Varsity is the free Official Digital Magazine of Wisconsin Athletics, covering Badgers football, basketball, hockey and more each week.
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GREG ANDERSON W 40 // isconsin volleyball coach Kelly Sheffield has just finished reading a book that has application to his first-year as the head coach of the Wisconsin volleyball program and the attendant rebuilding process. Not only does the book's author ― New York Giants football coach Tom Coughlin ― strike a chord with Sheffield but so does Coughlin's theme, "Earn The Right To Win.'' "That's dead-on,'' Sheffield said. "We have to earn the right to be an NCAA tournament team … we have to put in the work to be able to do that.'' Sheffield's connection with Coughlin can be traced back to when Sheffield was coaching at the University of Albany and the Giants were holding their preseason training camp on campus. In 2004, Sheffield got to the NCAA tourney for the first time after guiding Albany to a 13-1 record in the America East Conference. That was also Coughlin's first season as New York's head coach. Coughlin's first team went 6-10 and his next two lost in the NFC Wild Card round before the Giants won Super Bowl XLII. Four years later, Coughlin won a second Super Bowl with the Giants. Coughlin's book "Earn the Right to Win'' is not limited to football or sports. But it speaks to "How Success in Any Field Starts with Superior Preparation.'' The formula includes focus, consistency, hard work and anticipation. The bullet points cover time management, attention to details and establishing trust and open communication with your team. VARSITY August 8, 2013 What context does this have for Sheffield and the Badgers? "We want to compete with the best, we want to be one of the best,'' Sheffield said. "How soon does that take? I don't know. Do you put that five years out? Three years? Two years? This year?'' Sheffield doesn't have the answer, not yet anyway. Besides, he said, "I think if you put a timeline on it, you're being unfair. We're trying to get there as quick as we can.'' That begs the question; do the returning players know how to win? "Put it this way,'' Sheffield said. "They haven't shown that they're able to do it on a consistent basis at the level that we feel like we should be doing it at here.'' Do they see it that way? Do they understand what they've done in the past hasn't been enough? "They absolutely do,'' he said, "and they're putting in the work this summer to change that.'' The perception is reality. "The players I've talked to have said they don't feel like they've been a team that has been respected,'' Sheffield observed, "and they know they probably haven't earned it.'' With the opening of practice on Aug. 12, he is going to stay open-minded. "We've got a lot of talent,'' Sheffield insisted. "We've got talent to do special things right away, we really do. But it's going to take me some time to figure out who goes where, who plays. "That's kind of my challenge.'' • • • •