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| Coach Braun gives a talk at the white board during a preseason practice |
The first time Coach Braun missed a day of preseason was for a good reason.
On Sunday, August 16th, the day prior to our athletes reporting to campus, he and his wife Kate gave birth to their third son, River. Naturally, he needed that Monday off.
So I assumed the
normal first-day duties of meetings, paperwork, and issuing equipment. At the
end of the day the team gathered in the locker rooma , and the last thing I said
was, “You can call Coach or I any time if you ever need anything, day or night.
But for right now, you probably shouldn’t call Coach.” I thought I was doing
him a favor, with the birth of his third son and all. He needed time away from
work.
Back Tuesday morning,
Coach was in full swing for the first day of practices. After a long day of
fitness testing and volleyball, he gathered the new players together before
they left the gym and said (I’m paraphrasing):
“Don’t ever think I’m
too busy for you to call me if you need something. Don’t worry about what’s
going on in my life. I’m your coach, and I know its emotional being at college
for the first time. If you need something, call.”
It was an eye-opener
for me, even after working for him for several years. I asked if we could do a
quick formal interview so he could share his experiences on balancing family
and volleyball, his goals as a coach, and his appreciation for his players.
Ryan Maloney: Has your perspective about coaching changed since you’ve
been a father?
Geoff Braun: Before I was a parent I used to tell parents of
recruited athletes that I would take care of their daughter and make sure she
was doing okay and being the best student-athlete she can be. Now, when I say
that it has a deeper meaning.
RM: Has coaching become more difficult?
Braun: It’s a give and take. Some things become more
difficult in coaching and some things become easier. It’s more difficult to
balance and manage your time, but it’s exactly what we ask our athletes to do.
You have to be organized. I’m also more patient now.
RM: With our players?
Braun: Yeah. I have a lot more patience.
RM: But how do you take care of everyone? Three kids and 16
players is a lot. You’d think they take away from each other.
Braun: Gosh, that’s tough. I think it builds appreciation
both ways. I appreciate my kids more. I appreciate the athletes more. You
cherish the time you have with them. It’s cliché, but time goes by so quick.
That’s the same with your children and your athletes. Four years goes by really
fast and you can’t wait until their junior year to try to make a connection.
RM: The day you walked back into the gym you seemed to have
more appreciation for it.
Braun: Yeah, an appreciation for being here, an appreciation
for having this career, and being a part of these athlete’s lives. It’s special
to me, it’s why I love what I do. I was surprised at how fast I get right back
into it. The summer is long. You always look forward to the season, but in the
back of my head I was dreading not being able to spend so much time with my
family, but when you get immersed in it, you just go. I wouldn’t want to be
doing anything else.
RM: Why here though (Fredonia)? You’ve said to me on several
occasions that if you’re going to coach you want to coach here. 18 years is a
long time to be in one place in the coaching world.
Braun: Yeah. I love Western New York, my family loves Western New York, the city of Buffalo is up and coming, the Fredonia campus is a place I’ve always thought is a special place. The faculty are generous and campus is beautiful. And it’s possible here… all of our goals are attainable here.
RM: What are our goals?
Braun: To
get to the NCAA tournament. To get to the Elite Eight.