From setback to comeback

As one of the winningest coaches in all of college sports,
nobody would doubt UCLA men’s volleyball coach Al Scates if
he claimed to already have achieved his greatest successes.

After all, he has won 18 national championships in 43 years for
the Bruins and was named NCAA Coach of the Year five times.

Scates annually molds UCLA into a championship contender and has
become the most significant figure in collegiate volleyball in the
process.

But Scates, winner of over 1,100 matches, believes that if his
current Bruin team wins the NCAA Championship, it will be the
biggest accomplishment of his illustrious career.

“We’ve had undefeated seasons and other winning
streaks to finish the season, but it would be an even bigger
accomplishment if we win the championship this year,” Scates
said. “This team has come so far from where we were to the
level we are playing at right now.

If the Bruins (24-12) were to win the national title, they would
have the most losses of any men’s volleyball national
championship team, eclipsing the previous NCAA record of eight
losses, when the Bruins won the title in 1975 with a 27-8
record.

Considering the Bruins had a mediocre 12-12 record less than two
months ago, UCLA’s resurgence and current 12-match winning
streak is even more significant.

Especially when it was led by the man who is considered the
paradigm of volleyball success.

Scates’ teams have gone undefeated three times, and he has
finished with five losses or fewer in 29 of his 43 coaching
seasons, yet this year could be characterized as his best.

“(Al Scates’) accomplishment this year is quite
significant, and you have to admire him for what he has done with
his team,” said UC Irvine coach John Speraw, whose team UCLA
could face in the NCAA finals this Saturday.

“When a team that expects to be very good struggles, it
can be frustrating and the team can get discouraged,” Speraw
said. “But he kept them motivated and focused on the ultimate
goal of winning a championship.”

For someone whose only measure of success is a national title,
this season looked to be headed for failure early on.

After losing six of seven starters from last year’s NCAA
Championship-runner up to Pepperdine, this year’s squad
suffered from inexperience and dropped to as low as ninth place in
the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.

But Scates never faltered in his determination to get the team
playing its best volleyball at the end of the season.

While Scates’ rigorous conditioning program probably cost
the team some matches during the regular season due to fatigue, the
Bruins now have endurance that is an advantage over almost any team
they face.

“The ultimate goal is winning the championship, and
everything else is insignificant,” said Brian Rofer, who has
been Scates’ assistant coach for 16 years.

“I think this would be one of the best wins for UCLA,
though, because these guys were counted out, but they responded to
what Al has taught and are not going to be counted out at the
end.”

One major characteristic of Scates is his tendency to move
players around in the lineup early in the season and then stick
with a certain lineup at the end. This year was no different, as
players switched positions and many received significant playing
time in those positions.

This lineup experimentation was valuable because in addition to
the new freshmen, most of the returning players ““ Paul
George, David Russell, Nick Scheftic and Damien Scott ““ saw
little game action last season.

“The lineup we have now hasn’t ever lost, and I
wouldn’t have this lineup if I hadn’t moved players
around earlier in the year,” Scates said. “It takes
time to find the people who can play well together, and I have a
lot of confidence in the lineup we have now.”

With his style of continuing to train hard late into the season
and moving players around in the lineup, Scates has become
recognized as having teams that peak at just the right moment.

“Al is known for getting guys to play best when it matters
most, and he’s done it so many times,” Speraw said.
“Certainly his experience and knowing what to do for each
different team helps him, and he is able to keep guys focused on
the ultimate goal.”

The goal-oriented nature of the UCLA men’s volleyball
program can put significant pressure on the players to perform at a
consistently high level, but that pressure to win is exactly why
players choose UCLA.

“We want that pressure so we can get the UCLA name back
out there. People came to this school to get a (national
championship) ring, and I don’t want to leave here without
one.”

With such focused players, Scates takes little credit in
infusing the team with the energy needed to win the tough
matches.

“The pressure to win is always high, but this team is
self-motivating and will work very hard to win, so all I have to do
is give them focus,” Scates said.

Scates’ major role is giving direction to the players and
allowing them to step up and improve.

“Scates is really good with numbers, and he finds out
their tendencies so we can shut them down,” Scott said.
“That fires us up in the matches when we stop other teams. He
also helps so much by pointing out what we are doing
wrong.”

Already a member of the UCLA and AVCA Hall of Fame, some may
wonder what keeps Scates going after he has accomplished so much
during his coaching career.

But Rofer is quick to point out that winning is not the only
thing driving Scates at this stage of his career .

“He takes pride in finding the perfect spot for each
player so the players can have their optimum performance on the
court, and makes sure the players are confident in their
roles,” Rofer said. “He gets excited when the team
starts to play well, and its great to see him do what he
loves.”

Respect for Scates has permeated the collegiate volleyball scene
in the U.S., and even a coach he might face in the NCAA finals
enjoys seeing him succeed, if only when his team is not playing
UCLA.