Going for Gold: Virtue Set for Olympic Challenge
5/11/2017 1:30:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
By Kjetil Odden, NUSports.com Contributor
EVANSTON, Ill. – Erin Virtue is prepared to chart a new course.
The Northwestern associate head volleyball coach recently began her new role as assistant coach of the USA Women's National Volleyball Team. She will be one of three assistant coaches under Head Coach Karch Kiraly, combining the position with her responsibilities at Northwestern. For the next three and a half years leading up to the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, Virtue will be looking to help the national team win its first ever gold medal.
"Something very driving for our staff and our program is to do something that has never been done before. This is obviously very similar to what we're trying to do with the Northwestern volleyball program, trying to build this program up and do things that haven't been done before," Virtue said.
Throughout the summer, Virtue will be with the national squad while it trains in Anaheim, California, and will coach in two of the three major tournaments that will take place this year. The first, the PanAm Games, will take place in June, while the second, the Grand Prix, will fall between late July and early August. The third is scheduled for September, by which time Virtue will have returned to her duties in Evanston.
This will not be the first involvement with USA Women's Volleyball for Virtue, who has had roles working with younger national team prospects in the past. Most recently she was the head coach of the USA Youth National Team, working with the best players in the country at the freshman and sophomore level in high school, while also getting a chance to work with Kiraly.
"I got to work with him a lot and kind of align our strategies and techniques, and collaborate a bit on how we're going to coach those teams. So the senior national team and the youth national team are looking very similar in the gym and the culture," Virtue said.
This time around, Virtue will be able to focus solely on the results on the court. The national team is coming off strong performances in Beijing in 2008 (silver medal), London in 2012 (silver medal) and Rio in 2016 (bronze medal).
Arriving at an agreement on her role, however, was no easy task. The final decision on what it would be was the product of months of conversations between Virtue, Davis and Kiraly, and Virtue is looking forward to such a unique opportunity.
"The role being what it is with the combination of both is just a perfect blend of both of these really important things to me," Virtue said. "I'm super thankful that I was able to work this out with Shane [Davis] and Karch [Kiraly], as it's an incredible combination of sharing my time."
In addition to representing the country on the global stage, Virtue will use the experience to help improve the program at Northwestern. Part of that will include an extraordinary opportunity for the 'Cats during their first part of the fall preseason. From August 7th-17th, the Northwestern volleyball team will travel to Anaheim, California, and train at the same location as the USA Women's National Team. Virtue will be able to work with both teams for each day throughout this period.
"It will be a really cool, unique experience for our Northwestern team," Virtue said. "I can be with the USA team in the mornings, and then spend the afternoons with the Northwestern team, which is just amazing for me."
When the squad returns to Evanston on the 17th, Virtue will accompany them, and she hopes to bring back valuable experience. Despite the rigor and demanding schedule of her role, Virtue is eager to reap its benefits.
"The exciting thing for me, the more personal exciting aspect, is that it's another cool challenge, and challenges make us better," Virtue said. "We get challenged every day here at Northwestern, and I'll definitely be challenged a lot with USA. So both of those are just going to make me better, and then I can help make my teams better."
Davis and Assistant Coach Kevin Moore both have experience working with the national setup as well. Moore has been a contributor to the USA Volleyball High Performance Program for nearly a decade, as well as assisting with scouting and preparation for the Men's National Team. In 2005, Davis was an assistant coach for the USA Men's Under-21 National Team leading up to and during the FIVB Under-21 World Championship in India.
Virtue understands the significance of this experience and highlighted the value that it brings to a coaching staff. She cited Davis' openness and drive to improve as a major reason for her excitement about the Northwestern volleyball program.
"[Moore and Davis] have learned a lot in their experiences, so they're very open to new learning, and that's a big reason why I wanted to work for Shane," Virtue said. "He's open to new things and he wants to always try to find a way to do things better. So that's definitely going to help me, it's going to help our staff grow, and it's going to in turn help our team grow."
The high quality of the staff is by no means a coincidence. Athletic Director Jim Phillips has compiled a group of coaches that are qualified and ready to create a new norm for Northwestern volleyball. The impressive coaching accolades, according to Virtue, are a reflection of Northwestern University as a whole.
"Bringing on Shane was an incredible hire," Virtue said. "And I think Shane bringing in Kevin and all the work that he's done and the many places that he could've chosen to work, and then bringing in myself and the opportunities that I've been lucky enough to have, it says a lot for our staff and how we support our employees here at Northwestern."
Above all, Virtue is grateful for the chance to make two dreams come true.
"I feel really lucky to be supported in this and to have this kind of opportunity," Virtue said. "I definitely wouldn't be able to do this at any other school that I've worked. Northwestern is a very unique place for me."
EVANSTON, Ill. – Erin Virtue is prepared to chart a new course.
The Northwestern associate head volleyball coach recently began her new role as assistant coach of the USA Women's National Volleyball Team. She will be one of three assistant coaches under Head Coach Karch Kiraly, combining the position with her responsibilities at Northwestern. For the next three and a half years leading up to the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, Virtue will be looking to help the national team win its first ever gold medal.
"Something very driving for our staff and our program is to do something that has never been done before. This is obviously very similar to what we're trying to do with the Northwestern volleyball program, trying to build this program up and do things that haven't been done before," Virtue said.
Throughout the summer, Virtue will be with the national squad while it trains in Anaheim, California, and will coach in two of the three major tournaments that will take place this year. The first, the PanAm Games, will take place in June, while the second, the Grand Prix, will fall between late July and early August. The third is scheduled for September, by which time Virtue will have returned to her duties in Evanston.
This will not be the first involvement with USA Women's Volleyball for Virtue, who has had roles working with younger national team prospects in the past. Most recently she was the head coach of the USA Youth National Team, working with the best players in the country at the freshman and sophomore level in high school, while also getting a chance to work with Kiraly.
"I got to work with him a lot and kind of align our strategies and techniques, and collaborate a bit on how we're going to coach those teams. So the senior national team and the youth national team are looking very similar in the gym and the culture," Virtue said.
This time around, Virtue will be able to focus solely on the results on the court. The national team is coming off strong performances in Beijing in 2008 (silver medal), London in 2012 (silver medal) and Rio in 2016 (bronze medal).
Arriving at an agreement on her role, however, was no easy task. The final decision on what it would be was the product of months of conversations between Virtue, Davis and Kiraly, and Virtue is looking forward to such a unique opportunity.
"The role being what it is with the combination of both is just a perfect blend of both of these really important things to me," Virtue said. "I'm super thankful that I was able to work this out with Shane [Davis] and Karch [Kiraly], as it's an incredible combination of sharing my time."
In addition to representing the country on the global stage, Virtue will use the experience to help improve the program at Northwestern. Part of that will include an extraordinary opportunity for the 'Cats during their first part of the fall preseason. From August 7th-17th, the Northwestern volleyball team will travel to Anaheim, California, and train at the same location as the USA Women's National Team. Virtue will be able to work with both teams for each day throughout this period.
"It will be a really cool, unique experience for our Northwestern team," Virtue said. "I can be with the USA team in the mornings, and then spend the afternoons with the Northwestern team, which is just amazing for me."
When the squad returns to Evanston on the 17th, Virtue will accompany them, and she hopes to bring back valuable experience. Despite the rigor and demanding schedule of her role, Virtue is eager to reap its benefits.
"The exciting thing for me, the more personal exciting aspect, is that it's another cool challenge, and challenges make us better," Virtue said. "We get challenged every day here at Northwestern, and I'll definitely be challenged a lot with USA. So both of those are just going to make me better, and then I can help make my teams better."
Davis and Assistant Coach Kevin Moore both have experience working with the national setup as well. Moore has been a contributor to the USA Volleyball High Performance Program for nearly a decade, as well as assisting with scouting and preparation for the Men's National Team. In 2005, Davis was an assistant coach for the USA Men's Under-21 National Team leading up to and during the FIVB Under-21 World Championship in India.
Virtue understands the significance of this experience and highlighted the value that it brings to a coaching staff. She cited Davis' openness and drive to improve as a major reason for her excitement about the Northwestern volleyball program.
"[Moore and Davis] have learned a lot in their experiences, so they're very open to new learning, and that's a big reason why I wanted to work for Shane," Virtue said. "He's open to new things and he wants to always try to find a way to do things better. So that's definitely going to help me, it's going to help our staff grow, and it's going to in turn help our team grow."
The high quality of the staff is by no means a coincidence. Athletic Director Jim Phillips has compiled a group of coaches that are qualified and ready to create a new norm for Northwestern volleyball. The impressive coaching accolades, according to Virtue, are a reflection of Northwestern University as a whole.
"Bringing on Shane was an incredible hire," Virtue said. "And I think Shane bringing in Kevin and all the work that he's done and the many places that he could've chosen to work, and then bringing in myself and the opportunities that I've been lucky enough to have, it says a lot for our staff and how we support our employees here at Northwestern."
Above all, Virtue is grateful for the chance to make two dreams come true.
"I feel really lucky to be supported in this and to have this kind of opportunity," Virtue said. "I definitely wouldn't be able to do this at any other school that I've worked. Northwestern is a very unique place for me."
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