Q&A with Tulane Head Volleyball Coach Jim Barnes
Feb 29, 2016 | Women's Volleyball
Barnes talks about being back in his home state and building the Green Wave volleyball program
Jim Barnes was named the ninth head volleyball coach in the school history on December 21, 2015. Barnes, who hails from Lake Charles, has 19 years of head coaching experience at the Division I level with stops at Lamar (1996-01), Wyoming (2002-03) and Baylor (2004-14). Additionally, Barnes was an assistant coach at his alma mater, McNeese State, for the six years prior to being named the head coach at Lamar. Barnes sat down and talked about his first few months on the job at Tulane.
What attracted you to the job at Tulane?:
"I think it's multifaceted. There are so many things that attracted me to this school. Number one, I think volleyball-wise and in the volleyball world, this is a perfect school for a student-athlete to come and attend. Tulane represented the perfect combination of both athletic and academic excellence in our sport and that's really important to our student-athletes. That part of their life is important, and Tulane provides that.
The other side of it is the volleyball and you are not going to find much better facilities anywhere in the country or a better set up than here. I think that's what really shocks people when they come in and see the commitment to volleyball as far as facilities and the resources we have that are geared to volleyball.
For me, Tulane is the perfect volleyball school. Of any sport, I think volleyball is set up here to be a national contender because of the things that student-athletes are looking for when they're going to college. The academics, the volleyball commitment here and then when they're here what I think really sells them is the relationships that we are building with our players here, and how important that is. It's all about the relationships that we have with our coaches and players and staff. We treat them in a very respectable way and we train them at a very high level, and they love that combination.
You have got all the elements here to build a national contender, and that's what attracted me here. It's not just one thing. You have to have several things in place in order to run a special program and to me Tulane has all the elements to become a special program in volleyball."
How happy are you and your family about returning to your home state?:
"It certainly is a huge bonus for me and my family. There is no culture like Louisiana. Living outside of Louisiana you come back and you realize it's not the big thing, it's so many of the little things. The people, the conversations, obviously the food, but just the way of life is so unique here. My wife and I talk daily just about how incredible it is to be back home and you just can't put a dollar amount on being able to come home. To help your home state build a program that you feel has the ability to really be an elite program, I think any coach would love to be in that situation, I know we are."
What do you think about the state of volleyball in the American Athletic Conference?:
"Players want to play against the best teams in a strong conference and The American is a terrific conference. It's a young conference that has all the potential ahead of it to grow in the volleyball world. It has great schools in some of the great cities in the United States. We talk to our players and recruits about how we are able to play in great places, in great cities. We don't just go to college towns, we travel to great destinations such as Orlando, Dallas, Philadelphia, Houston and Tampa. We get to play some of the best teams and you get to see some of the neatest cities in our country. I think it is a great combination. And then you're able to compete at a level where we can get to the NCAA tournament because of the competitiveness of our conference. I was very happy to see that Tulane was in the American when we were evaluating the program and the future of what it can be."
Talk about your recruiting philosophy:
"Just like any coach, we are going out there to get the best student-athletes. We are able to build a large portion of our athletes from within this region and I think that's important. You need to recruit nationally, even globally to make sure you get every possible player here to help the program, but you are going to build your program with the kids in your region. And we can do that at Tulane. Our recruiting ties as a staff are really thick within Louisiana, Texas and the southern border.
Every good Louisiana player, we are going to be after them and I think we have a legitimate shot of getting the top kids in the state. And certainly within Texas, which is such a rich state in volleyball, we can build a large portion of our roster from that state as well. I think our staff is very good. Brian Yale is a tremendous recruiting coordinator, Meredith Schamun has a lot of connections. She's from California, she's coached in Florida so she has some different connections besides the ties me and Brian have. So I think we are set up to bring in some really great players."
What are you looking for in a student-athlete?:
"We do not look at one thing when evaluating a prospect, we look at a complete picture. We want to know are they a good person? Are they going to be committed and responsible? Are they committed in the classroom? We start with those things, the character things, and obviously the need to have the athletic ability to jump high and run fast. So we evaluate that in great detail, but we look at the entire picture of a player because when they are in the gym for two or three hours or in this community for the rest of the 20 hours, we want to make sure they are productive, a good fit and able to help us build the culture we want here. It's not a short answer. We look at their parents. That's been a little bit of a hot topic, but it is true. We watch how their family interactions are, because how they treat their family is how they are going to treat their family here. So it is not just a pick a player and let's see what we find out about you. We do a lot of research about players to make sure they're a good fit for both Tulane and our program.
How long will it take for your program to compete for a conference title?:
"I think we'll start competing with our first conference match. I think that's when the competition starts conference-wise. There is no reason we can't compete for that right now. We have talented student-athletes in here and we are trying to build our depth so that we have the ability to compete right away. As a coaching staff, we are very happy that we have that opportunity. It is not given for sure with anybody, but we are not starting at the bottom here. We have a very good team in place and we are bringing in a couple of transfers that can help and make a difference right away. So we expect to start in September, competing within the conference."
Does Tulane already have a blueprint for success?:
"Absolutely. There are so many things already in place here. The school does a terrific job of putting volleyball in a great position to succeed and that is what we are ecstatic about. As a staff, we are walking into a situation with great leadership, and we believe we can turn this program around with some hard work and solid recruiting. We have seven seniors, which is really rare in our sport, but they have bought in right away and this has been the easiest transition I have gone through."
How do you develop players?:
"It's all through relationships. We told our student-athletes from day one that we have got a completely open and honest relationship and they can ask me anything, and we can talk about anything. We are not afraid of adversity and we are not afraid of conflict. We embrace it and we will problem solve whatever the issue. We approach it that way. That way we are all in it together. We teach our players to be self-reliant and teach them that we can problem solve as a family. They see the reality of that when we are all together. We do not wait until the end of the season to figure out what we did wrong. Our philosophy is to problem solve and get better day-to-day, and we're doing it as a team and as a staff. I think whatever you consistently do and whatever habits you have on a daily basis is what you become. And that is what we instill within our players. We show up every day in control of the three things: our attitude, our effort and our focus. If we come in controlling those things, then the other things will work out. It has been nice to see the players embrace that mindset, the open communication and the interaction has been tremendous.
What are your short-term and long-term goals?:
"Ultimately, we want to get this program and the culture built. That's part of the short-term project, getting everyone to understand our systems and standards. That is the short-term portion of what we are building.
Long-term, it is being successful every year. We want to sustain a conference run and compete for the title every single year. The only way you do that is consistently recruiting great players every year. We are talking about the steps as a coaching staff and what do we need to do to be a conference contender every season. You can do that if you are very organized and you work hard. So those are two things we are focusing on a daily basis right now."
What is the best part about being back in New Orleans?:
"The crawfish! It is not just the big things in this city, it's all the little things you see on a daily basis like driving by Audubon Park and seeing the people, stepping out and having people say hello and just stopping to have a conversation with a stranger. It is good to be home. It is those little parts that are tremendous. And the players here they have a real pride in this area. I see them walking around campus and they stop by and say "Hey coach, how you doing?" There's a genuineness to this city. It's those little things to me. You are in a bigger city but you still have that interaction and relationships. Those buildings ultimately mean nothing unless you have the relationships and quality of life on a daily basis and that is what makes this place special. There's such an energy and unique culture within the city, so it's all of that.
