they are not as skilled, or as athletic as the players we are competing against, then we probably can’t bring them aboard.

From there we could spend several months trying to assess their character. We call coaches, opposing coaches, former teammates, teachers, and advisers, anyone that can give us some insight. We carefully watch how they deal with their teammates, coaches, and ESPECIALLY parents. If a kid treats their parent poorly, they will do the same to me. That is an automatic disqualification in my book. I love to see a kid react when they struggle, or their teammates struggle. A person’s true character comes out in the most stressful situations. I believe character wins championships.


SFVR: I notice that you have more than 12 players on the team. Are any of them walk-ons?
DAGENAIS: Yes, we will carry a roster of 16-17 players. The NCAA only allows Division I programs a maximum of 12 scholarships. Fully funded programs may not break those scholarships up at the DI level (they can in DII). Therefore we will recruit and dress 4-5 walk-ons in addition to our 12 scholarship athletes. I love walk-on players because they are often be the least selfish players on a college team. I will not discriminate against excellence. If a walk-on is better than a scholarship player, then that walk-on is going to be the starter. If they are able to maintain that starting position during Spring Training and I’m convinced they will be the starter in the next fall season, I won’t hesitate to put them on a scholarship as soon as possible

SFVR: How does a player go about walking onto a team?
DAGENAIS: All of our walk-ons are still highly recruited players. We usually get between 100-200 inquiries about becoming a walk-on per year. In all reality, we recruit walk-on’s the same way as scholarship athletes. They are treated the same as scholarship athletes. They have the same playing opportunities as scholarship athletes. The only thing they don’t have is the actual scholarship.

Unfortunately not every great player is going to get a scholarship. On average there are only about 900-1000 DI scholarships given per year. Good teams MUST have good walk-on’s to compete at a high level. 12 scholarships just isn’t enough at the DI level.

More collegiate programs need to get on board and support the 13th scholarship. How can more opportunities for young women get a scholarship be a bad thing? Too many teams are worried about how a 13th scholarship might affect their own program. They are afraid that if Stanford, USC, Penn State, Texas, and Nebraska get one more scholarship then that means fewer athletes for everyone else. I worked at one of those schools and I can honestly tell you that recruits look at the rosters of those schools and study the depth chart. If there isn’t a chance that they are going to start before their junior year, then the chances are that those athletes are looking somewhere else. Look at the parity in Women’s basketball. Players don’t want to go be on the 15th scholarship at one top school if they can be a top player at an up-and-coming school. The same hold true for volleyball, when the dust settles the 13th scholarship isn’t going to be used for a 3rd setter, a 5th middle, or a 7th outside hitter ….it’s going to be used for a libero. That’s exactly what it needs to be used for.

Coach many thanks for sharing with us your wisdom on Volleyball. I'm sure the readers of the report enjoyed this three part interview and I'm sure many have now become fans of UCF Volleyball. We wish you the very best and look forward to seeing your program succeed. Best of Luck in 2009 and the future!