March 3, 2016
By Jack Milewski, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Coaching can be overrated and underrated, but it should certainly never be undervalued.
For the Penn State men's volleyball team, the position of head coach has been filled by Mark Pavlik for the last 21 seasons. During this time, Pavlik's Nittany Lions have been a fixture in the NCAA Tournament, and the program has dominated the EIVA conference with 17 consecutive titles. In 2008, Pavlik led Penn State to national championship glory.
Pavlik has ushered Penn State through multiple eras of volleyball, meeting each new challenge with success. Through the years, there is no doubt Pavlik's philosophies and style has changed and he says that is mostly a byproduct of the fact that the game has as well.
"I think no doubt my coaching has changed, it's had to," Pavlik said. "When I started coaching, we didn't have rally scoring. Recruiting has changed in the sense that there are more opportunities to see more kids, so I've been able to recruit a wider scope of talent as a result. The biggest thing I think is the increased use of technology in coaching and how that has really revolutionized almost all sports."
For a coach who has made it through so many eras of volleyball and who has recorded so many accolades, the ability to adapt and change to the times is always an important trait. Pavlik also believes that possibly the biggest improvement he has made as a coach is to have the wherewithal to know when to step back and not do as much instead of over coaching.
"I've learned to give control away," Pavlik said. "I think that is really important and with the guys that I have been able to coach over the years I've learned that they need to have ownership and so for me that means taking a step back. I need to make sure to delegate to my assistant coaches because their strengths are so much different than mine. It's not really a 'me' thing anymore its much more of a 'they' thing where I'm just more of an arbitrator or helmsman."
One thing that hasn't changed much is Pavlik's in-game philosophy. A considerable amount of coaches are vocal in all levels of any sport. However, Pavlik chooses the more stoic approach when the match begins. Though he will talk to his players and engage with them during timeouts, for the most part, the coaching takes place during practice and when it is game time, there is no more time for coaching.
"My belief has always been that coaching takes place in practice," Pavlik said. "You're not going to make people play better in matches by saying something. Shouting in the game or carrying on doesn't make them get better. We work real hard in practice so that they don't feel like they always have to look to the bench during games. All I'm trying to do essentially is gauge things like if we have to slow things down or switch out players."
Coaching comes with a lot of stressors, but also a lot of rewards as well. One of those awards for Pavlik was the pick up of his 500th career win last season. Pavlik secured that accolade in the regular season finale against St. Francis and if not before, surely after was cemented as one of the best volleyball coaches of all time in the men's college ranks.
For all the time he has coached at Penn State, Pavlik has seen a large number of student athletes come and go in his program. It is the nature of the sport and the collegiate experience. However, Pavlik says that the four-year development that all these players experience is by far his favorite aspect of being a coach.
"I love just watching the guys to develop," Pavlik said. "They come in as freshman all wide eyed and they can't stay out of the gym. By the time they are fourth and fifth year seniors and have real life staring them in the face you can really see that growth. It's just a lot of fun to see that transformation."
For Pavlik, he says that he never envisioned being in the position he is now when he started 21 seasons ago. However, that is not out of a lack of confidence or belief, rather that is just because Pavlik says he never chooses to look that far ahead and he enjoys every second of coaching here at Penn State.
"My mentality has always been to take it one day at a time," Pavlik said. "I've enjoyed doing that and have enjoyed the coaching staffs that I've had. I've enjoyed the team as well and this year we have a really good group of guys who really want to work well together as a team. Throw Penn State in to the mix and there really is no better place on this earth for me to be than here in Happy Valley."
The Penn State Nittany Lions have been in a state of consistent success for the better part of the last two decades and that is largely due to the fact that the man at the helm has not changed or wavered in his commitment to the community or the Penn State men's volleyball program.