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>> Mike Gore: Hello, Bulldog fans.
Welcome to Bulldog Update, I'm Mike Gore.
I'm joined today by UNC Asheville Head Volleyball Coach, Frederico Santos.
Frederico, thanks so much for coming with us today and everything.
This is your third year as head coach of the volleyball team,
but this is not your third year at UNC Asheville.
Tell us a little bit about your background as far as coming to UNC Asheville.
>> Frederico Santos: Well, gosh.
First of all, thank you for having me, it's great to be here.
Well, the whole process started a long, long time ago, 13 years ago.
I was playing professionally in Europe and I got injured.
And so, I started to decide what the next point in my career would be.
And coaching was always kind of in the background, I always had a passion for it.
And UNC was one of the few first places I applied.
>> Mike Gore: And you became Assistant Coach, you were here for 2000, 2008,
then you went down to Barry as a head coach for 3 years before coming back here and stuff.
Go back to your assistant coaching days under Julie Torbett,
the all-time winningest coach in the Big South Conference.
Just, Fred, just tell us about your years as an assistant, so what are some of your memories?
>> Frederico Santos: Oh, gosh, there's so many.
I mean, the biggest one, I would say, was the 2001 to 2002 year when we, you know,
we went 7 and 21 the year before and, I think, had the biggest turnaround in one--
>> Mike Gore: 26 and 8 in 2000--
>> Frederico Santos: 26 and 8 in 202 and having a regular season championship, I think that's--
that'll probably stand out as just, you know, it was just 2 completely opposite seasons.
You know, you went from the bottom of everything to the top of everything in one year so.
>> Mike Gore: That was something.
And, of course, Leslie Whitfield led the nation in digs and as a libero and I know
that meant a lot to you because she started out as a walk-on.
But by her senior year, she's leading the nation and was featured in "Sports Illustrated".
>> Frederico Santos: Yeah, I mean, Leslie was just, you know,
one of those amazing athletes, had it in her.
But I think, you know, we were able to really maximize her efforts and, actually,
really define a role for her which was extremely important in her development.
>> Mike Gore: Now, Fred, before we talk about this year's team and you coming back
to UNC Asheville, you've coached all over the world.
Not just the United States, you've coached all over the world.
You're a native of Brazil, your father was a legendary volleyball coach down there in Brazil.
You've also coached in Iceland.
So, let me start with the Iceland angle first and stuff.
What's it like to coach in Iceland?
>> Frederico Santos: Well, it's not much different than anywhere else
in the world, except for the landscape.
I think, you know, they have athletes just like we do.
Obviously, a smaller pool because, at the time,
there was only 200,000 people living in the island total.
You know, a lot of great athletes.
The language barrier was a little bit, you know, difficult to--
some people spoke English, some people understood.
I think the game is universal, but still, you know,
the language was a little bit of kind of a barrier.
But it was great.
We started with 10 players.
By the end of my first year there, there were 25 people that wanted to come out and be a part
of kind of this, I wouldn't say revolution, but kind of this new look as kind of, hey,
we've got a foreign coach, he's doing a great job, you know, come out.
And the club really supported that very well there.
So, you know, by the end of it, I almost had 2 full squads to deal with.
So, that was amazing right there in itself.
>> Mike Gore: Tell us about your father who's had an amazing career both
in Brazil and the United States.
>> Frederico Santos: You know my dad has actually been the influence
in this career for me.
We talk constantly.
He's coached many Olympians in Brazil on the men's and women's side.
He's coached professionally, he's a national champion in Brazil.
And I really was able to follow that very closely, kind of grow up in that environment
and talk to Olympians and national players.
You know, like, that is not something that everybody gets to do but, for me,
to grow up in that environment and kind of see
that high level was a huge influence in my career.
>> Mike Gore: After 8 years as an assistant under Julie, you decided to become a head coach
and you got a job at Barry University down in Miami,
Florida in a very, very strong Division 2 League.
Now, what was that process going from Assistant Coach to Head Coach?
And I guess there's a few differences, aren't there?
>> Frederico Santos: Well, yes there is.
The main one is, obviously, I think you have to deal more with the day to day operations
of your program because it's given to you.
And you are responsible for everything.
As an assistant coach, you have responsibilities more with the players, you know.
With head coaching, it's everything.
You have to encompass the whole experience.
You have to be able to talk to administrators, you have to be able
to talk to commissioners, you know.
It's just a wider world than the assistant coaching is.
Kind of really, kind of sheltered from that.
And so, you know, it was a-- again, I think it prepared me
for this experience now as the Head Coach at UNCA.
So, I'm in debt to them for preparing me for this.
>> Mike Gore: Now you came back, like I said, after Coach Torbett stepped down in the spring
of 2011 and was it a tough decision to come back?
>> Frederico Santos: I don't think it was a tough decision.
I think it was the right time.
You know, I've always loved Asheville, you know, I'm an alumni here.
And to come back to where I had put 8 years of my life and of the experiences
in coaching other alumni, I think it wasn't that hard of a decision.
I think it was-- it comes down to, really, it was the right time.
You know, it was the right timing, you know, I had a lot of alumni themselves call and say,
"You need to take this job, you need to put your name in the hat."
And so, you know, to hear it from them is-- it was one of the main reasons as well, you know,
to kind of try and carry on the legacy of what UNC Asheville volleyball is.
>> Mike Gore: We're talking about alumni.
And so, when the alumni called-- you married an alumnus and everything.
>> Frederico Santos: Yeah.
>> Mike Gore: Natalie, who-- Nathalie Steffen who played here in the late '90s and you got
to know her after you got here and stuff, a couple years after she graduated.
And I know that it was a thrill for her to come back as well, she's from Waynesville, right?
>> Frederico Santos: Yes.
Yes, it's a thrill.
I think, you know, this is-- again, she grew up here at the University.
I mean, this is kind of like our second home.
And so, for us to be able to be here, to be in the community, to share with our own children.
You know, eventually, they'll get these concepts of, you know, you went to school here
and this is kind of home and, you know, I think that's great.
You know, it's awesome, it's a great opportunity for us.
>> Mike Gore: And it's certainly a family affair with Nathalie as her sister,
older sister, Lisa, had a great career here.
Member of our Hall of Fame that we're trying to get in the Big South Hall of Fame.
A great player on two championship teams back in '91 and '92
and certainly had a very successful career.
So, you definitely have got some great family with the Bulldog volleyball, don't you?
>> Frederico Santos: Yes.
And, trust me, it's a lot of pressure.
I feel that kind of pressure.
My sister-in-law played and was so successful here but, you know, at the same time,
it's refreshing that she's fully supportive of this program,
fully supportive of me as a head coach.
But, yeah, there's a lot of pressure, you know?
She can still say, "I won a championship."
And I'm not quite there yet but, you know, we're working towards it.
>> Mike Gore: Fred, this is your third year if you talk about your first year.
You know, you got hired a little bit late and everything and really only had 9 players.
Did a nice job getting to 15 and 14 and getting to the semi-finals of the conference tournament.
And, last year, bit of a transition year as you had to replace some key players.
Went 12 and 20, but 7 and 7 in the league and they had to play a lot
of freshmen and, at times, we paid for that.
But your kids kept on coming, upset Highpoint in the semi-finals of the Big South Tournament
and lost a close match to Coastal.
But I know that last year, though the one loss record isn't what you wanted,
I know that there was a lot of progress at last year's club.
>> Frederico Santos: Oh, yeah, absolutely.
I mean I think for that group to be your first official recruiting class,
I think there's a lot of, you know, the kids don't know exactly what the expectation is.
They're newcomers to the league.
You know, I think it was different from the year before
where everybody had already played a few years in the league.
They knew who our competition was and what level to play exactly.
So, it was different.
Even though we had 9 players, we had 9 players that were, kind of,
you could almost call them veterans because they had been in the league.
And they knew what the expectations were.
But last year was completely different.
You know, you're inserting new setter, new outside hitter, you know, new right side,
new defensive specialist and so, you know, they had that transition growth period to go through.
But I think it came through.
I mean, we had some great victories.
We beat Liberty at home, we beat Coastal at home, you know, and upset Highpoint, you know?
And I think I take those positives from that season.
It'd be very easy to look at 12 and 20 and look at the whole thing
as a failure, but I look at it as a success.
You know, any time that you can go deep into the tournament with a group of freshmen,
half of them out there, I think it's a great year.
>> Mike Gore: You went 5 and 1 in 5 set matches.
You lost the first one [unintelligible] and then won the next five,
including a thrilling first one of the year against Western Carolina,
down to 2-0 and came back and won.
Liberty Presbyterian, it was just almost if you came to a Bulldog home volleyball match,
it was going to go 5 and Coach Santos was going
to have a victory celebration afterwards and stuff and everything.
>> Frederico Santos: Well, yeah.
I mean, obviously, it's very exciting, it's great to win.
And I think, you know, for the kids it's a huge relief, you know.
Because they believe in the work that they're doing, most of all.
You know, we're on the right track, we're going to win eventually.
And, you know, I think it's kudos to them.
They believe in what we're doing, they came every day and worked hard,
they didn't look at what the overall picture was, they looked at,
okay we're at 0-0, let's play one match at a time.
Try to get the wins that we can, let's make it
to the conference tournament and try to do the damage there.
And, you know, that's how we lived.
>> Mike Gore: This year's team, I know you have to feel excited about.
Still young, you still got a lot of young players and stuff,
but you do have some good seniors, to start with, Anna Moore,
the transfer from NC State who's been a second team all-conference performer pre-season
all-conference here in the Big South.
And I know you expect a big year from her.
>> Frederico Santos: Yeah.
I mean I think, you know, Anna's accomplishments speak for themselves.
You know, she's a leader on the court, we do expect big things from her.
But, you know, I think Anna would give up all the individual accolades
to reach the ultimate prize, you know.
She doesn't put herself on any kind of pedestal.
She works hard just like anybody else and she, most of the time,
just wants to be like anybody else.
Don't make me better than you are, don't look at the hype, I'm here, just like you are,
trying to accomplish things for the team.
So, you know, yeah, I expect a lot of things from her.
But at the same time, I treat her like everybody else.
>> Mike Gore: Your center, Katie Davis, who you talked about a little bit earlier,
you know was a freshmen last year, you had to throw into the fire,
and she did a nice job making the all freshmen team.
And then, tell us about-- she had an interesting summer.
>> Frederico Santos: Yes.
>> Mike Gore: And she got to play some volleyball overseas like you did.
>> Frederico Santos: Yes, she got selected to play the A2 USA National Team.
And they had tournaments in Italy and Slovenia.
And she shared time with the starting center for Illinois
which was an amazing experience for her.
And to play with, you know, players from bigger schools, typically your Big Ten, your Pac 12,
teams that we don't really interact on a day to day basis,
but Katie was able to hold her own and play.
And against international competition which is even higher level.
You know, I think she really enjoyed the experience, I think it was great
for her personal growth as a setter.
We could tell that on the first days back from pre-season
that she's just setting at an unbelievable level.
But, you know, again now she's back with our girls and she's focusing on that.
But, again, I think that experience for her will probably keep coming, you know?
And I think it's great for our school to get that kind of exposure in a bigger kind
of international arena that, you know, really exalts, hey,
UNC Asheville's got players of that caliber.
Yes, we do.
You know, so again, that was a great experience for her.
>> Mike Gore: How good can the Bulldogs be in 2013, in your opinion?
>> Frederico Santos: I think the Bulldogs can be as good as Number 1.
You know, I think we certainly have had those conversations with the players that we need
to put ourselves and we need to see ourselves in those top spots.
And not really see our team as kind of middle of the road
or the team struggling to get in the tournament.
And I think we really need to start visualizing ourselves as a higher program.
And, obviously, we can draw on previous experience.
You know, we've beat Liberty, we've beat the Coastal, we've beat the Highpoints, you know,
we've beat the Winthrops, we deserve to be there, but we need to work to be there.
But, certainly, that's the conversations we've been having during pre-season
that we need to put ourselves in that mix.
We need to see ourselves as a very good team, you know?
So, hopefully, the kids are absorbing that message and that'll come out.
>> Mike Gore: All right, Frederico, thanks so much for stopping by
and we look forward to a great volleyball season.
>> Frederico Santos: Thank you.
>> Mike Gore: All right, that's Head Volleyball Coach, Frederico Santos,
we'll be back with more right after this.
>> You'll find them inside each huddle, on every sideline, in every classroom, on each campus,
from our neighborhoods to the corner office.
Student athletes from the Big South Conference serving
in roles they've trained for all their lives.
Leaders. The Big South Conference, developing leaders through athletics.
Learn more at bigsouthsports.com.
[ Music ]
>> Mike Gore: Welcome back to Bulldog Update, I'm Mike Gore and I'm now joined by Head Track
and Field and Cross Country Coach, Jesse Norman.
Jesse, thanks so much for stopping by to talk to us.
>> Jesse Norman: No problem.
Thank you for inviting me.
>> Mike Gore: Jesse, this is your sixth year in charge of both programs or, actually,
all 6 programs when you come right down to it.
Cross country, indoor track and field and outdoor track and field
for both the men and women here at UNC Asheville.
And we're getting ready to start cross country season and, for both teams,
you made some big strides last year, getting up to fifth place.
Now, I know you want to maybe go a little this year in the Big South Conference.
>> Jesse Norman: Yep, yeah.
We always want to get a little bit higher.
Last year was a big learning experience,
we had a bunch of freshmen, especially on the men's side.
So, getting them that experience, learning what it takes to compete at this level,
we think we brought most of them back.
So, we're pretty excited about this year so.
>> Mike Gore: Let's talk about you for a little bit, Jesse.
Tell us your background, you had a great career at Western Carolina.
Just tell us where you're from originally and about your career at Western Carolina.
>> Jesse Norman: Well, I grew up outside of Raleigh, went to [unintelligible] High School.
A little rinky *** cow farm place area.
It was a great experience, I loved it.
After graduating there, really wanted to look for something different and ended up going
in to the mountains of North Carolina over at Western for school.
Basically, I wanted to get as far away from home as possible with staying in state
because my parents were like, we can't afford it.
So, I ended up there and it was great, loved it, exactly what I needed at that time.
Did some pretty good things, had a really good freshman year and then, kind of,
felt like I knew a little bit more than the coach and kind of went in and out from there.
And then ended up listening to the coach and ran really well my junior year on cross country.
Won the individual conference championship during cross season.
Still, to this day, the only one to have done
that on the men's side so I was pretty proud of that.
And finished out during some pretty good things here and there.
Then graduated, took a couple years off of school,
taught for one year over in Robbinsville.
That was a very interesting experience, teaching over there
in the far western part of the state and everything.
It was great, loved it.
But really kind of gave me the idea of I really want
to be a college coach and do coaching as a profession.
So, took some time off after a year of doing that to--
hiked the Appalachian Trail with the lady I was dating
at the time and we ended up getting married.
Used that as a trial run so it was kind of interesting.
And so, we were like, if we can stand each other for 6 months in a tent and being all nasty,
then we can probably survive a marriage together.
So did that and then, after we got off the trail, started volunteering and then GA
over at Western Carolina for the last couple years until I got a job here.
>> Mike Gore: Let's talk a little about that Appalachian Trail trip
because that's always been fascinating to me and everything.
How long were you on-- you and Melanie, your wife and everything
at the time, you all were dating and stuff.
But how long were you on that and, my goodness, tell us how far you went with that.
>> Jesse Norman: We started July 4th.
Took a bus from Fayetteville, North Carolina actually
up to Maine which was 24 hours on a bus.
>> Mike Gore: Wow.
>> Jesse Norman: It was very, very interesting.
Never want to do that again.
But it was a great experience.
We started July 4th up in Katahdin and we decided
to do it southbound which is non-traditional.
Most people will go from Georgia to Maine and we decided to go Maine to Georgia to have more
of a personal experience, just the two of us.
You know, out of the trail, usually about 10 percent of the people that start in Maine--
or do the whole trail in a particular year start in Maine going down south.
And of those 10 percent, only 10 percent of those usually finish.
And so we were like, well, that would be a good challenge to see if we can do that.
And us, being competitive people, we were like, well, let's try it out.
And so we started July 4th, that weekend, and then ended up finishing
up a couple days before Christmas actually.
>> Mike Gore: Wow.
>> Jesse Norman: So, it was a long time, about 6 months.
I think our longest hiking day was like 30 miles.
>> Mike Gore: Wow.
>> Jesse Norman: It was pretty intense, it was pretty cool.
There was a lot of trying times, but it was a blast.
>> Mike Gore: Would you do it again?
>> Jesse Norman: Maybe.
Yeah, maybe.
I would probably rather do the PTC now over--
the Pacific Crest Trail over in California and Oregon, that area.
Try something different.
>> Mike Gore: Jesse, on your team-- I talk about at the top and stuff.
Tell us on the woman's side, you've got some good runners back,
some veterans that I know you expect some big things out of this year.
>> Jesse Norman: Well, starting off at the top, Melanie Kulesz, a fifth year senior
for us who's only got cross country this year.
And she's one of the top runners in the conference
and she's healthy and on point and ready to go.
I mean, she's been all-conference numerous times.
Got a couple top 5 performances for us and stuff like that.
If she's on point, she's ready to go, then she's one of the best runners in the conference.
We truly feel like that she can be up in that top, you know, 1, 2 spot type deal.
And after workout yesterday, she's back to where she was at her freshman, sophomore year.
So, we're pretty excited about that.
And then, bring back some of the upper classmen, freshmen from last year especially.
Erin Dalton, Kelsie Rubino, bringing some
of those ladies back'll be something that'll be huge for us.
They were pretty big for us last year and we're expecting bigger things
in being a year seasoned, everything like that.
We brought in some really good freshmen this past year.
Amy Castle from Ohio and Sarah Heisner from Florida and then Katie Gamble
from Raleigh area, Millbrook High School.
I think Katie's going to actually end
up being the dark force probably will surprise a lot of people.
So, but Amy, Katie, Sarah, that whole group right there,
they're going to be pretty impressive to watch over the next few years.
>> Mike Gore: And I know the training is going well because, you know,
I see a lot of your runners throughout and,
every time I see them, there's a smile on their face.
Talking about how good training's going and stuff.
And I'm sure it's very competitive so you definitely have a chance
to have a good season this year, don't you?
>> Jesse Norman: Yeah, we feel like it.
Pre-season rankings came out and we're tied right now for fifth on the women's side
and that's probably about where everybody should predict us right now.
But I feel like we're definitely a better squad than that.
And, hopefully, we can kind of get in there and break into that top three.
It'll be tough, but I think we've got the people to be able to do it, and the depth really
which is where we're going to notice a huge difference this year.
>> Mike Gore: On the men's side, you really have made steady improvement.
Last year, going up to fifth place,
highest finish for the Bulldog Cross Country Team in about 10 seasons.
So, I know that's something you're proud of and stuff.
And how much better can this team be this year?
>> Jesse Norman: I think we'll be pretty good.
It's going to hinge on a couple people.
We've got-- one of our top guys was a freshman last year,
but we're going to be red shirting him.
The other one, we're trying to bring back from an injury he suffered during the summer time.
But we brought in a couple really good freshmen that I think are going to be really good.
In fact, our number one guy right now is a freshman on paper just from our time trial.
So, I think we're going to be really good.
I'm really excited about the sophomore class.
We got the fifth place last year, basically on the back of them.
I mean we had one junior-- sophomore actually that was in our top 7.
2 sophomores actually and the rest were all freshmen, so we're pretty excited
to see those freshmen grow up and be able
to handle the Big South Conference competition a little bit better so.
Couple of the influx of new freshmen, we think we'll be pretty good this year.
>> Mike Gore: But you do have some veterans.
I'm talking about Kevin Paradise who's been your top runner the past couple years
and I know you expect a good year from him, don't you?
>> Jesse Norman: Oh, yeah, he's one of the workhorses on the team.
He's one of the guys-- he may not win every workout or be at the top end up there,
but when it comes time for the championships, he's on point ready to go.
I remember last year, at Winthrop, we're kind of talking to everybody about making sure you get
out in a good position and being aggressive.
Set your finishing position up through the first 5k.
We come around the first mile and Kevin's leading the field by, like,
20 meters and that's just who he is.
He's got to go out and get out there from the very beginning.
He doesn't have those wheels to be able to kick down anybody so he's got
to just pound away at it from the very beginning.
>> Mike Gore: One of the things that you've done since you've been here, and it's been wonderful,
is that you've had a chance to have some home meets.
Now, obviously, UNC Asheville doesn't have a home cross country course,
but you found one the past 2 years at Asheville Christian Academy.
And September the 14th, it won't just be the Bulldogs running, it's a cross country carnival
and I know that has to be exciting to host that and I know last year was a good start
and this year's going to be bigger and better, isn't it?
>> Jesse Norman: Oh yeah, definitely.
Last year was a good year for me and Adam to kind of figure out the kinks
and get everything worked out and see what the course could really hold
and what we could do with it.
We made some adjustments to the course
for the men's course this year, women's course is the same.
Lot more competition.
I think last year we ended up having like 3 to 4 teams on each side.
This year, right now, we're at 11 counting us.
So big increase with probably about 6 conference schools that are going to be
in there right now that have confirmed.
So it should be a lot better.
We're doing a high school race with it too.
We've got about 7 high schools at this point.
>> Mike Gore: Wow, that's great.
>> Jesse Norman: Working on a couple other ones so trying to really blow it up.
Make Asheville be kind of like a destination cross country place for everybody.
Everybody wants to come up here to train and to run.
If we can find a flat course which is out there
at Asheville Christian Academy, people love it even more so.
>> Mike Gore: And that's September 14th, what time?
>> Jesse Norman: Men will get started off at 9:00 so we're going
to do college men then followed by college women and then high school boys, high school girls.
>> Mike Gore: All right, Jesse, thanks so much for stopping
by to talk to us and good luck this year.
>> Jesse Norman: Thank you.
>> Mike Gore: That's Head Track and Field and Cross Country Coach, Jesse Norman.
Remember the Bulldogs have a home meet this year on September the 14th
out at Asheville Christian Academy.
[ Music ]