Corban head coach Kim McLain watches practice, Monday, October 26, 2015, at the C.E. Jefferson Sports Center in Salem, Ore.
High school coaches don’t often get the chance to move up to the college level, and on the few occasions they do, the expectations aren’t high.
When Kim McLain was hired at Corban’s volleyball coach starting with this season, her expectations were higher than anyone outside the program could place on her and the team
McLain is known best from her 16-year tenure at Santiam Christian High, where her teams went 397-74, including winning six state championships.
Going into Friday’s match at Multnomah, Corban is 11-11 overall, 9-7 in the Cascade Collegiate Conference and on the verge of its first winning season since 2010.
“Now coming in here, I like the pressure, it makes me really think about what I’m doing,” McLain said. “I think it’s important that I do turn the program around. It’s a challenge, but it’s exciting.”
Corban was 7-19 last year and last had double digit wins in 2011.
Corban setter Madison McLain during practice, Monday, October 26, 2015, at the C.E. Jefferson Sports Center in Salem, Ore.
When the team beat College of Idaho 3-1 in September, it was the first time Corban had beat that team in 11 years.
Between a makeover of the roster – including eight new players this season – and coaching staff, the Warriors are quickly becoming a threat every night.
“They’ve told us it’s such a change from the Corban that was last year or the years before,” said sophomore outside hitter Amber Parker, a West Albany graduate who played for McLain in the BOSS Volleyball Club. “Now they don’t know what to expect from us. I definitely think next year it’s going to be huge for us.”
There is always a transition when a new coaching staff is brought into a school.
Among the eight new players to the team this season, many had connections with McLain from her days at Santiam Christian or with the BOSS Volleyball club.
The lure of playing for McLain and her husband/assistant coach Dick McLain at the college level was enough to get some players, including Haley Wells, to transfer from other schools.
“I think they’re really personable people, and I think everyone gets along with Kim and Dick, so I think it’s just been nice and easy for everyone to transition, and the transition has been good,” said Wells, a West Albany graduate who played at Montana State last season.
In McLain’s time as coach at Santiam Christian, a staggering nine players from the school went on to play Division I volleyball.
The challenge for McLain now is recruiting that caliber of athlete to play at an NAIA school such as Corban.
“They’re on the other side now because they were helping girls in club and in high school getting recruited,” said freshman setter Madi McLain, Kim daughter who played for her at Santiam Christian. “Now they’re going out and they’re recruiting, and they’ve seen both sides. They know what’s best for girls.”
McLain owned and coached the BOSS Volleyball Club for a number of years, but she and husband, Dick, decided to focus on coaching at Corban this year.
“We’d be in Las Vegas or Reno coaching, and as soon as one of our matches would finish, she’d go to one court, I’d go to another court and then we’d meet back at our court and play a game,” Dick McLain said. “And then after that game we’d do it again, she’d go to one court and I’d go to another court.”
Much of what the McLains do differently than other college coaches is that they focus on small details in their work with players.
“We do spend a lot of time in technique and we do a lot of work without a ball even, just to get out footwork and eye work down,” said sophomore Sloane Morrison, one of the team’s returning players from last year.
Corban outside hitter Amber Parker dives for a ball during practice, Monday, October 26, 2015, at the C.E. Jefferson Sports Center in Salem, Ore.
“There’s a lot of technicality we get into that I haven’t really focused on before. I’ve had several new experiences, and I’ve been playing volleyball since I was 5. There’s just new things that they’ll point out that I’ll focus on and have an entirely new experience in volleyball because I’ve never focused on that small of a detail.”
The Cascade Collegiate Conference annually is one of the toughest in the nation.
The conference sent four teams – Eastern Oregon, Southern Oregon, Concordia and College of Idaho – to the NAIA national tournament last season.
Corban’s progression within the conference should mirror its progression on the national level.
“It’s one of the toughest in the nation and so you’re realizing what you have to have in order to progress,” Kim McLain said.
bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com, (503) 399-6701 or Twitter.com/bpoehler