Five Sets with Aaron Hastings
July 27, 2017 04:32 PM | Volleyball
On getting his start in women’s volleyball …
I got into volleyball from watching my brother play while he was in high school. I played in high school and as a setter. I had a desire to learn more about the sport, so I became a student manager for the women’s team in hopes of learning from their coach and observing the player/coach interaction. Shortly after I graduated from Westerville North, I returned as the varsity volleyball coach. At the time, I had just turned 20 and was coaching mostly 18-year-old girls. I began coaching club volleyball at Mintonette as a way to continue to learn. After coaching at Westerville North for three seasons, I became the Director of Operations for the women’s volleyball team at Ohio State. That proved to be a valuable experience for me as I learned how a volleyball program operates in a Power 5 conference. I am now entering my third season at West Virginia where Reed (Sunahara) is mentoring me and giving me every opportunity to learn and grow. I’ve spent 16 years either coaching or playing volleyball. Working in women’s volleyball has been the most rewarding things I’ve experienced, but it also comes with a lot of sacrifice. I’m grateful to have the experiences I had at Westerville North where I was able to surround myself with the right people. My athletic director, Jeff Will, gave me an opportunity I wasn’t quite ready for, but he guided me along the way. Sports provide so many valuable lessons that help shape who we are and what we become. Working in sports has always been a dream of mine and now I’m living it. I’m living it because of the support of my family and the many sacrifices they made to allow me to do what I’m passionate about.
On his experience as a student and staff member at WVU …
I’m no stranger to being an alum of a program I work with. I began my career at my high school, Westerville North, and continued it at Ohio State, where I earned my undergraduate degree. Being an alumnus of WVU has helped me understand what it means to be a Mountaineer. I have family from Wheeling, West Virginia, so WVU has always been a part of my life. Now, I have a better understanding of the culture and pride that come with being associated with WVU. I believe the harder you work, the more pride you’ll have in what you’re doing. I think the same is true for being an alum. I feel a part of this institution and because of that, I want to work harder and make my family and Morgantown proud.
Daily life during the season …
I’m very fortunate that Reed mentors me and allows me every opportunity to learn and develop as coach and as a person in my role as Director of Volleyball Operations. My typical day during the season starts with a staff meeting around 9 a.m. where we discuss practices plans, travel logistics and go over information of our next opponent to build a scouting report. Most of my day after that consists of preparing a travel itinerary for our next trip by contacting hotels to arrange meeting space and times for the team to watch film, finding restaurants located close to either the hotel or the arena that have enough healthy options for our players and contacting the Director of Operations of the team we’re playing to arrange a practice time the night before the match and a serve and pass time prior to the match on game day. Like any other program, our athletes and coaches like to have a routine. It’s important for me to have an understanding of what Reed wants so I can plan our travel to meet those needs and keep everyone in their routine so they feel comfortable on the road and focus on the match. We typically practice from 3-6 p.m. During practices, I oversee our video and stat program and study our serving and passing. After practice the past two seasons I would attend class from 7-10 p.m., so having graduated, I will use that time to watch more film and continue to learn from our coaching staff by discussing and comparing observations.
Goals for the team …
My goal is to help this program become something special. Our players have a goal of being the first team in program history to make the NCAA Tournament. This is something I want for them. I want nothing more than to be a part of helping them do that.
The best part of being a Mountaineer in Morgantown …
The best part about being a Mountaineer is being a part of something this whole state takes pride in. Morgantown lives for WVU. It’s a place where everyone supports us and wants us to do well. Doing what we do means so much more knowing this town supports us.
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