Blount: Concordia coach happy where he is

After Mike Hebert's retirement last winter, the protracted coaching search that followed gave the local volleyball community plenty of time to speculate on a replacement for the Gophers coach. A handful of folks wondered whether the U might pluck an empire-builder who happened to work just a few miles from campus: Brady Starkey, coach of four-time Division II national champions Concordia (St. Paul).

The Gophers aimed for one of the highest-profile candidates possible -- U.S. women's national team coach Hugh McCutcheon -- and got him. Last weekend, while interim coach Laura Bush directed them to two victories over No. 4 Texas, Starkey watched his Golden Bears dispatch three ranked opponents in a season-opening tournament at Gangelhoff Center. Even he was blown away by how easily top-ranked Concordia handled the country's No. 2, No. 9 and No. 25 teams, sweeping all of them as it ran its home-court winning streak to 52 matches.

Starkey wasn't contacted about the Gophers' job, but he was OK with that. As a Gophers fan, he thinks the U hired the right person. As a guy who loves where he is -- working with players he has to chase out of the gym, who have won the past four Division II titles and 72 consecutive matches in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference -- he still feels blessed every day.

"We had a really good preseason, but I wasn't expecting [the opening weekend] to be quite like this," said Starkey, now 276-24 in nine seasons at Concordia. "We tend to start a little slower and work our way into things. But this is probably the most advanced class of young kids we've had, and they were able to jump right in.

"The teams we had here earlier built this culture. They love to play, they love to compete and they continually want to get better. We're kind of spoiled with the athletes we have. They're awesome kids, and we're lucky to coach them."

That culture has come to define the Golden Bears' program. After Saturday's victory over No. 25 Northern Michigan, senior Megan Carlson and junior Cassie Haag were told they never had lost a home match. Both seemed surprised, not because they didn't believe it, but because they just hadn't thought about it.

Streaks and records aren't part of the conversation during Concordia's legendary practices. There are some good-natured jibes as players push each other to the mat for 2 1/2 to three hours, then beg the coaches to let them to play just one more game. Were it not for NCAA rules limiting workout time, Starkey said, he might never get some of them to go home.

When they're not in the gym, they're hanging out together. The Golden Bears' friendships and love of the game shine through on the court, in their flawless teamwork and the hugs and smiles that celebrate every point won.

Because championship banners are not the be-all and end-all, they have not been burdened by the pressure that can turn a sport into a grim, anxious business.

"I know a lot of people go into [college volleyball] and find it's like a job," said Carlson, who transferred to Concordia from Division I Marshall University after the 2008 season. "I'm going to go out loving the game because of the way things are here. All of us genuinely love it."

It is not easy to find gym rats who will put in the work to constantly improve while also maintaining a 3.3 grade-point average, as the Golden Bears have done for eight years. Concordia's culture, and its success, have lured some players who fit that mold to choose it over Division I schools. That has kept Starkey's roster loaded every year and made the Golden Bears a favorite to earn an unprecedented fifth consecutive Division II championship.

That might make him a future candidate for a Division I job, but he's not sure he wants one. Starkey said he would consider most D-I schools a lateral move, and he isn't interested in taking a higher-profile job just to feed his ego.

Besides, he said, there are plenty of reasons to stay. His entire family lives in the Twin Cities. He loves working with his athletic-department colleagues at Concordia. And with an outstanding group of players off to a 4-0 start, he can't wait to see where they go from here.

"Every year is different," Starkey said. "Our goal is to make each team the best players they can be, so each kid has a great experience. If they win a title, great. And if they don't, it's still going to be fun."

Rachel Blount • rblount@startribune.com