Tim Kalkirtz
sports writer
The Dominican Stars Men’s Volleyball team will have a new coach this season following the most successful season in the program’s history. The Stars won the 2017 Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League (MCVL) Championship, earning them a spot in the NCAA Division III Men’s Volleyball National Tournament for the first time.
The Stars had a strong record of 26-3 last season, and were virtually undefeated in conference play – finishing 18-1. Throughout the dominant season, the Stars won 80 of the 96 sets they played.
Coach Dan Ames led the team to this outstanding season after building the Men’s Volleyball program from the ground up just four years earlier, earning him Men’s Division III Coach of the Year from the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA). After putting in a tremendous amount of time and effort building the program up to a national level from nothing, Ames left the team.
His focus and priorities shifted after the birth of his son, Maddux.
Dominican senior and member of the Men’s Volleyball team, Luke Spicer, shed some light on Ames’s departure. “Dan has always been a family first type of man,” says Spicer, “With so many great family occasions happening, he did not want them to pass him by.”
Without the original architect of the program around, will the Stars success carry over into this season? New Head Coach Dan Pawlikowski is tasked with making sure that it does.
Pawlikowski plans on carrying over last year’s triumph by not making any major changes in how the program is run. His immediate goals are to observe the strengths of the program and enlist more great coaches.
Pawlikowski doesn’t plan on shaking up the locker-room culture or dynamics either, he plans to continue to work with players in a similar fashion that coach Dan Ames had. Coach Pawlikowski hopes to find a ‘collective vision’ for the program through collaboration with the staff and student-athletes.
Spicer believes the similar dynamic between the two coaches on the relationship between coaches and players will help ease the adjustment. “We have always been the kind of team where players have a say,” says Spicer, “This thought process creates a much easier transition.”
Pawlikowski hopes that the environment is one of learning and improvement, with a spirit of collaboration. From a player’s perspective, Spicer believes that the culture of good social standing and high achievement both on the court and in the classroom will remain strong.
While many aspects should not change drastically under this new coach, Pawlikowski has certain styles and ideas regarding structure he hopes to infuse. This style and structure has been influenced by previous experience on Pawlikowski’s strong résumé, coaching for some of the top programs in the nation.
Pawlikowski has previously coached for Loyola University, North Park University, Northern Illinois University, The University of Wisconsin, and most recently, Stony Brook University in New York. He believes that these experiences provide him with a unique perspective coming into Dominican. Pawlikowski states, “Having worked with so many different student-athletes at so many different levels, I am very comfortable and confident that my experiences throughout the years will help guide me in my decision making.”
Although he has some experience with men’s club teams, Pawlikowski has mostly worked with women’s teams throughout his career, as well as being an assistant or associate coach. These factors may lead to challenges for the new coach, but Pawlikowski feels confident he can overcome them with the help of the Athletic Department, as well as with Assistant Coach, Doug Burchett.
Burchett, a former assistant to Dan Ames, stayed on the coaching staff fter Ames left and coach Pawlikowski recognizes this significance. “The importance of Coach Burchett remaining on the staff cannot be overstated,” says Pawlikowski, “His involvement has made the transition a much smoother process for myself and the student-athletes.”
Among the players, the expectation remain high for this season. ” I believe that the future under Coach P is extremely bright,” says Spicer “We are very excited to get started on creating an even more successful year than we had last year.”
kalktimo@my.dom.edu