North Carolina State University Athletics
Getting to Know: New Volleyball Coach Bryan Bunn
2/23/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
RALEIGH, NC – On Friday, the NC State Board of Trustees approved the hiring of Bryan Bunn as NC State's volleyball coach. Bunn spent the last three years as an associate head coach at Baylor, helping the team reach the NCAA Sweet 16 and producing a pair of All-Americans. He is confident that he can turn the fortunes of the Wolfpack's program around, through his teaching and recruiting skills.
Bunn sat down with GoPack.com managing editor Tim Peeler to talk about his background, his goals and his strategy for building a successful program with the Wolfpack.
GoPack: How did you get into coaching volleyball?
Bunn: I always knew, from an early age, that I wanted to be a coach. I grew up playing basketball and following guys like Julius Erving, George Gervin, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. I thought maybe I would be a basketball coach. I didn't even start playing volleyball until I was 21, when I was in junior college. I absolutely fell in love with the sport. As soon as I started playing volleyball, I never picked up a basketball again.
GoPack: What did you like so much about volleyball?
Bunn: The court is a small area, so there is a lot of teamwork. It's about 900 square feet of area. The connection you have with your teammates is very close. You can't just dribble the ball down and shoot on your own. For me, it's the ultimate team game.
GoPack: What makes you a good volleyball coach?
Bunn: I think when we teach skills, we keep things very simple. We analyze movement. We make sure we are doing things efficiently. When we see movement that is not efficient, we make sure we use a simple teaching phrase so when I explain things, it is easily understood. That translates to performance on the court.
GoPack: You said you always wanted to be a coach. Do you think you have a better eye for teaching those skills you talked about because you learned the game later in life?
Bunn: Maybe. I didn't start playing until after I knew I wanted to be a coach. So the classes I was taking – biomechanics, physiology, that sort of thing – it was easier for me to analyze the movements and the skills that I was looking for. And I immersed myself in the sport. The great thing about volleyball is that you can get four guys, find a sand court and go play for hours. I lived in Texas and Florida and you could find a sand court on Saturday at 9 a.m. and stay until late in the afternoon, and get thousands of reps. You could play some six-man tournaments and a couple of mid-week leagues and before you know it, you are pretty good at it.
GoPack: Talk a little about your background.
Bunn: I was at Texas Lutheran, an NAIA school in Seguin, Texas, for a couple of years as an assistant, and I was teaching at a private Christian school [near San Antonio and Austin]. That's when I decided to get into collegiate coaching. I went to Stephen F. Austin to get my masters degree. I was a first assistant while I was there. I went back to Texas Lutheran for two more years and became the head coach. Then I went to North Florida, which was a NCAA Division II team for the first five years I was there and then became Division I for my last two years. The opportunity then came up to go to Baylor, which is where my fiancee was teaching, as the associate coach, which I did for three years. We made some great strides in that program during that time. We went to the Sweet 16 last year and we had two All-Americans.
GoPack: What attracted you to this job here at NC State?
Bunn: It's an opportunity to be a head coach in a BCS conference. I think the program has underperformed for a number of years. This is a great city. The school has a national reputation. The ACC is a good volleyball conference. We should be able to attract players here and be competitive in this conference.
GoPack: How do you get started?
Bunn: Mostly, it's about personnel. You can be a great Xs and Os coach, but if you don't bring in the people who can compete in your conference, then it won't matter. You have to bring in the talent, first of all. Then you have to have a good system, something the girls buy into. If you are a good teacher, with a good system and good talent, you are going to be successful. Our goal is to overachieve, no matter what t he talent level.
GoPack: Have you already begun finding new players to bring in?
Bunn: Oh, yes. We have scheduled official visits and we are talking to players. It is a great opportunity for players to come in and make an impact right away at an ACC school. That's the biggest draw for the next two or three years that we have.
GoPack: What areas have been your primary recruiting places?
Bunn: Texas, I know all the coaches there. Florida, where I spent a lot of time. We have recruited kids all up and down the East Coast and in Iowa. One of the biggest things we have to do here is get some visibility for our program, so that coaches in the area want to send their players here.
GoPack: How much high school volleyball talent is there in the state of North Carolina for you to choose from?
Bunn: It's changing. There are clubs here in this area that are sending players to big time volleyball programs. There are a lot of good players in this area. Club volleyball has exploded here in the last seven or eight years.
GoPack: When did you start to notice that?
Bunn: When I went to Baylor in 2007, I came back here to recruit. There were five players in this area that we interested in recruiting. So if this job had opened seven years ago, I wouldn't have been interested. Now, they have made a lot of improvements around here in terms of facilities. And the league, which was just getting one or two teams in the NCAA Tournament seven or eight years ago, is getting five now. The talent in the conference is better, so we are going to get better talent here.
GoPack: What do you need to learn about NC State and the community here?
Bunn: I have to learn about the strength of the school and its academics. I have to find the way to promote a school that is known for engineering and science to someone who is interested in communications or physical therapy. It's an easy sell if they are interested in engineering or science. We have to let them know it is a big school with lots of opportunities for everyone.
GoPack: What have you learned about the players who are here now?
Bunn: They are hungry to win and eager to be successful. We have to get the culture changed in the program. What we have to find out now is if they are willing to do the things they need to do to be successful. It is easy to say that you want to win, but you have to do the work to get there, in the weight room, on the volleyball court and in conditioning. We have to make sure everyone is buying in to what we are doing. It's easy to say you want to win, but you have to find the people who are willing to work to get there.
GoPack: So, how long before you feel like you are settled in?
Bunn: I have been going at it for a while, living out of a hotel for right now. My wife, Jennifer, comes here in May, with our puppy dog. [They were married in June, 2008]. She is still teaching exercise physiology at Baylor. She is waiting for the semester to end and trying to sell our house. Once she gets here, it will feel like home.
