May 26, 2010
STANFORD, Calif. - John Kosty, the pilot of Stanford's "worst to first" journey to the top of collegiate men's volleyball, was announced as the 2010 AVCA Division I-II National Coach of the Year on Wednesday.
In his fourth season as head coach, Kosty guided Stanford to a 24-6 record and the program's first national championship since 1997, by sweeping Penn State in the NCAA final at Maples Pavilion.
"This honor is a great reflection on our staff and how hard we all have worked throughout this entire season to accomplish what have," Kosty said. "It's great recognition for our staff and our program."
Kosty's staff consisted of fourth-year top assistant Ken Shibuya, who handled much of the scouting, gameplanning and recruiting, and first-year assistant Chris McLachlin, the father of Stanford's junior outside hitter Spencer McLachlin, who specialized in team building and the mental training aspects. Volunteer assistant Daniel Rasay, who will coach the Menlo College women's team this fall, broke down much of the film.
With a team that returned all but one starter and nearly every player, the expectations were high. In a rugged Mountain Pacific Sports Federation season, which featured 11 conference teams ranked among the nation's final top 15 and five teams having a shot at the regular-season title going into the season's final day, Stanford needed a bit of help to pull clear of the field.
The Cardinal did, igniting an impressive postseason run during which it pulled off some rare feats that illustrated its dominance and improvement:
Stanford became the first team since 2005 to pull off the triple of winning the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation regular season and tournament titles, and the NCAA tournament.
Stanford became the first team since 1993 and the third ever to close out an NCAA championship season by winning 14 consecutive sets.
Stanford won a postseason match for the first time since 1997 and reached the NCAA tournament for the first time since that season.
Stanford improved by 21 victories in three years.
Stanford went 3-25 and finished last in the MPSF during Kosty's first season as head coach, prompting a rallying cry of "worst to first" that the class of 2010 drew from during those subsequent seasons. The Cardinal rebounded to a 17-11 record in 2008 and 21-11 in 2009 before emerging as the best team in the country.
Stanford showed potential in 2009 with basically the same lineup, but lost in the first round of the MPSF tournament, creating the need for Kosty to re-evaluate the best way to coach this team in 2010.
"Our entire staff had to think outside the box," Kosty said. "We brought on coaches that allowed us to do that, coach Mac and coach Rasay. They brought valuable insight into the things we needed to change to take that next step.
"And coach Shibuya, our working relationship is great on a professional level and great on a personal level. We both respect each others opinions, and that's the key to a quality working relationship - listening more than talking."
Kosty is the second Stanford coach to receive National Coach of the Year honors, following Ruben Nieves, who coached the Cardinal to the 1997 NCAA title and earned the award in 1992 and '97.