Concordia women’s volleyball coach Paula Weishoff is a retired women’s Olympic volleyball player who won two medals with the USA National Women’s Team at the summer Olympics in 1984 and 1992. Weishoff shared her Olympic experience and what she loves about her opportunity to mentor Concordia student athletes as head coach. 

Q: What was your favorite Olympics?

A: Every Olympics is unique in its own way. 1984 I was 22 and I was very young, the Olympics were in my hometown in Torrance. The facility was in Long Beach, so it was considered an L.A. Olympics. We did not get to experience living in the village. In 1992 we got to stay in the village in Barcelona. I had played overseas around the time, so I knew a lot more people on different teams. I would say 1992 [was my favorite], even though we got a bronze medal compared to a silver in 1984. 

Q: What is your greatest Achievement? Anything historic about the team during that Olympics? 

A: There are two. Jordan Larson was MVP of the Olympics winning the silver medal. I was the MVP of the Olympics winning the bronze medal. I was shocked, I didn’t really look at stats, I’m not that type of player. I play for my team; I am highly competitive. I didn’t try to be the best, I tried to do my best. Players nowadays try to say “I’m going to be the best.” For me, my mentality was a little bit different -- “I’m going to do my best. If that means I am the best, then so be it.” That was my mentality.

Q: What got your attention to become a volleyball coach?

A: Ironically, I never wanted to be a volleyball coach. I had a love-hate relationship with some of my coaches, and I recognized if I did coach, I would want it to be different. I went to coach at USC as a graduate assistant. Lisa Love made all the difference in the world to me. She talked about coaching as more of an art form than teaching, yelling or screaming. This was a shift for me, and that is when I fell in love with coaching.

Q: What is the biggest aspect in today’s game for women’s volleyball?

A: Being more technical of the game. We can watch film and go in and make corrections. When I played, they would just say “you’re goofy footed, you have to change.” That and the ability to scout your opponents and have a better volleyball IQ through that.

Q: In the past what has led to your team's success?

A: At USC it really started with recruiting. Gary did a real good job of that. He is the current coach at the University of Texas. Then you must create a culture. He brought in a sports psychologist named Mike, one of the first programs to implement that sort of thing. You also must have the work ethic. It starts with recruiting and putting the right pieces together.

Q: What led you to coaching at Concordia?

A: When I came back to the United States, I did not have my college degree. I played one year at USC then I went overseas. Lisa Love offered me a graduate assistant position; they were interested in having all their athletes graduating. I went from 2nd to 1st grad assistant, to the associate head coach, until I got my first job offer as the head coach at Concordia. I turned the job down, and I went home and I cried, thinking I made a mistake. Interesting enough, I had to return something to the athletic director at the time. Jordy Weiss was the athletic director at the time.

As I was returning the stuff, she asked me “Are you sure about your decision?” I responded, “No I’m not.” She said they had one more candidate to interview and if I still wanted the job it was there. We had great success, even though we did not win the championship, we did go, along with a few runs to the semis, and quarter finals. [After a stint at UC Irvine] when [Concordia] decided to go Division II, that’s when I decided I would want to go back. That is when I was lucky enough to be rehired, and I’m still here.

Q: What is your outlook for the season?

A: We talked about using the word grit this year. The past year we used the word growth and trust which tie in together. We struggled a little bit with teams that have gotten under our skin. So we are just working on that. We are trying to create an environment with different lineups and working with people who do not always play the same position they were designed to due to COVID-19.

The 9-5 women’s volleyball team will play at home for the remainder of October. Their next game is Oct. 16 versus Biola at 5 p.m. Let’s show the volleyball team some love by showing up and cheering them on! 

 

Tags: sports, volleyball, women's athletics

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