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By Earl Scott
"It's always great beating your friends and neighbors," said Utah State Head Volleyball Coach Burt Fuller not long after USU defeated rival Utah in a three-game sweep. "Winning the conference is key to our season." USU plays a tough non-conference schedule to prepare for the BigWest, which is becoming more competitive every year, Fuller said. Schools are improving their facilities and the level of athlete is continually getting better. The USU program has to continue to get better to keep up. Top athletes want to go to a program that's going to compete for a championship, so that's the team focus, not just on Utah or BYU, Fuller said. USU players are here to win. With high school athletes as early as their freshman year making verbal commitments to play for a university, a competitive program is a must. "Recruiting is getting more challenging all the time," Fuller said. "If we can get a recruit up here, we can sign them." The USU staff stresses the positives of the area and university when recruiting. The college environment, quality of life, strong academic programs and good facilities are among the school's strengths, Fuller points out. "If they want the beach or the best-looking locker room, we can't accommodate them," Fuller said. "But if they want to play for a competitive program, at a quality university, we can give them that." With 12 scholarships to offer, ideally there would be three recruits signed each class. But with only two seniors on the roster, the number of available scholarships next year is limited. "We're out of balance with our classes; that's why we're so young. It was like that when I took over," Fuller said. "It takes awhile to get it straightened out. But we are in good shape for the future." To keep the young Aggie team on track, Fuller said he has to rely on his coaches and he has two very good assistants this year in Emerson Salonga and Heather Olmstead. Good assistants are hard to keep. All programs lose them to other opportunities or more money, Fuller said. Having quality assistants really makes a difference in the level a program can sustain. Fuller said he doesn't really have a special approach to coach women athletes. "I recognize they are women and I'm respectful of that," he said. "There are physical differences that I have to understand, but an athlete is going to respond as an athlete, so I coach them." His biggest challenge is that he is continuing to learn how to be a
head coach, he said. Recognizing how each player needs to be motivated,
who needs a pat on the back, or if a player needs to be gotten after
a little to pick up "I've only been a head coach for three years, so I still have things to learn," Fuller said. "I'll go home occasionally and realize I could've handled a situation differently. But I learn from my mistakes and don't repeat them." Women athletes play just as hard as men and give the same effort, he said. Women's sport is pure and they have to do things right -- that's part of what makes it exciting, he said. Fuller became a women's volleyball coach because that's where the opportunities were. Only about 60 male collegiate programs remain in the country. He said women's athletics has given him an opportunity to have a career in coaching, and after being involved with women's programs, he loves it and wouldn't give it up. "This year's team is a pleasure to be around. They are respectful of each other and the coaching staff," Fuller said. "They are really good kids. Having a wining, motivated team has helped bring fans to the Aggies' spacious home court, Fuller said. The team would like to see more people give volleyball a chance as a spectator sport. The only drawback to the spectrum that Fuller could think of is that 1,200 to 1,600 fans can come to a match and the seats still look empty. But he has no plans to ask for a smaller arena to play in. "I love playing in the Spectrum," Fuller said. "Its space gives us an advantage over teams who are used to playing in a small arena. The volleyball team takes on Long Beach State at 7 p.m. Oct. 2 in the Spectrum.
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