One more sleep: A conversation with head volleyball coach Daniel Jones
8/9/2019 4:17:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
The Bobcat volleyball team opens preseason drills on Saturday morning. Msubobcats.com had a chance to sit down with Coach Jones for a State of the Program interview.
Q: How was the summer with the family and recharging the batteries?
A: My wife, Lacee, is from Las Vegas, so we took the kids down to her parents' house. Additionally, we had a family reunion with her parents, siblings, nieces and nephews, somewhat in enemy territory, as we went to Brian Head, which is just outside of Cedar City. It was a great recharge and opportunity to be with family and think less about the program for a minute. It was really nice.
Q: Another summer activity are camps. This summer you were busting at the seams with campers. How important is the camp scene and getting those kids on campus?
A: Our camps were huge, and this year we unfortunately had to turn some people away. That was the first time we have experienced that, even after we rented some additional courts. In terms of the impact it has on the program it is multi-faceted. First, it reinforces to the team that what we are headed in the right direction. When I'm standing in front of 200 campers, and I can talk about how we are building a legacy with Montana State volleyball, am able to talk about the values we espouse as a program and see the campers eyes light up, our athletes come away with a greater sense of the impact we have. Second, and really the most special part of camp is opening the door to the community- and getting to say this is how we do things at Montana State- and we want you to be a part of it. And that's a sincere desire for me because I want the community to be part of what we're doing. Camp is about leaving these young women and men better than when we found them. And, in doing so, we know we are making the community better, we're making volleyball better and we're helping in the process of raising more responsible citizens. It's a pretty neat thing to go out and do.
Q: What do your student-athletes do during the summer and how important is it for them to get a chance to breathe, while at the same time sharpening their skills?
A: I really think we will look back at this summer and see it as a turning point for our program. In the summer, I'm not allowed to be involved with the team. They're allowed to have voluntary contact with us, but we can't have any required contact with them. We are not allowed to observe any workouts in the weight room or the gym. But, what I'm hearing back from our leadership group, the support staff around the program- the strength and conditioning staff and our athletic training staff- is that there is a sense we have taken a big step forward in the level of commitment and that they are striving to be at their best. I'm not allowed to get reports on who is attending or who is not attending, but I tell you what, the unity we're feeling right now is something that I have not experienced in my time here. That unity has come from a united front of working hard this summer. The girls are chomping at the bit to get in the gym, get to work and start showing us the stuff they've done this summer.
Q: During the summer you also get a chance to take a step back and take a look at the program. Where do you see yourself, personally and professionally, with the program heading into your third season as head coach?
A: That's a great question. Over the last year we've bought a home, we've had our third child, my oldest daughter is starting school this fall, my son is going to pre-school, and along with the involvement with friends and our church community, we feel like the Bozeman community is becoming a fabric of our life. My wife and I talk about it regularly that this is where we want to raise our kids. We want to be here to build this program to the point where we're contending for titles in the Big Sky Conference. We want to build the program so that the alumni have something they can come home to and be proud of. And, I think what produces that is continuity and longevity. Once you have longevity and continuity, then people can start to buy into what you're doing. I'll openly say that this is the place I want to be, and I don't want to go anywhere else. Going into a packed-out Shroyer Gym is way more exciting to me than going into a big arena that's half empty. Having camps that are sold-out gives me chills just thinking about it, because it's a connection with the community here in Bozeman and the state of Montana. All of this makes what we're doing so purposeful, and it's not just about volleyball, we're making young women's lives better through the program, we're making the community's life better by giving them something that they can feel ownership of, and we're making our alumni lives better because they have a sense of pride for what we're doing here. My goal is to keep level-headed so I can continue to move this thing in the right direction; and do it with a long-term view of building teams that are championship contenders, the right way.
Q: With two years of head coaching behind you, and last year making a significant jump getting into the Big Sky Conference Tournament, what are going to be the key elements in taking another step up the ladder this year?
A: I think the talent we've added from a volleyball prospective is going to help us, we've brought in three young women that are going to make us better from a volleyball standpoint. They make us better from a cultural standpoint, as well. As we look forward to this year and making the next big step, I think there is just a sense of belief that we can do it. It's been a slow process to get beyond that losing mindset. Anyone who has been involved in athletics at any level knows that switching a losing mindset to a winning mindset is probably the hardest thing to do. You can train them, you can improve their skills, but when the pressure comes on, where do they go internally in their mind? We've been working relentlessly on that, and that's the key to the jump we want to make this year. The goal we're setting as a program is to win the last match we play. And, if we can do that, I think we can set ourselves up for a really successful season. The character of the young women we have gives us a chance to be really close as a team. When you have a united team, and we're all moving in the same direction, then we have a chance to maximize the talent that we have.
Q: Do you feel your three seniors, and leaders, have a sense of urgency to accomplish this year?
A: Absolutely. We talk a lot in the program about perspective and that the days are long, but the years are short. Our seniors' taste that right now. It's no longer just one of our values that we talk about, it's right there in their faces. What they're aware of everyday they wake up this is the last day of the first day of their last season they get as a collegiate athlete. There is an enormous sense of urgency, and the neat part is, they are so bought in to this team, the team has already told me they will walk over broken glass to give these seniors a great send-off. I think when you have seniors who are leading from a perspective of bringing the underclassman in immediately and making them feel a part of it, then you have buy-in, and it creates something special.
Q: With fall camp opening on Saturday, what are some of the things you need to implement in the first few weeks to get the team ready to go for the first tournament the end of the month?
A: It's the same thing every year, you start with integrating the freshmen into the systems. You have to make them understand that when we say this; this is what that means in terms of calls both offensively and defensively. A big focus is going to be finding our offensive rhythm early on. We have two returning setters- a senior and a junior – who have been great contributors and they're ready to go in terms of leading the offense. The focus is to get the offensive and defensive systems in place and then make sure we are competing. We need to beat each other up in our gym, so that our gym is one of the most competitive they play in all year.
Q: How do you see the Big Sky Conference shaking out this season?
A: It's going to be an interesting one this year. From my experience in the Big Sky Conference, if you have a group of senior leaders, you have a chance to be great. Historically, I think we've seen that with Northern Arizona last year and Idaho. I think Weber State returns a good group of experienced players and Northern Colorado always does a great job. Sacramento State is always in the mix, they're competitive and have a great recruiting base. And then you go down the list from there and you can't take anyone for granted. It's really going to be about who can be a tight unit and have the values to maximize their kids' abilities.
Q: How are you feeling about the program as a whole heading into year three?
A: You ask that question, I get chills. You've seen this program go through the ups and downs. Going into my fifth year with the program I can sit here and confidently say this is the best place we've been. The neat part is we're still growing, and the goal is to keep growing until the last ball hits the ground. The state of the program is very healthy. The direction of the program, I couldn't be more excited about.
A: My wife, Lacee, is from Las Vegas, so we took the kids down to her parents' house. Additionally, we had a family reunion with her parents, siblings, nieces and nephews, somewhat in enemy territory, as we went to Brian Head, which is just outside of Cedar City. It was a great recharge and opportunity to be with family and think less about the program for a minute. It was really nice.
Q: Another summer activity are camps. This summer you were busting at the seams with campers. How important is the camp scene and getting those kids on campus?
A: Our camps were huge, and this year we unfortunately had to turn some people away. That was the first time we have experienced that, even after we rented some additional courts. In terms of the impact it has on the program it is multi-faceted. First, it reinforces to the team that what we are headed in the right direction. When I'm standing in front of 200 campers, and I can talk about how we are building a legacy with Montana State volleyball, am able to talk about the values we espouse as a program and see the campers eyes light up, our athletes come away with a greater sense of the impact we have. Second, and really the most special part of camp is opening the door to the community- and getting to say this is how we do things at Montana State- and we want you to be a part of it. And that's a sincere desire for me because I want the community to be part of what we're doing. Camp is about leaving these young women and men better than when we found them. And, in doing so, we know we are making the community better, we're making volleyball better and we're helping in the process of raising more responsible citizens. It's a pretty neat thing to go out and do.
Q: What do your student-athletes do during the summer and how important is it for them to get a chance to breathe, while at the same time sharpening their skills?
A: I really think we will look back at this summer and see it as a turning point for our program. In the summer, I'm not allowed to be involved with the team. They're allowed to have voluntary contact with us, but we can't have any required contact with them. We are not allowed to observe any workouts in the weight room or the gym. But, what I'm hearing back from our leadership group, the support staff around the program- the strength and conditioning staff and our athletic training staff- is that there is a sense we have taken a big step forward in the level of commitment and that they are striving to be at their best. I'm not allowed to get reports on who is attending or who is not attending, but I tell you what, the unity we're feeling right now is something that I have not experienced in my time here. That unity has come from a united front of working hard this summer. The girls are chomping at the bit to get in the gym, get to work and start showing us the stuff they've done this summer.
Q: During the summer you also get a chance to take a step back and take a look at the program. Where do you see yourself, personally and professionally, with the program heading into your third season as head coach?
A: That's a great question. Over the last year we've bought a home, we've had our third child, my oldest daughter is starting school this fall, my son is going to pre-school, and along with the involvement with friends and our church community, we feel like the Bozeman community is becoming a fabric of our life. My wife and I talk about it regularly that this is where we want to raise our kids. We want to be here to build this program to the point where we're contending for titles in the Big Sky Conference. We want to build the program so that the alumni have something they can come home to and be proud of. And, I think what produces that is continuity and longevity. Once you have longevity and continuity, then people can start to buy into what you're doing. I'll openly say that this is the place I want to be, and I don't want to go anywhere else. Going into a packed-out Shroyer Gym is way more exciting to me than going into a big arena that's half empty. Having camps that are sold-out gives me chills just thinking about it, because it's a connection with the community here in Bozeman and the state of Montana. All of this makes what we're doing so purposeful, and it's not just about volleyball, we're making young women's lives better through the program, we're making the community's life better by giving them something that they can feel ownership of, and we're making our alumni lives better because they have a sense of pride for what we're doing here. My goal is to keep level-headed so I can continue to move this thing in the right direction; and do it with a long-term view of building teams that are championship contenders, the right way.
Q: With two years of head coaching behind you, and last year making a significant jump getting into the Big Sky Conference Tournament, what are going to be the key elements in taking another step up the ladder this year?
A: I think the talent we've added from a volleyball prospective is going to help us, we've brought in three young women that are going to make us better from a volleyball standpoint. They make us better from a cultural standpoint, as well. As we look forward to this year and making the next big step, I think there is just a sense of belief that we can do it. It's been a slow process to get beyond that losing mindset. Anyone who has been involved in athletics at any level knows that switching a losing mindset to a winning mindset is probably the hardest thing to do. You can train them, you can improve their skills, but when the pressure comes on, where do they go internally in their mind? We've been working relentlessly on that, and that's the key to the jump we want to make this year. The goal we're setting as a program is to win the last match we play. And, if we can do that, I think we can set ourselves up for a really successful season. The character of the young women we have gives us a chance to be really close as a team. When you have a united team, and we're all moving in the same direction, then we have a chance to maximize the talent that we have.
Q: Do you feel your three seniors, and leaders, have a sense of urgency to accomplish this year?
A: Absolutely. We talk a lot in the program about perspective and that the days are long, but the years are short. Our seniors' taste that right now. It's no longer just one of our values that we talk about, it's right there in their faces. What they're aware of everyday they wake up this is the last day of the first day of their last season they get as a collegiate athlete. There is an enormous sense of urgency, and the neat part is, they are so bought in to this team, the team has already told me they will walk over broken glass to give these seniors a great send-off. I think when you have seniors who are leading from a perspective of bringing the underclassman in immediately and making them feel a part of it, then you have buy-in, and it creates something special.
Q: With fall camp opening on Saturday, what are some of the things you need to implement in the first few weeks to get the team ready to go for the first tournament the end of the month?
A: It's the same thing every year, you start with integrating the freshmen into the systems. You have to make them understand that when we say this; this is what that means in terms of calls both offensively and defensively. A big focus is going to be finding our offensive rhythm early on. We have two returning setters- a senior and a junior – who have been great contributors and they're ready to go in terms of leading the offense. The focus is to get the offensive and defensive systems in place and then make sure we are competing. We need to beat each other up in our gym, so that our gym is one of the most competitive they play in all year.
Q: How do you see the Big Sky Conference shaking out this season?
A: It's going to be an interesting one this year. From my experience in the Big Sky Conference, if you have a group of senior leaders, you have a chance to be great. Historically, I think we've seen that with Northern Arizona last year and Idaho. I think Weber State returns a good group of experienced players and Northern Colorado always does a great job. Sacramento State is always in the mix, they're competitive and have a great recruiting base. And then you go down the list from there and you can't take anyone for granted. It's really going to be about who can be a tight unit and have the values to maximize their kids' abilities.
Q: How are you feeling about the program as a whole heading into year three?
A: You ask that question, I get chills. You've seen this program go through the ups and downs. Going into my fifth year with the program I can sit here and confidently say this is the best place we've been. The neat part is we're still growing, and the goal is to keep growing until the last ball hits the ground. The state of the program is very healthy. The direction of the program, I couldn't be more excited about.
Matt Houk Introductory Press Conference
Wednesday, January 18
Daniel Jones Weekly Press Conference
Monday, November 15
Bobcat Classic: Arkansas vs. Portland
Saturday, September 04
Bobcat Classic: Arkansas vs. Utah State
Friday, September 03
