VIDEO: Ben Boldt on The Summit
SEWARD, Neb. – Despite the lack of practice at this time, the Concordia University volleyball program continues to make preparations for the 2020 season. Head coach Ben Boldt joined a show called “The Summit” on Wednesday (April 22) to discuss the unique offseason and the makeup of the current Bulldog squad. The show was hosted by Joey McWilliams of midwestsports.net. Click the link in this article to view the full video.
Some highlights from Ben Boldt:
On program priorities of faith, family, academics, volleyball, etc.:
That’s honestly how we measure our team, based on those priorities and the core values that we have within our team. We try to focus on that and be about process as much as we can – versus outcome. It’s our philosophy here that if you focus on that your connections are going to be better and your experience is going to be better. It’s not just in volleyball where that’s important. If you’re always focused on outcome then you’re going to be living a rollercoaster life. We’ve been talking to our team a lot in meetings through the spring about the little things that you can create and be great at. That’s been the baseline and the foundation for our team and really what we focus on.
On Tara Callahan:
She’s been on the floor for a good three years now and has a lot of experience. She’s not a typical setter by any means. There’s a certain prototype that a lot of setters look like. She looks more like a middle. She’s tall and she’s big at the net. With who she is and what she believes this program can be, she’s taken it to new levels.
On Camryn Opfer:
We’ve really enjoyed Cam. She doesn’t get rattled. She has great self-talk. She’s talented obviously at volleyball, but she’s a player that isn’t going to get too up or down. She’s had some errors, but she does a good job of wiping them away and really getting on to the next play, which is what we focus on. She can block, she can pass, she can hit – she can do it all. That’s one of the things we’re looking for when we’re recruiting players.
On current happenings:
We’re trying to make it as close to our regular spring sports season as possible without seeing each other physically. We’re doing leadership meetings with our returning seniors. They’re really helping us keep tabs on how our team is connecting and staying together. We’re doing some mental training with a person who’s talking about how to deal with adversity and things like that. We’re doing a good job. I think we’re staying connected. We give them activities through our team Snapchat where just this week was putting yourself on film and being able to pick up a piece of paper with only one leg and you can’t put your hands on the ground. You get some people that are really good at it and you get some people that are not so good at it. It’s a fun way to connect with the team and a good way to laugh and make sure we stay connected. I think that’s the biggest thing about this whole quarantine.