TicketsSept. 9, 2010
By Shawn Sell
GoBEARCATS.com
If an invitation to be involved with the USA National Team is extended to him again, University of Cincinnati head volleyball Reed Sunahara won't hesitate to say yes once more. Just last month, Sunahara was tabbed by long-time friends Hugh McCutcheon and Karch Kiraly to be a Team Leader for the squad's first two preliminary rounds in preparation for the 2010 FIVB World Grand Prix and it was an experience that he won't soon forget.
Now in his 11th season at the helm of the UC program, Sunahara has gained volleyball contacts throughout the world during a highly-successful playing and coaching career. McCutcheon, the former USA Men's National Team Coach and the current head coach of the women's squad and Kiraly, one of his assistants, and like Sunahara, a graduate of UCLA, are just two of those contacts. When an invitation arrived from Kiraly, Sunahara didn't have to think twice.
"I've known Hugh and Karch for a long time and Karch asked me if I wanted to go on this trip with them," he says. "I couldn't pass up this chance and it was a great opportunity for me both professionally and personally."
As part of his experience, Sunahara accompanied Team USA on Grand Prix preliminary trips to Poland and Thailand. The trip started off rough for Team USA as after an opening match win over the Dominican Republic; the Americans dropped consecutive matches to Germany and Poland. After moving on to Thailand, Team USA got hot, winning three straight against Italy, Thailand and Puerto Rico, before Sunahara headed back to the States. The team didn't cool off though, winning the final three of their preliminary contests and all five in the Grand Prix final round to take the championship. For Sunahara, who described his role on the trip as that of "a jack of all trades," there was much to be learned from being a part of such high-level volleyball.
"Just being around volleyball at the highest level was great for me," he says. "I've seen their games before, but I've never really been involved in the actual travel and such. Those guys are the best of the best. It's all about volleyball for them; it's not about a vacation. They want to be the best they can be and they proved it by winning the Grand Prix. It's a tribute to their hard work. For me to see that and see what they do, we have started doing some of the things they do that I think will help our team."
One factor that Sunahara did have to consider before embarking on the international trip was the fact that back home, preseason practice would kick off for the Bearcats without him for the first time since 1996. Yet again, Sunahara didn't have to think twice as he knew the team would be in the very capable hands of assistant coaches Erin Virtue and Myanna Hellsten.
"I trust both of them completely and if I had to do it again, I would in a heartbeat," he says. "They have done a great job for our program and for me and I trust them 100 percent. I am sure that at some point in their careers they will want to be a head coach. This was an opportunity for them to step in and run the show for awhile and see if this is what they want. It's a good step in that direction for them."
As the start to the 2010 season has unfolded, the Bearcats have expounded upon their coach's international experience, opening the season with a 7-1 record, including a victory over No. 16 Kentucky earlier this week. UC will look to continue its march towards the national Top-25 rankings this weekend, taking part in the College of Charleston's Holiday Inn Classic.