Ignatius L Hoops
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http://www.mnvolleyballhub.com/news_article/show/699702
While in Croatia with her husband, Erik, last year, Vicki Swenson found herself repeatedly answering one question from American volleyball players and their foreign counterparts who competed a club tournament in which she was coaching.
“People were wondering, ‘How can we get to play in Minnesota?’ ” recalled Swenson, who also is the volleyball coach at Hopkins. “Everyone knows about volleyball in Minnesota.”
The state long has been recognized as a volleyball hotbed. Larger, more populous states such as California and Texas produce more players, but in terms of quality, the North Star State is the equivalent of a six-rotation player: It takes a seat for no one...
...While the reasons for the ascendance into the volleyball recruiting stratosphere are many, most agree that the sport would be nowhere its current level had it not been for the hiring in 2012 of Hugh McCutcheon as coach at the University of Minnesota.
McCutcheon has coached Team USA men’s and women’s volleyball teams to Olympic gold medals and is internationally revered as a coach and teacher. Combining his renown alongside the preponderance of top high school teams and club programs has brought Minnesota to a level few anticipated. The perfect storm of elite coaching, top talent and second-to-none facilities...
...McCutcheon has had top-rated recruiting classes in each of his five previous seasons with the Gophers. There’s another on the way next year, led by Martin, a 6-3 middle blocker who is the only Minnesotan in the group. It’s a numbers game. There are only 12 scholarships and 18 players on a roster.
“Hugh has been so successful at every level that I count myself lucky to get this opportunity,” Martin said. “Girls flock to Minnesota, wanting to play for him, but not everyone gets the chance ”
McCutcheon said his philosophy is focused on national championships but stressed that Minnesota players are vital to that goal.
“We absolutely want to keep the best players close to home, assuming it’s the right fit for them and our program,” he said in an e-mail to the Star Tribune. “The reality is that not every position has an open scholarship each year. Overall, we think our responsibility is to recruit and train the best student-athletes we can to represent the U of M.”
While in Croatia with her husband, Erik, last year, Vicki Swenson found herself repeatedly answering one question from American volleyball players and their foreign counterparts who competed a club tournament in which she was coaching.
“People were wondering, ‘How can we get to play in Minnesota?’ ” recalled Swenson, who also is the volleyball coach at Hopkins. “Everyone knows about volleyball in Minnesota.”
The state long has been recognized as a volleyball hotbed. Larger, more populous states such as California and Texas produce more players, but in terms of quality, the North Star State is the equivalent of a six-rotation player: It takes a seat for no one...
...While the reasons for the ascendance into the volleyball recruiting stratosphere are many, most agree that the sport would be nowhere its current level had it not been for the hiring in 2012 of Hugh McCutcheon as coach at the University of Minnesota.
McCutcheon has coached Team USA men’s and women’s volleyball teams to Olympic gold medals and is internationally revered as a coach and teacher. Combining his renown alongside the preponderance of top high school teams and club programs has brought Minnesota to a level few anticipated. The perfect storm of elite coaching, top talent and second-to-none facilities...
...McCutcheon has had top-rated recruiting classes in each of his five previous seasons with the Gophers. There’s another on the way next year, led by Martin, a 6-3 middle blocker who is the only Minnesotan in the group. It’s a numbers game. There are only 12 scholarships and 18 players on a roster.
“Hugh has been so successful at every level that I count myself lucky to get this opportunity,” Martin said. “Girls flock to Minnesota, wanting to play for him, but not everyone gets the chance ”
McCutcheon said his philosophy is focused on national championships but stressed that Minnesota players are vital to that goal.
“We absolutely want to keep the best players close to home, assuming it’s the right fit for them and our program,” he said in an e-mail to the Star Tribune. “The reality is that not every position has an open scholarship each year. Overall, we think our responsibility is to recruit and train the best student-athletes we can to represent the U of M.”
