It seems like the perfect scenario for a retirement party.
Al Scates, UCLA’s legendary men’s volleyball coach,
hoists his 19th national championship trophy in front of his home
crowd after Saturday night’s NCAA Championship game, and ends
his career on top of the sport he’s devoted his life to.
There’s only one problem: Scates is not ready to
retire.
“I plan on being in this situation for many years to
come,” he said.
“I have one goal every year, and that is to win the
national title. Since 1970, I have had a chance to do that more
than half the time, and that is what keeps me going.”
More than the opportunity to teach young players and the
prestige that comes with coaching college volleyball’s most
successful program, it is the opportunity to win another
championship that motivates Scates to return each season.
And even though Scates consistently refuses to consider that his
reign atop the men’s volleyball world will end soon, this
weekend may represent one of his last opportunities to add another
national championship.
He’s 65 years old. And he won’t be stalking the
Pauley Pavilion sidelines forever.
“I realize that this year is a special opportunity,”
Scates said. “The fact that we’re playing at home is an
opportunity we have to cherish because it doesn’t come along
very often.”
That the will to win still burns so brightly in Scates could be
because that desire hasn’t been satiated recently.
This year’s team is the first to reach the Final Four in
four seasons, the longest drought since Scates took over the
program in 1963.
Compare that to the previous eight years in which the Bruins
reached the NCAA finals every season, and it’s obvious how
much the volleyball landscape has changed.
Traditionally, the hotbed of men’s volleyball has been
Southern California, but an influx of international recruits to
programs such as BYU, Lewis and Hawai’i has leveled the
playing field and loosened Scates’ traditional stranglehold
on the sport. The last three teams to win a national championship
have been from outside of California.
“There is more parity in college volleyball than
ever,” UCSB coach Ken Preston said. “Just look at the
top five teams in the MPSF this season. You could say that any of
them had a legitimate chance to win the national title.”
“You could not say that in the past.”
Scates, meanwhile, has endured an era of unprecedented futility
since his last national championship in 2000.
This year’s Mountain Pacific Sports Federation regular
season champion Pepperdine has won three of the last four MPSF
conference titles. The Bruins have won none during that span.
“It’s definitely not the same as the past,”
setter Gaby Acevedo said. “But if you look at our overall
track record, there is something still to be said about
UCLA.”
“If you ask anyone involved in volleyball in
(Acevedo’s native) Puerto Rico, everyone knows who UCLA
is.”
And that, unquestionably, is because of Scates.
As the only active member of the American Volleyball Coaches
Association Hall of Fame, Scates still commands respect from his
players like no other coach in the game. He is 49-6 all-time in the
NCAA Tournament. He has advanced to 25 Final Fours. And he has not
lost at Pauley Pavilion in the NCAA Tournament in 24 career
matches.
“Coach Scates has been a great ambassador to the game of
volleyball,” said Pepperdine coach Marv Dunphy, whose team is
the top seed in this weekend’s Final Four. “Despite
UCLA’s recent troubles, he still commands respect from
everyone in the game.”
This year, however, seems to be Scates’ best chance in the
near future to capture another national title.
Four seniors, including All-American middle blocker Paul
Johnson, play a prominent role on the team, and all will be very
difficult to replace.
The Bruins are cognizant that the window of opportunity to give
their coach another championship is closing.
“We have a special opportunity this season,”
opposite hitter Steve Klosterman said.
Though Final Four berths and championship rings haven’t
come as easily for Scates recently, he reiterated that retirement
hasn’t even entered his mind.
“Nothing compares to college athletics,” Scates
said. “It’s a joy coaching young kids because people
graduate and every student presents a new opportunity to
teach.”
And every year presents a new chance to win a championship.