The Twitter account for NCAA volleyball sent out a short video this week that was advertised as an inside look at a Gophers practice. The snippet reinforced the opinion I’ve formed in occasional interactions with Hugh McCutcheon during his eight seasons as the Gophers coach.
McCutcheon is strolling around during what looks to be a low-intensity practice. Casual though he appears, McCutcheon is taking in everything, emphasizing proper contact for servers, blockers and hitters.
“Make sure you’re not jumping through the ball, like yesterday,’’ he says to one player, and when impressed with another delivery, says, “That’s a spicy little number.’’
McCutcheon came here with a honored international coaching background. It took a while, but I’ve decided this is the comparison among prominent Minnesota coaches:
He’s the volleyball version of Jacques Lemaire, the Wild’s original coach.
Lemaire had an exceptional track record and no doubts about himself as a coach. His knowledge of the game assured Jacques that he was going to give his team the best possible chance to win. He felt no need to sell himself overtly to the public.
