Wade Benson has been coaching volleyball for more than 20 years. As head coach of the women's volleyball team at Auburn, he and his staff bring a lot of experience and passion to the game.
"Speaking for everybody, I can tell you that we really enjoy Auburn as a school and as an area to live and raise a family," Benson said. "I've enjoyed the different sports that I've been able to go out and support, and the volleyball program, I believe, is making its next step forward."
Growing up in Southern California sparked his interest in volleyball, he said, because he was around it all the time. Benson attended the University of Oregon where he played both beach and indoor volleyball and he began coaching high school teams in the Portland area. He came to Auburn as an assistant coach after working as head coach at Eastern Washington University.
Assistant coach Chris Campbell said he would describe coach Benson as passionate, intense and driven.
"He's always looking for ways to improve, always looking for an edge, for a way to get better, for a way to gain an advantage," Campbell said.
Benson said one thing that makes Auburn great is its extremely supportive community.
"(Auburn) has a lot of pride in the University, both on the academic side and the athletic side," he said. "It's a place that has the ability to support its programs well, which allows the coaches to have a chance to be successful. Those two areas are very strong, and they are things that coaches appreciate."
He said that the recruiting in the area is strong.
Counseling, teaching and competition are the three best aspects of coaching, Benson said.
"If I wasn't going to be a coach, I would've been a counselor because the two professions are similar," he said. "There's teaching involved in coaching obviously, but there's also a lot of growth training."
It's important, he said, to have someone around to help make the tough decisions that come with being in college.
Benson said he is confident in the team's future.
"We're bringing in eight or nine freshmen, which is over half the team," he said. "We have no seniors, so 2009 is going to be a year where we're really getting used to each other and getting our younger players involved in the SEC."
Campbell said he is excited to see what the next season will bring.
"We've got a great recruiting class coming in, and we've got a great group of returning players," he said. "We feel like this is the first step in rebuilding Auburn volleyball."
Benson said he feels no pressure being ranked 26th in the nation by PrepVolleyball.com because the teams knows what it is capable of doing, especially in the 2010 season.
"We really believe that 2010 is going to be the year that we're really going to strike," Benson said. "2009 we'll be growing, and 2010 we'll be showing."
Improvements on the student activities building has really helped boost attendance during the season, Benson said, but hopes people will continue to come out and support the team in the future.
Fans like Sara Beth Terry, a senior in human development and family studies, are eager for next season. "I love watching Auburn volleyball because you can really see their unity on the court," Terry said.
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