Laura "Bird" Kuhn Q & A

What jumped out to you about the opportunity here at Texas A&M?
 
I think (Texas A&M), hands down, should be one of the most dominant schools in the state. The foundation that's already been (laid) here…the Corbellis, the longevity they established, that's all appealing to me because there's a foundation already laid. I think it's a great program. The tradition…everyone, the instant you say it, they just light up. They are so excited about it. That's a good feeling to have. It was kind of like a no brainer. I haven't had that feeling, ever. Everyone's like, 'When are you going to be a head coach?' And I just felt it in my gut when it got announced. This is a job I was super interested in.
 
What are your initial thoughts about the facilities?
 
As a recruiter, that stuff is huge. Even at Kansas, through our success in the past years, we've done our own upgrades, just surface things. But to see those type of things be put into this program, it's huge. The video room. The locker room, practice facility, training room, it's so convenient. You take those things for granted sometimes, but that makes it home. Those kids have a place that feels like it's home. It's special.
 
What's your favorite on-court volleyball moment from your playing days?
 
Playing at Hawaii in the Elite 8—that was a great atmosphere. Beating Nebraska my junior year. They were ranked fourth in the country, and we beat them at home. That atmosphere was crazy.
 
My favorite all-time memory right now, as a player or a coach, is when we made it to the Final Four. The dogpile. I texted Shannon Wells, the assistant at Florida, after she posted the picture of their dogpile this year. Genuine dogpiles are the best thing in the world. That's the most genuine happiness, and it's so real.
 
What else stands out from your coaching career so far?
 
I think any milestones you hit as a staff, with those people who work with you day in and day out…it's special. It doesn't matter how big or small the milestone is. It's the conversations we have at the office every day, and the conversations that go on on the bench, during a match. That's the stuff that I love. The realness behind it. Again, I talk about relationships all the time, but even the relationships with the girls. It's being a real human, and keeping things real with them in how you talk and how you interact. Even in the biggest moments, the moment is only how you create it. And you have to make it your own. That's what makes it special.
 
What about core values of teams you've been a part of or teams you've coached?
 
Core values are going to be for sure what I'm taking away from our team this past season, the respect and discipline that it's going to take across the board. Passion. We're all doing it for the same reason, and if you're not, we're going to keep you in check with it. But then, creating that energy. We all know we're working towards the same goal. We all want to win. We have tangible goals, whether it's championships or making it to a certain level, but at the end of the day we're working toward the same goal as a team. Keeping everyone as a unit and knowing that we're all on the same page and all here to make each other look better. And that, I think, is where the passion and energy needs to come full circle with the respect and the discipline. We're going to be held to the same standard. If you keep those things in check with everyone that's involved, then you're going to go places because you know where you stand with everyone across the board.
 
What are your thoughts about SEC volleyball?
 
It's a new challenge. I played and coached in the ACC. I've been in the Big 12 for seven years now. The SEC is up and coming in my mind. At the very top, you're going to have Florida and Kentucky. They've already established themselves. I think right now, the SEC in volleyball, we're going to make that turn. It's been competitive, and it's only going to get better from this point on. There's no reason why it doesn't do that. Volleyball, in general, in our country is kind of an even playing field. There's a lot of parity now. If you have the resources and you have the right combination of players and staff and people that are on board, the sky's the limit. You set your goals and put your mind to it, you can really do big things with the right group of people.
 
Have you given some thought to that first match at Reed Arena and the feelings you'll have? Or is it still too far away?
 
I actually hadn't thought about it until today. I was standing in there with a couple of people, and I started thinking about that. We went in the press conference room and I said, 'I'm going to be sitting there'. It is far off, but it's cool. It's a cool feeling to think that I'm going to walk out there as the head coach. But again, I'm very much a team person. I feel way more comfortable having the people around me that I want around me, because it's going to be about team. It just is. It always will be. I'm 100 percent extrovert and that's the way we'll function as a group, as a team. Whether it's our sports nutritionist, our strength coach, our academic advisor, the assistants, the volunteer…everyone is going to be treated the same. I want everyone's input. I think it'll feel good walking out there with everyone, because we'll all have put in work from this day forward for that point to happen.
 
What was it that made you decide now is the time to become a head coach?
 
It was a feeling. It was just time. I felt at this point in my career and my life where I'm at, I just wanted to do it. It was time to make that jump, and this was the perfect opportunity. It was almost too good to be true. And that feeling happened. I don't know if it was in response to the job opening or because I had the feeling already.
 
You'd had opportunities to go other places…
 
I'd definitely gotten phone calls before, like when we went to the Final Four. I've met great people at other universities. But there was just something about this. I do believe it was the initial feeling, because even people that I told, that I work with at Kansas that are connected here, just knew. 'Oh, that's the first one you wanted. That was the initial one'. It almost had to remind me, because it was a whirlwind of a week. It's stressful when you're trying to figure it out. But to get that text from some people that I'm the closest with—obviously I opened up to them initially—that made me feel good too. To get that text, 'That was the one you wanted', it just made sense. And it does. I love Kansas. I love Coach B (Ray Bechard) and everyone up there. That's what I've told the players I've called, the parents I've talked to…it's very tough to leave great people. You're not just going to leave for anything. That's the feeling I got when I was down here. It's the same reason I took that job. It's the people that I've met, the relationships that you can already see and feel when you come down here. it's exactly what I felt on the interview.
 
What do you know about A&M volleyball?
 
I know people that have worked in the program, (UCSB head coach) Nicole (Lantagne-Welch), (Cal assistant coach) Jen Carey (Dorr). That's kind of unique to me, because I've worked for Nicole, and now it's full circle and I'm at the school that she was an assistant at before she took her head job. I've only ever heard great things. The program, I think, is right there. (A&M) obviously won the SEC in 2015, and to me that's huge. Again, when I talk about the foundation…this foundation is like a jump-off point. I think it's been very stable. I think the Corbellis, they've cultivated this tradition on top of the school's tradition. To me that's very special. I know some people might be intimidated by that. I love that. I want that foundation, and we'll build on it. I'm not out for it to be my name, or what I'm doing. It's going to be about the team, and the people we surround ourselves with and the people we bring into the program. It makes it special to me, because it already has that family foundation.
 
When you go recruiting, what are the top things you're looking for?
 
I can't wait to get in the gym and see where we're at exactly. Getting in the gym gives me the personalities, and that's a big part of it. You need to know if you're looking for the leadership, or maybe just a certain area of athleticism or ball control or technique. We need a mix of physicality and other things. I believe in a system. I think you need to recruit for your system. Everyone's different. I don't think there's a right and a wrong way to do things. But when you are implementing a system and you are establishing that, you believe in it and you make sure that it's instilled in your culture. Because you believe in it, you have to make sure the kids believe in it and the people around you believe in it. That's when the buy-in happens. And once that happens, it'll just take off.
 
 
Do you have a certain style of play that you like to run?
 
I would say it's fast. 'First tempo' is relative when you're just implementing it and training it. With my staff, we'll talk about all those things and we have to see what's in our gym now. I do believe that no matter what you have in the gym, if you start implementing a system it's only going to benefit you. Because the people you bring in are going to learn from the players in front of them. That will all happen over time. This spring will be huge, to see what we have in the gym. I definitely think there's a correlation between speed and the game. We did it at Kansas. We went that way, and we'd talk about that, and those are key things in matches. When you're playing a team that has a completely different style than you, you definitely want to play to your strength.