Five Questions with Matt Houk

Matt Houk, the new head coach at St. Norbert in De Pere and chair of the Badger Region High Performance program, graciously agreed to be the first subject of our new "Five Questions" feature. With this and similar future posts, we plan to find individuals closely tied to Wisconsin volleyball and ask them, you guessed it, five questions about "the state of the sport in the state of Wisconsin." If you'd like to suggest a future interviewee, e-mail vbuberalles@gmail.com and we'll consider it. So that's the plan. And here, without further ado, are our five questions and Matt's five responses.

1. Matt, what excites you most about the opportunity at St. Norbert?

First of all, and probably the most obvious, I am excited to be a head coach at the college level. Ever since I was a student assistant at UW-Milwaukee, I have been looking forward to the day when I would get the opportunity to run my own program. I am also extremely excited to help lead this team to the next level. I think St. Norbert has been right there for a few years, but just hasn't been able to get over the hump. I don't think there is any reason why this program can't compete with the best D3 schools in our state and eventually in the country. I hope to use the knowledge I have acquired over the years by working under such great coaches like Kathy Litzau, Susie Johnson, and Debbie Kirch to train and recruit at a very high level.

2. Since you've been involved with club volleyball in one way or another over the years, what are your overall impressions about its past, present and future in Wisconsin?

I loved being involved with club volleyball back when I was the program director for Milwaukee Sting. Not only did I really enjoy coaching the kids on my three 18 Gold teams, I just loved being around other teams and coaches. It was an extremely hard decision to leave for the college game full-time. It was an exciting time to be part of the scene. It was growing in numbers and we were competing at a very high level. I am a little frustrated about the present and about what the future might bring. There are so many positives that come with the growth of the sport, but there are also a few negatives. Because of the growth, I think we are coming across some of the problems Little League baseball and softball have faced in the past. The sport sometimes becomes political with a sense of entitlement from parents and players that I didn't see just five years ago. When I was a youth athlete, if I wasn't happy with a situation, my parents asked me if I was doing everything my coach was asking of me. They then told me to talk to my coach about what I could do differently to improve and change my role. They never got involved with a coach's decision. I don't want to see this sport become like Little League baseball, where parents stand behind the backstop, screaming at coaches, players and umpires. Our sport has been so close-knit and family friendly. I hope we can get that back and maintain it in the future.

3. What's your vision for the state's high performance program?

I have very lofty goals for the HP program. My first goal is to find a way to get the best kids in the state involved. At our younger age levels, I think we are coming close to getting that, but I don't think we are quite there yet with the older age level. But we are getting close. I understand that older players need to get to summer college camps, and just need a break sometimes, so that is why I think we are missing out on some. The positive side is that it gives some players who might not normally make the camp an opportunity to train at a very high level for three days and to be around other really good players. We started implementing some scouting at tourneys this club season to try and seek out individuals who might fit what we are looking for and invite them to tryouts. I hope we can keep doing things like that and implementing other ideas that will help us attract Wisconsin's bright young volleyball players.

4. What's the number one thing the average fan can do to help build the sport in Wisconsin?

That is a great question. I do believe volleyball is growing, but still has not caught up with basketball yet, but the numbers, at least in our region, keep growing. I think the thing fans can do is attend matches. Attend high school, college, and club events. When our sport starts to show it can earn revenue, it will catch the eye of administrators and then hopefully they will be willing to put more money back into the sport. More money into our sport gives us the opportunity to attract more players into the sport. The reason the women's D1 Final Four is going back to Omaha is because it proved it can fill up the venue. Then when ESPN2 televises it, it puts on a quality front. There are fans in the stands, and it looks similar to a men's basketball tournament game. I could ramble on more, but I will quit while I still have a leg to stand on.

5. Who's going to finish first in the Midwest Conference this fall?

Well, I know very little about the other teams and players in our conference right now, although I have watched some of the matches on film from last season. So, I am going to go with the safe bet on this one, and pick last year's champ, Carroll College.

We'd like to thank Matt once again for the thoughtfulness with which he answered our five questions.


Copyright 2008, Cheese & Volleyball

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The views expressed in this and future "Five Questions" posts are not necessarily those of Cheese & Volleyball.