http://www.dailypilot.com/articles/2006/12/31/sports/dpt-speraw31.txt
Published Sunday, December 31, 2006 1:12 AM PST
Sports
SPORTS NEWSMAKER OF 2006:Speraw the coach/scientist
VOLLEYBALL: Coach's passion for excellence helps 'Eaters become NCAA title contenders.
By Barry Faulkner
By Barry Faulkner
With decreasing frequency, John Speraw steals the last 30 minutes of daylight to buzz to the beach and capture photographic images of the sunset.
But it is sunrise that is ultimately more inspirational for the UC Irvine men's volleyball coach, who relishes the daily possibility of at least 16 waking hours with which to methodically labor closer toward the pinnacle of his profession.
Speraw, who earned a bachelor's degree in microbiology and molecular genetics at UCLA, where he played middle blocker for two NCAA champions and added three more national title rings as an assistant under legendary coach Al Scates, might one day be the first coach to ever don a lab coat on the sideline.
One of his players called him a scientist who coaches volleyball and first-year assistant David Kniffin, who was a senior setter for the Anteaters during Speraw's first season at UCI, said Speraw's detailed game plans are both uniquely meticulous and singularly efficient.
In his debut season of 2003, Speraw guided the Anteaters to a then-school-record 20 wins and, for a brief time, the program's first No. 1 national ranking.
After consecutive 14-18 and 9-20 seasons, UCI was 27-5 last season, when it won 21 straight matches, was No. 1 in the nation for eight consecutive weeks, captured the school's first Mountain Pacific Sports Federation regular-season championship and made an unprecedented trip to the four-team NCAA Championships, where it lost a five-game semifinal to host Penn State. The Anteaters were ranked No. 2 in the final poll.
Speraw was named Coach of the Year by the American Volleyball Coaches' Assn. and four Anteaters received All-American honors, including National Player of the Year Jayson Jablonsky, a junior outside hitter, and national Newcomer of the Year Brent Asuka, a freshman libero.
But as monumental as last season was, it was, ultimately, a failure in the exacting eyes of Speraw, whose barren white office walls reveal both a lack of sentimentality (his five NCAA championship rings sit in a box in his garage and he does not know the whereabouts of last season's Final Four trophy) and an uncompromising focus on his relentless quest for excellence.
"I'm very organized in some ways," said Speraw, whose desk features a laptop situated to one side of almost a ream of papers strewn about in layers, as if a gust of wind facilitates his filing system. "I have some very detailed, written-out strategies and philosophies … a lot of people around here still talk about the five-year plan I wrote and brought in for my interview. I'm very interested in organization on a training level and a program level. I think a lot about our core philosophies as a program and how we're going to get better. But I don't care if there's stuff hanging up on my walls and I don't care that my desk is a mess. My house is at least a little better. I am a photographer, so I have some pictures hanging on my walls at home.
"People around here understand that if they tell me something, there's a good chance I'll forget it. That's because my mind is somewhere else. All I want to do is get in the gym and train and make this program great. I'm trying to maximize the ability of my athletes and I'm trying to create an environment that is the finest volleyball experience in America. I am completely focused on that.
"Kniffin is one who understands Speraw's focus.
"When he came here, he walked in with a little bit of the Bruin attitude," said Kniffin, who has played for a handful of coaches in three collegiate stops, as well as a two-year professional stint in Spain. "He said, 'We're here to win. I expect us to win and that's what we're going to do. I'd say he has a different style than any other coach I've seen. No question, his vision is what drives him."
Speraw, who co-authored a book titled "Exercise for Your Muscle Type: The Smart Way to Get Fit," said he spent much of his Christmas break reading books about teaching leadership.
He said he also regularly attends lectures on physiology and nutrition at the human performance lab on campus and his small office refrigerator is topped by a surprisingly diverse selection of nutrition bars.
He said his biggest concern upon leaving UCLA, and his mentor Scates, was how he was going to continue to learn and grow as a coach.
"But, very soon, I realized that was absolutely not a concern," Speraw said. "The last four years have been the most dynamic educational experience of my life. And I have no doubt that the next several years will continue to provide that for me. I think in another five years, I may have a good grasp on how to coach a volleyball team."
Self-deprecation aside, Speraw has earned renown for his progressive, innovative approach to shaping a program."
Speraw's intelligence, knowledge of the game and passion for the game are awesome to be around," said senior setter Brian Thornton, who was second-team All-American as a junior last year after leading the NCAA in assists per game (13.7).
Also a disciple of John Wooden, who coached UCLA to a record 10 NCAA titles in men's basketball before retiring in 1975, Speraw has formulated what he calls the four pillars of his program.
The four principles are: Personal responsibility; Effort; Treat each other as family; and Always have the utmost respect for our opponents."
A lot of companies have slogans and philosophies, but they are mostly just words on a banner that never really impact their employees," Speraw said. "I came to our four pillars as an idea, a concept of what we're about. We talk about those philosophies on a daily basis and, as a coaching staff (also including assistant Mark Presho), we make sure we execute on those philosophies every day in practice."
I've said our success last year was as much about philosophical development as it was increasing our talent or skill level."
Speraw's recruiting philosophies also set him apart.
Jablonsky was virtually unrecruited by other programs out of Esperanza High and the Anteaters plucked Matt Webber, a second-team All-American last season as a junior opposite hitter, from the virtual obscurity of a Bay Area suburb.
Speraw agreed to let Asuka, whose 3.03 digs per game last season ranked third in the nation, walk on, despite never having seen him play in person.
"I did see some videotape, but no one ever served to [Asuka], so it was hard to assess him as a passer," Speraw said.
Thornton was another find, having been scorned by other Division I programs out of San Clemente High."
I have a small team [the starters for which are seldom collectively taller than opposing lineups] and it seems like I keep recruiting guys who are small," Speraw said. "It's not that I choose to do so, it's just that I like athletes. I have a tendency to swing toward the real athletic guys, so maybe I look more at jumping ability and arm swing than I do size. I can walk through a gym and see the guys who interest me [as recruits]. And I usually figure out who those guys are in about 30 seconds. Every coach has something different he's looking for. Whereas another coach might think 'He's pretty small; I don't want him,' I'm watching his jumping ability and how he moves on the court."
Speraw's program, ranked No. 1 in the preseason poll for the upcoming season that begins Wednesday, will play nine matches at the 5,000-seat Bren Events Center this season. UCI played three matches at the Bren Center last year, including one in the MPSF Tournament. Crawford Court, the team's former primary home, holds fewer than 800 spectators.
"We had some big wins last year and I think we proved we weren't just a blip on the radar, but that we were legit," Speraw said. "And I think that started to generate a lot of interest. I believe we're starting to carry over some of that interest to this year and certainly being ranked as preseason No. 1 is helping.
"I think getting 3,000 and 4,000 fans a night is completely attainable. If we can do that, we'll provide the finest volleyball environment in Southern California, which combined with other factors, gives us a niche in recruiting. Once we have that, it will bring better players which makes us better and draws more fans, and the whole thing starts to snow ball. I think we've built the ball, but we still need to roll it down the hill."
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