North Carolina State University Athletics
TIM PEELER: Stubbs off and running for Wolfpack volleyball
3/2/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
March 2, 2006
BY TIM PEELER
RALEIGH - Charita J. Stubbs wasn't in Raleigh on the day she was officially named NC State's new volleyball coach. The former long-time assistant at the University of Arizona, however, wasn't running late for the announcement.
She was already on the road recruiting, looking to fill the three scholarships she will have available on her inaugural Wolfpack team next fall.
"Recruiting is the single most important thing right now," Stubbs said.
Fortunately, she had more than a week between when she accepted the job and the necessary approval from the NC State Board of Trustees. That allowed her to get organized, hire Keisha J. Demps as her top assistant and start looking at lists of potential recruits.
But when her hiring was made official, Stubbs was on her way to Las Vegas for one of the country's largest club volleyball tournaments, to dig for middle blocker prospects. She spent three days evaluating talent, and meeting potential recruits.
She got back from the three-day event just in time to begin 6 a.m. individual workouts with the current members of her team.
Stubbs surprised many people in the college volleyball community when she agreed to become the seventh head coach in the 31-year history of NC State volleyball. She had been at Arizona so long as a player and a coach, people on the West Coast thought she would never leave.
But she always wanted to be a head coach, and she believes NC State has the potential to be a East Coast volleyball power, despite the fact that the Wolfpack has finished last in the ACC the last six years.
"This is the perfect fit for me," Stubbs said. "I wanted to go to a school where volleyball is important. The ACC, as a conference is wide-open. The facilities here are absolutely amazing. It is especially beautiful here in North Carolina. This is a place where I think you can recruit.
"The program here hasn't been very successful lately, but that is going to change."
NC State athletics director Lee Fowler saw from the beginning of the interview process that Stubbs was eager to take on the challenge of rebuilding Wolfpack volleyball.
"I was very impressed with the research she had done before she got here," Fowler said. "She knew a lot about the program, what some of the problems have been with it. She talked to a lot of coaches around the league. She was by far the best prepared for the interview. Through the process of calling on her references, it was apparent she is a good young coach, a very good recruiter who realizes what it takes to be at the top 25 level in volleyball.
"That is what we are looking for."
One of the recruiting tools Stubbs will use is her position as NC State's first female African-American head coach. She is one of the few black head coaches in Division I volleyball, so she sees it as a natural thing to play up when she's looking for an edge.
"It's going to be one of our major selling points in recruiting," Stubbs said. "I think young ladies need role models. I will sell the fact that you can be black, you can be a head coach, you can be educated.
"That is something young ladies need to look up to."
Stubbs has clearly hit the ground running with her program, and her new life in Raleigh. Having already received both an undergraduate degree in political science and a masters degree in language, reading and culture from the University of Arizona, Stubbs is now pursuing her doctorate in educational administration.
There are so many things to do, and so little time to get everything done. And her husband, Melvin, is still back in Arizona. He's a musician and music instructor working at a charter school. His academic year won't be completed until late May.
Until then, Stubbs is spending any free time she may have learning her new environment at NC State, touring campus, visiting the 11 different colleges, learning all the selling points of her new school.
"Each day, I am going out on campus and learning about a different part of the university," Stubbs said. "That is what recruiting is. I have to know the ins and outs of the campus, everything there is to know.
"We are going to be bringing in recruits in the next few weeks. It is important that I know everything."
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
