Last week, Jeff Phillips, director of volleyball, announced to the men’s team that he would be stepping down as their head coach. Phillips will stay on as head women’s volleyball coach. Phillips said that when he first interviewed for the head women’s volleyball coach position, “it was pitched to me to do both,” he was adamant that he did not want to because it would be “very difficult to give 100% to both programs.” He decided to become an assistant coach for the men and take the head coach position for the women’s team.

However, Goshen struggled with recruitment for a men’s volleyball head coach ­ — so Phillips decided to step in if another full-time staff member was added. Phillips balanced both teams for a year, but as time went on, the arrangement became more difficult. “The kind of impact it was having on my wife and my family at home, not having any offseason,” was very negative, said Phillips. The final decision came for Phillips after a “weekend where we had five women’s recruits on campus at the same time, where we had two men’s matches, Friday and Saturday. And so you kind of looked at that scenario … there’s no possible way I can give all of these people 100% at the same time.”

Pablo Sánchez, a senior defensive specialist/libero on the team, said that the whole team was called into a meeting after practice that they had no knowledge about. “After we were all gathered, Jeff announced his resignation

to us, explaining that it wasn’t because of the team, it wasn’t because of results … He explained that he had to choose only

one team because he couldn’t give 100% to either team.” Sánchez didn’t disagree with the decision as he acknowledged that there were times “he had to make decisions that hurt either the men’s or the women’s team.” In terms of the team’s reaction to the news, Sánchez said that they didn’t react in a bad manner, but “all mentioned that it’s frustrating how we can’t keep a coach for more than a year or two, and if this keeps happening the team is never going to be able to find a solid foundation.”

As a senior, Sánchez feels indifferent about the resignation and is hopeful that he will cross paths with Phillips again in the future, but this time as coaches. Looking at the future of the team, Sánchez advised them to “hang in there.” He has experienced three of the four coaches that have gone through the Goshen College men’s volleyball team, and though it’s difficult, it is “still a young program, and there is talent in this current team to get a good season next year.”

Coach Phillips further adds that he feels this was the best decision for both programs’ future long- term success. This way, both teams can have a coaching staff full available. and there won’t be a need for the athletes to adjust if someone is missing.