By Staff
Coaching Management, 9.9, December 2001, http://www.momentummedia.com/articles/cm/cm0909/qascanlon.htm
Now in her seventh year as Head Coach at Grand Valley State University, Deanne Scanlon has turned the Lakers into an NCAA Division II national contender. The team is sporting a 21-1 record and sitting atop the Division II Great Lakes regional poll (as we go to press), following a highly successful 2000 season. Last year's campaign included a 31-4 record, the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship, and a berth in the Division II Elite Eight. Scanlon was also named the AVCA's Division II Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year in 2000.
Scanlon's first coaching job was as an assistant at Wayne State University (1984-1987). After taking a break from the sport, she returned to the bench in 1992. She concurrently served as Head Coach at Saline (Mich.) High School, where she compiled a 61-14-11 record in two seasons, and Assistant Coach at Concordia College in Ann Arbor, Mich. (Michigan high schools play volleyball in the winter.) She moved to Western Michigan as Assistant Coach in June of 1994 before landing the GVSU job the following year.
Scanlon was a four-year starter at Eastern Kentucky University, where she earned All-American status and was chosen the school's Female Athlete of the Year in 1983. She also played for the U.S. Women's National Team in the mid-1980s. In the following interview, Scanlon talks about her approach to the game, how she builds a tight-knit team, and the challenges of balancing a career and a family.
CM: What are some of your most memorable experiences from playing on the U.S. Women's National Team?
Scanlon: When I was playing with the national team, I was very young, and I didn't realize how much the places I went and people I met would impact me. Not that I had a long or very successful career, but I met people during that time who still influence me today.
For example, when I tried out for the national team, I wasn't the most polished player, but I had a lot of athletic ability. Assistant Coach John Corbelli saw that and gave me a shot. In the brief time I got to spend with him, he was a big influence. Up until then, I was just an athlete who went out there and played the game. But John was the first coach to try to teach me the game technically and make me look at the game differently.
I know I drove him up a tree, but he was so patient. Now I coach athletes who are just like I was, and I look back and wonder how he remained so patient. I don't think I appreciated what I was gaining, but a lot of how I've approached my professional development has had to do with that short time with John.
How did you land your first coaching job?
I got married in 1984 and moved to Michigan after a national team tour to Seoul, Hong Kong, and Singapore. I fell into a position as an assistant coach at Wayne State, but didn't know at that point I wanted to be a college coach. All I knew was I wanted to stay around the game.
Then my children were born in 1987 and '89, and I wasn't able to keep coaching. So I left for a few years. It was a hard thing to do at the time, but I think it was best for me, because it made me realize how much I wanted to get back into it.
During that hiatus, I worked in real estate in Ann Arbor, and I had a great life. But when the high school coaching job opened up at Saline, I went for the interview, and they said they'd hire me. I put in a letter of resignation to my boss that day.
How did you make the transition to the job at Saline?
Once I started working with the players at Saline, the light bulb went off about what I had learned with John. I also really tried to educate myself by being around people who knew the game. I worked camps for Greg Giovanazzi, who was then Head Coach at Michigan, and also attended his team scrimmages. Concordia Head Coach Kim Berrington, who's now at Eastern Michigan, was also a big influence. So I was fortunate to have a good network of resources to draw from in order to get up to speed as a coach.
But I think the main reason why I was successful at Saline--despite my lack of experience--is that I was able to create a family environment with the team. The athletes really bought into that, and it led to our success.
Did you intend to return to college coaching?
I go with my gut feeling a lot. One of my high school players was being recruited by Western Michigan, so I went with her on her visit. I met Head Coach Cathy George, whom I had played against. She had a second assistant job open, so I took that. Luckily, my husband was supportive, and we picked up the family and moved to Kalamazoo.
I also saw that the sport was growing, and that universities were putting money into their volleyball programs. Cathy had a family, and we talked about balancing family and career. I started to see that having both was a real possibility. So, I started setting goals about where I wanted to coach. My husband works for his father's business, which is based in Michigan, so there were limits to where I could relocate. But I put a wish list together, and at the top was Grand Valley State, because they were in our conference when I was at Wayne State, and I loved the area [GVSU is located in Allendale, near Grand Rapids] and the school.
Then, in my first year at Western Michigan, I was looking at The NCAA News and saw that Grand Valley State was hiring a head coach. I thought, "No, it's too soon!" Again, it was a gut feeling--but as soon as I got on campus, I knew that was where I wanted to be. They felt the same, and I got the job. The timing wasn't exactly how I planned it, but I'm glad it worked out.
What were your initial goals at GVSU?
With the first team, I was most concerned with getting everyone going in the same direction. Since I didn't recruit them, I didn't have a personal relationship with any of the kids, so I really had to spend time getting to know what motivated them. Most important was establishing their trust in my leadership. I was probably more of a disciplinarian in the first few years, but I think I had to be. There was a definite turn that we had to make, and those kids had to toe the line a bit more in the early years.
When I took over that spring, one player was not willing to do the things I wanted her to do as a team leader--even though she was All-Region and had led the team in every category. She did not want to take the team in the direction that I wanted. So she didn't return in the fall.
We went 26-9 that year, and I think our team thought it would be the other way after that girl quit. The ones who stayed understood what we were trying to do and the work ethic that was required to get there. I credit those kids with the current success of the team.
What do you most enjoy about coaching?
My favorite part of the game is the teaching, especially during the off-season when I work with the kids in a smaller environment. You really get to know what motivates them and how to teach them most effectively. My assistant and I are always trying to find ways to make kids understand and constantly looking for ways to teach. The game is changing so much these days, you can't stay complacent and not challenge your players.
How do you approach recruiting?
Most of our athletes could play at the Division I level, although maybe not at the top schools. But we're very fortunate here. When the kids see the environment that we play in and the level of our team, I think we stack up to many Division I programs. Grand Valley has great athletic facilities, an excellent academic reputation, and is located in a great part of the state. Plus, we went to the Elite Eight last year--that's something that's real and available to any student-athlete who comes here to play volleyball.
I try to create a family environment here, too, like I did when coaching high school. It's got to be about more than wins and losses and what happens on the court. You've got to hook your athletes to you personally. And that makes it fun for me. I love every single one of my players, and I want them to be successful. I don't want them to just graduate from here and never see them again. It means a lot to me that I went to two weddings of former players this past year.
How have you been able to balance career and family while coaching?
It's hard, but it's necessary. That's one reason I like the Division II level, and especially Grand Valley. People here are supportive of my life outside of coaching. My athletic director has three kids of his own, so he understands family issues. And if I'm doing my job and working hard, it's okay when there are times I need to be somewhere else.
I also know that I have to have that balance. I've always said that if I did not have my kids, there's no way I could coach. They constantly give me a reality check and bring me back down so I don't go overboard with coaching. If I'm not happy in my family life, I'm not a very good coach.
I've also been able to incorporate my kids into some team activities. Each year we take a preseason trip, and my kids come with me. They're gaining a lot from this experience, too. My daughter is almost 14, and for her to be around the players on my team and for them to be role models for her, it's awesome.
When I look back to when I was growing up, all I got to see play were the boys' teams. My dad was a coach--basketball, football, and track--and my mom would make me and my sisters cheerleading outfits for when we'd go to watch our dad's teams compete. That was what we were supposed to do. Today, my daughter is exposed to all these positive role models and has the opportunity to pursue sports if she wants to.
What are your thoughts about the changing state of the game?
I do like the changes regarding how specific training and conditioning has become and how far advanced, physically, the style of the game has developed. But I'm a traditionalist and don't like the change to rally scoring. So, I spent my five minutes grumbling about it, and then said, "Okay, what do we have to do to win?"