Mac's Philosophy
Our volleyball team members have a huge range of skill and experience. We do not actually have "tryouts" for the team. Rather, prospective players should send a video tape or DVD of their skills or competition. Our coaches will review the tape and let the prospective players know about their evaluation of the player's abilities and how they might fit into the team. Macalester belongs to Division III of the NCAA and offers no athletic scholarships. However, a large percentage of Mac students receive financial aid. Financial aid is based upon need and academic excellence.
Steph Schleuder, our head coach, takes a very humanistic approach to coaching. She believes that personal growth is the most important aspect in the physical, mental and emotional development of players. Growth is hopefully achieved by showing respect for individual differences and allowing players to participate in problem solving experiences. An important part of this growth experience is giving players tools which will help them to be more successful and allow them to reach their goals. Coach Schleuder is proud of the fact that during her 30-year coaching career, no player has ever transferred to another school to continue their playing career. She believes that it is important to listen to players' concerns and honestly communicate to them about their position on the team.
Academics vs. Athletics
One of the most common questions coaches get from prospective players and their parents is, “How do the players handle the rigors of a highly selective academic institution while competing in athletics?” The answer to this question is two-fold. First, athletes will experience a totally different class schedule in college. Classes meet either on Monday-Wednesday-Friday or on Tuesday-Thursday. The normal class load is 16 credits per semester—this is four classes. So, you can see that you will have a lot of time during the day. If this time is used efficiently, you can accomplish a lot. Secondly, we have found that our athletes perform even better in the classroom during their competitive seasons. This is most likely due to the fact that they budget their time better. Coach Schleuder has a team policy which allows each player two “personal days” during the competitive season. These days can be used by players to take the day off practice to study for exams or for whatever reason the player feels is important to them. Virtually all of our athletes and regular students graduate in four years. One of the accomplishments we are most proud of is that our volleyball team has earned AVCA Team Academic Award status in six of the past seven years.
Study Abroad Programs & Athletics
Our limited off-season practice also allows players to participate in the very popular study-abroad programs. In fact, Coach Schleuder believes the opportunity to study away from campus is one of the highlights of the collegiate experience and she encourages players to study abroad.
Conference Competition
Our conference, the MIAC (Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) is very strong and traditionally boasts at least two schools in the nation's top 20. The MIAC consists of 12 schools. Six of these 12 are located right in the Twin Cities metro area - this makes travel very easy and allows us to miss very few classes. Most of the MIAC schools outside the metro area are within and hour-and-a-half drive of campus. Our furthest conference competitor is a four-hour drive, but we only go there every other year. The conference schedule consists of a single round robin and then a conference tournament at the end of the season. We also travel to compete against many strong teams in the Midwest. Every other year, we fly to different parts of the country for top-notch competition. In the past several years we have played in California, Texas and Pennsylvania.
The Team and Schedule
Most players on the team are very experienced and have played on club teams during their high school years. In general, players have good all-around skills, but we also have some players who have not played a for club program and are still developing sound skills. We normally carry 12 to 15 players on the team.
We play conference games on Wednesday nights and Friday and/or Saturdays. We also compete in two or three invitational tournaments at the beginning of the season. One of the highlights is the Minnesota-Iowa Border Battle where the top teams in the MIAC face off against the top teams in the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Normally we have at least two free weekends during the season and that helps players to catch up on their studies.
Team Travel
Macalester transports all of our teams via charter bus or plane when traveling to distant competition. We do not travel in vans to competition.
The Season
Mac volleyball players start practice about two weeks before school starts. Volleyball team members will report for practice during the third week in August. We have two practices a day until school starts - morning practice is 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. and afternoon practice is 2:30 to 5:00 p.m. We will also have evening classroom sessions a couple times a week to discuss mental skills and do some team building activities. This pre-season period is an intense time of training, but also a great opportunity to get to know the campus and make lots of new friends. Several other teams (men's and women's cross country, men's and women's soccer, and football) are also on campus practicing during this time. You will be allowed to move into your assigned dorm room and have time to make it your "home" before all the other students arrive on campus.
Classes start after Labor Day. First-year students will be excused from volleyball practice to attend orientation, which usually is held Sept. 1-4. After regular classes begin, we practice late in the afternoon from about 4:45 - 7:00 p.m., Monday-Friday. The cafeteria is open until 7:30 p.m., so you have time to eat dinner before you hit the books!
Our matches are played on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. The competitive season is packed, but we usually have at least one or two free weekends during the season.
Our conference tournament is the first weekend in November. In order to advance beyond the conference tournament to the NCAA tournament, we must win the conference championship. If we do not qualify for the NCAA championships we are finished with practice and competition for the season.
The Off-Season
Our conference, the MIAC, limits the amount of practice we are allowed to have in the off-season. Conference rules allow only seven days of practice in the off-season (spring) and are not allowed to have any organized competition with the exception of an alumni match. Most of the players lift weights and play informally during the off-season, but this is all totally on a volunteer basis. One of the advantages of Division III is that you have time for other interests. Many of our players compete in other sports or actively involved in other campus activities.
