Jeff Phillips, former head coach of the men’s volleyball team, was announced this summer to be the head coach of the women’s volleyball team at Goshen College. His assistant coach for the past two seasons, Wyatt Bollinger, was promoted to head coach the men’s team.

Bollinger ’23 played as a setter during his time at GC. He shared his excitement to take the position. He said, “It worked out great for me. I got to stay at Goshen a little longer and still continue growing my career.”

Phillips believes that Bollinger was the perfect fit for the position. “Wyatt has now been a student-athlete, competed for Goshen and held an assistant position for two seasons with the men’s program. He was able to be involved in all aspects of the program and has all of the necessary qualifications to take over,” he said. “But the biggest key was he was really passionate about Goshen and wanted to develop the program and make it his own. That alone was the biggest reason I wanted him to take over our men’s volleyball program.”

Bollinger said that his preparedness to take on the role can be credited to the mentorship he received under Phillips. “A lot of it was the mental aspects of the game and what needs to take place outside of the court. As an athlete, I already had a pretty good knowledge of the game and the techniques and fundamentals, but it really came down to what it takes to build a successful culture,” Bollinger said.

Phillips said he was confident in Bollinger’s ability. “I do think he was able to create a vision for how he wanted to do things over the last couple of years. He is fully capable and has all the knowledge needed to implement his vision.”

Ben Koop, a junior and outside hitter,  already noticed the vision Bollinger had for the program, and that he was making leadership within the squad a priority. Koop said that the team voted on captains roles anonymously. “We now have three upperclassmen captains and one underclassmen captain.” he said.

Koop welcomed the change in the team’s leadership structure. “Last year we didn’t have a captain role asserted until we were in season and it didn’t necessarily come with any additional responsibilities. Sometimes the captain who would be the floor captain or who would do the coin toss just depended on management on the day,” he said.

Bollinger was involved in recruiting during the last season. This year, the team has six first-years, double from last year’s number. Bollinger has ambition for this first-year class.

“I’m so glad they’re here. I am so happy to have them. Every single one of them. They’ve made such an impact with their energy and their talk and what they are bringing to the table,” Bollinger said.

Koop already feels the impact that the first-year players are having on the culture. “I see them sitting together in the Rott at meals, which is awesome. I see them joking around, they seem like good friends outside of the court. The upperclassmen are forming relationships with them as well,” Koop said.

Bollinger has appointed Ian Fox  ’23 as his assistant coach. Fox  played as a middle hitter during his college career.

According to Bollinger, “Having Ian on staff has been huge. He’s been such a help. We have 18 guys in the gym, so I can’t watch them all at all times. Having someone there working alongside me that knows the game has been so important.”

Koop thinks that Bollinger and Fox are a good coaching pair for the team, as both are recent GC graduates and student-athletes. “I think so far that’s been a compliment because they know how to look at the game, which is helpful for players on the team. They also have a good balance of positive reinforcement and finding ways to encourage us to push a little bit harder,” Koop said.

Bollinger said that his goal as coach is to improve the team as a whole, even gradually. “Success doesn’t necessarily mean wins and losses, it can be what we improved upon, what we did and if we are improving at practice. But at the end of the day, it has to be about winning.”