By: Josh Brannock, Sports Editor
The UNF Athletics Department announced Jan. 4 that former Louisiana State University Assistant Coach Steve Loeswick will be replacing former UNF women’s volleyball head coach Kevin Campbell.
Loeswick will be taking over a squad that went 14-17 overall and 5-8 in the conference. Campbell led the team to two straight conference tournament berths, despite having a losing record. The team lost in the first round of the tournament both years.
Loeswick has 14 years of coaching experience but has never been a head coach at the collegiate level. He spent the last five seasons at LSU, where he was a part of a coaching staff that led the Tigers to five straight SEC Western Division titles and a SEC overall championship in 2009.
In order to get to know Loeswick, we sat down with the new UNF athletics staff member and asked him about his life on and off the court.
Spinnaker: Where did you play volleyball after high school?
Loeswick: I played at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. I was there for four years. After I was done playing there, I played overseas in Germany for a little over a year. Then I was lucky enough to get into coaching. I also played for the USA junior national team.
S: What position did you play?
L: I was a setter, but I know how to play all positions.
S: Were you told anything about the team prior to coming on campus?
L: I spoke to a lot of my colleagues who played against UNF and some of the former members of the coaching staff, and they have nothing but great things to say about this group. They’re talented, they work hard, they were just missing a little piece to really crack the top teams in the league.
S: Campbell had taken the team to the A-Sun conference two years in a row. How will you look to continue that success?
L: Kevin [Campbell] came in, and she did a great job of building this program, and I hope to continue the direction she was moving. The A-Sun has some quality teams. There are some good teams up there, and it’s our goal to reach the top.
S: Being a new coach, do you feel that you have to gain respect from the coaches who have been in the A-Sun?
L: I’m going to respect them, and I hope they respect me. We’re all here trying to do the best we can with our program. I feel very fortunate to be here at UNF with coach [Lee] Moon … I think we can make some really good strides in the league, and we’re gonna try to make it to the top.
S: So why’d you choose UNF over other schools?
L: I wanted to make sure it was a good fit for me and also for my family. I wanted it to be a good location. I have a couple of young girls, and I wanted to make sure it’s a good place to go to school. It had to be the right fit, and this was it. I believe that this program can be very successful.
S: How will you look to connect to the team as a new head coach?
L: I’m just going to be who I am. I’m not going to pretend to be anybody so that I can make friends. I’m fairly outgoing. I’m going to have an open door policy. I’ve already had half the team come in, sit down and chat. This group of ladies have been open and receptive so far, and I think they’re excited for the possibilities of the future.
S: Now an easy question – what is your family like?
L: My wife, Jennifer, is a volleyball person. She played at Virginia Tech. We have two young daughters, Isabella, who turns five in April, and the other daughter is Lillian, and she just turned three right after Christmas. We have a boy on the way, and he’s going to be here sometime in April.
S: Are they [your kids] going to be volleyball players?
L: I just want them to be happy and healthy, and if they take volleyball up, that’d be great.
Email Josh at [email protected].
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