by Larkin Baxley and Taylor Cotie

Greensboro College athletics introduces Dan Bozarth as the new head coach of the women’s volleyball team, officially making the announcement on March 31 after several weeks of going through numerous candidates for the position. The Greensboro College volleyball team was ecstatic to finally have a coach after it was announced early spring that head coach Kevin Troup, who was with the Pride for seven seasons, had resigned. Bozarth will be the seventh head coach for the Greensboro College volleyball program. On top of this new coaching role, Bozarth will continue to be the athletic director for Caldwell Academy and serve as the head coach of the Caldwell Academy women’s volleyball team.

With his many past successes, there is no doubt Bozarth will lead the Greensboro College volleyball team to new heights. The Collegian had the opportunity to speak with Bozarth, and when asked about his prior coaching experience before coming to Greensboro College, he replied, “I have always loved coaching and being able to impact student-athletes in a positive way through sports. For the past 13 years, I have been the head volleyball coach at Caldwell Academy. We have gone 298-65 during that time with nine conference titles and two state championships. In addition, I have coached club volleyball with Piedmont Volleyball Club, Carolina Spike Force and Beach South Volleyball. I have coached 13 through 18 age groups at the national level and been a club director and lead coach.”

Now stepping into his first head coaching role at the collegiate level, Bozarth shared what drew him to the opportunity to coach at this level. “I am always looking for new challenges. I was excited about the thought of coaching at a higher level and being able to build a program at the collegiate level.”

When asked why he chose Greensboro College and what he loves most about the school, Bozarth shared, “I think in the initial interview process there was an immediate connection with the team. In just the first two weeks, I would say it is the players that are what I love most about the school so far. I do not think you can ask for a much better group. They are hardworking and passionate about what they do. They are encouragers. They are leaders on the campus.”

Reflecting on his first few weeks as head coach, Bozarth said, “The first two weeks have been a whirlwind. The biggest challenge has been trying to get to know a lot of the players in such a short amount of time, while also preparing for our upcoming spring play date. I look forward to every day and enjoy being on campus, working with the team.”

The GC women’s volleyball team competed at UNC Pembroke for their Spring play date scrimmages on Saturday, April 12. The team competed against Division two schools, Coker University, Chowan University and Division three, Pfeiffer University. The Collegian asked Coach Bozarth what his thoughts were on how the scrimmages went and what he thought the team could improve on for the upcoming season. Bozarth replied, “I thought overall our team competed well against some strong competition. We were able to work in each member of the roster and I saw everyone contribute in some way. I thought our serve receive was strong throughout the day. I think we can improve on team blocking and getting more deflections. That will improve as we scout for future opponents. I think our connection on faster tempo sets can also get much better.”

Having only coached high school and club volleyball teams, when asked how it felt coaching a college team for the first time, Coach Bozarth responded, “I absolutely loved the first scrimmage day and my first time being on the sidelines for a college game. I really enjoyed the competitiveness of the day. Even though it was just a scrimmage day you can feel how important it is for everyone on the roster to play hard and play well. I love being a part of that.”

The Collegian also spoke to members of the volleyball team, sophomore Morgan Mayfield and junior Karla Del Castillo. When asking Castillo her thoughts on the transition to a new head coach, she replied, “At first, I was very nervous. I did not know Dan’s coaching style, personality or philosophy so that caused a lot of questions and uncertainty. However, once we met Dan, all that anxiety went away. The way he communicated with the team and answered any questions we had was very positive. He gave us a sense of confidence to be ourselves with him, which I think is a very important quality to have in a coach. The way he runs practice is different but in a good way, he is pushing us to be better and testing our skills, technique and stamina. Overall, I am very optimistic of what is to come for next season.”

When speaking to Mayfield about the journey with Coach Bozarth so far, she answered, “The first few weeks with Dan as head coach have been great. I really like the competitiveness and pace of practice. The energy in the gym is high and everyone is committed to improving each day. Things are looking good for the upcoming season, we have the drive and the talent to accomplish a lot this year, and with Dan as our head coach, I am excited to see how far we can go.”

With the upcoming fall season just months away, when asked about his expectations and goals for the season, Coach Bozarth replied, “I think the foundation has been set for Greensboro College volleyball. The program has been near the top in the USA South conference for several years and my hope is that with an experienced team, we can take that final step and be champions. The conference is very strong top to bottom, but this team is going to be ready for those challenges. The goals will be to finish in the top four of the conference, challenge for the USA South tournament championship, and beat Guilford.”

Greensboro College and the athletic department are excited to see Coach Bozarth take on this role and lead the volleyball program to new heights. With his passion and vision for the program, we are confident he will elevate the team. We look forward to an exciting future for Greensboro College volleyball under his direction.