"I want every player to say
it was fun, it was hard; there
were a lot of ups and downs
but if I had to do it over again,
I wouldn't have changed
anything, I would have made
this decision. Making sure
it's a good experience is
really important.''
said, "when the kids leave that they can honestly
say they were supported well by their coach and
they're a better person.
"I want them to say that they had support academically and they're better athletically and if
they had to do it all over again, they'd come back.''
Sheffield feels like he's the sum of his parts. "I'm
a product of being surrounded by a lot of people
who know what they're doing,'' he said. "I just
stole everything I could and things rubbed off.''
40 ยป VARSITY
JANUA RY 10, 2013
He's got a good sense of humor and some pretty
good players to work with at Wisconsin.
"We're not starting at ground zero,'' he said.
"There's a lot of talent and I think they're hungry.''
Because Sheffield was hired during semester
break, he hasn't been able to meet all of his players face-to-face yet. But he has been on the phone
with them, including Lauren Carlini.
PrepVolleyball.com ranked Carlini as the No. 1
recruit in the nation. Carlini, who will be a freshman next fall, was also named the Gatorade National Volleyball Player of the Year.
"I want her to reach her potential,'' Sheffield
said of his personal expectations for the prep
All-American setter from West Aurora, Ill. "That
doesn't change from a Lauren Carlini to anybody
else on the team. We ask them what their goals
are and we share with them what their possibilities are.
"If you're Lauren, a national team possibility,
you're going to get away with a little bit less. That
bar is going to be a little higher. If you want to
play at that level, it's always about reaching your
potential. We're going to work with every kid, we
want them to reach their goals and their dreams.
"That never changes, no matter who it is.''
