11/4/2009
Q/A: Troy Campbell
Coach/AD says volleyball is a manly sport
Reprinted with permission from The News Dispatch

Adam Parkhouse
The News-Dispatch

Troy Campbell looks a bit more like a football player/coach than someone who has a lifetime of volleyball on his resume.

The burly coach of the five-time defending state champion Marquette Blazers got his start in the game at Westville, where he won two state championships in a sport the school no longer competes in. Now he's won five state crowns with the Blazers and will go for his sixth in a row this weekend in Muncie, Ind.

In the following interview, Campbell talks to The News-Dispatch's Adam Parkhouse about how volleyball is a masculine sport, why he's not worried about people rooting against his team and how he'd like to be remembered at Marquette when all is said and done. His answer might surprise you.

N-D: In high school, you were a good volleyball player on one of the best teams in the state. Did you have to fight a stigma that volleyball wasn't a "manly" sport?

Campbell: Absolutely not. I thought volleyball was as manly as you wanted to make it. I loved volleyball at Westville and we played at a very high level. Hitting a volleyball is still one of the joys of my life. When played at the highest level, volleyball is very manly.

N-D: Do you ever let up on the girls in practice? Do you hit as hard as you can at them?

Campbell: It's important for me to hit as hard as I can at them. I have to guarantee that the person who hits hardest at them at any point in their career is me. When we step in against elite hitters, we're not closing our eyes and not flinching, we're in there to play. I've hit girls in the face and ripped earrings off ears, but it's important to do. It's one reason why I've been so successful training defensive players.

N-D: What is it that drew you to the game?

Campbell: Initially it was because it was what everyone did. (Coach) Jim Clark came to me because he knew I'd be a taller individual. Volleyball was the cool sport. We had won four or five state championships before I had won two. It was the sport to be in.

N-D: What happened to volleyball at Westville?

Campbell: They had an AD changed and what happened was the AD wanted to go to a new conference in which all the teams were teams he would play in the sectional in basketball. That new conference wasn't going to have volleyball, so they discontinued volleyball and started playing soccer, which was very disappointing to any alumnus of Westville.

N-D: You've won five state championships in your six seasons as coach. Did you expect that kind of success when you took the job?

Campbell: If I'm being honest, I would say no. I set myself some very specific goals just like I ask our girls to do. I wanted to have the most state championships here as a coach and I wanted to win four in a row. In my fifth year, I accomplished both of those things. Now it's what the next challenge for me as a coach? I have to constantly challenge myself. Now it's, can we get 10 in a row? Can we continue this streak every single year. It's not realistic, but it certainly is feasible. ... It's a good problem to have.

N-D: A good problem that you have to look for those challenges?

Campbell: That the expectation is there. The story isn't that we win again. The story eventually is going to be that we have lost. Our job is to prevent that story from being told. We're going to do everything in our power to prevent that.

N-D: Last year you took over as Marquette's athletic director. How do you like the job so far?

Campbell: I love it. I love being involved here outside of volleyball before I was AD. The people here at Marquette are some of the best people I've known in my life. They're free giving of their time and their charity. It's such a great atmosphere to be involved in. Being involved here has really enriched my life. I went from being a police officer where you're dealing with the 10 percent of the population that's doing bad things and breaking laws to being here. It's just a really enriching and fulfilling job so far. It's been really important to me and I hope the kids are getting something out of being involved with me.

N-D: You've never been named the Class A Coach of the Year despite all your success. Does that drive you even harder?

Campbell: I wouldn't say it particularly drives me, but what does drive me is the kids that I work with. That award is handed out to who these coaches perceive as being the best coach for that particular year. Do I feel I've deserved it in the past? Yes. ... In 2006 we did what others didn't think we could do. This year did I have my best coaching year? I don't know. But I hope to get it because I think our girls would be excited about us achieving that as a coaching staff.

N-D: Your program, probably in large part because of the tremendous success you've had, isn't exactly loved throughout the state, much like the Yankees. What's it like to have everyone root against you?

Campbell: I am extremely glad that they do that. It prepares us for pressure situations in which these girls will have to play at the highest level later in the year. ... The little errors that occur in your attitude simply don't happen to us because we're so positive and have been in that situation so many times. Let's say you're any school in a plain-Jane game and one team wins and one team loses and afterward you just go home. We never have that. Whenever we have a match, that match is circled on someone's schedule.

N-D: Has there been a year, maybe one more so than any other, when you stepped back and thought, "I did a really good job coaching this team"?

Campbell: 2006 was probably overall my greatest coaching year I've had in club/high school (Editor's note: In 2006, Marquette's current batch of seniors - Ashley Edmond, Brianna Gannon, Amber Cerrillos and Rachel Cox - were freshmen.). In club I thought I coached extremely well ... then coming into high school to have some pretty green players and allowing them to grow within our program and not putting pressure on them to perform right away. My best coaching move was to let them grow and show them they don't have to be the whole team. Just do what you're capable of doing and that would be enough. I still remember our motto, which was "Class Apart, One Heart," because we had contributors from each class. Getting those dominant seniors to accept those newbie freshmen was, I think, a great coaching accomplishment.

N-D: What's the most exciting match you've coached in at Marquette?

Campbell: Has to be the state championship match in 2006. That was as excited as I've ever been as a coach, and afterward as relieve as I've ever been as a coach. (Editor's note: In that match, Marquette trailed 2-1 in the match and 24-22 in the fourth game before rallying for the 3-2 victory.)

N-D: Who's the toughest player you've coached against at Marquette?

Campbell: So many players ... The person I could not gameplan for was Alex Hunt at South Bend St. Joe. There was nothing we could do. If they were able to set her the ball, we might as well not even block or anything. It was ridiculous. (Editor's note: Hunt is now a top player on the University of Michigan's nationally-ranked team.)

N-D: When your time is done with the Blazers, how do you want to be remembered?

Campbell: I certainly do not want to be remembered because of what we were able to put on the wall in way of banners. I want to be remembered as one who affected young people's lives in a positive way. I want to be remembered for moments we were not on the court, team building-type stuff and helping them make decisions that affect their future like college, family problems ... We've been able to shape some solid young women. I'd like to be remembered through them.

N-D: Do you have a favorite pregame meal?

Campbell: No, but I've gotta go to the bathroom though. It's the only pregame ritual I have.

N-D: What was your favorite school subject?

Campbell: Math. I love problem solving. I think volleyball is a lot like problem solving. When I get a tape of someone, there's a problem I have to solve.

N-D: Who's your favorite band/musical artist?

Campbell: Metallica.

N-D: What's your favorite movie?

Campbell: "Happy Gilmore." I'm a movie guy ...

N-D: Wait, you're a movie guy and you're giving me "Happy Gilmore"?

Campbell: Well, I'm using it right now to put me to sleep (laughs). I love a ton of different movies. My favorite, and it's so hard to pick because I watch so many, but my favorite to watch on a consistent basis would be "Unforgiven" and "Shawshank Redemption". Is that better?

N-D: Yes, much. If you could meet one person from history, who would it be?

Campbell: I think JFK. There's been so much, that was before my time of course, but so much mystery behind who he was as a person. I'd like to get to know him personally because he was such a great ambassador, he was the President of the United States, but also promiscuous apparently. What kind of guy is he really? If I could ask him those personal questions and get answers, I would like to do that.

Contact Sports Editor Adam Parkhouse at aparkhouse@thenewsdispatch.com or 874-7211, Ext. 461.