@vu72 @valpo64 I’m not going to pass a definitive judgment on whether Nick Polite is head coach material, but I’d hesitate to blame much on him. He’s in a difficult situation, and sure, he’s a low outward emotion person, but this is also his 11th season on staff. The players know him - he would have been the primary recruiter for at least some of them, as the nature of college volleyball recruitment makes it so he would often be the only Valpo representative at tournaments. Is this start poor and highly disappointing? Yes. But let’s not blame it on Nick - a very genuine man who is from the Region - unless we have a real reason to.
I certainly do not question Nick's personal qualities or his ability to recruit. I do think there is a big difference in being a good recruiter and a good head coach. I agree that he is laid back guy on the sidelines but you have to be a motivator and leader. In critical times in a match he often isn't in the huddle with the players on the floor as an example. Good guys do not automatically equate to being a good coach and leader. Sometimes you need to "kick butt". In watching these last three matches it appears to me that we are missing leadership and motivation. There is no excuse for blowing these last three contests. I'm sorry, but I blame it on coaching,
the bottom line is this
Our only program that was winning is now on a downward trajectory
rpi is 265 out of 349 ...awful
but this is par for the course with valpo athletics
despite all the enthusiasm regarding basketball the pre season warren nolan has us 6th and 2 games above .500
womens soccer is awful 264 out of 348 and 3rd worst in a terrible conference
baseball is an absolute joke
mens golf was ranked 267 out of 311 last season and won nothing when they had 2 pro players,,,,signals terrible coaching
womens basketball...no need to kick a dead horse
same with womens golf..
bright spots although dimly lit are
football
swimming
track/cc
maybe no one really cares about anyone other than basketball winning
so...that is in essence the state of affairs of valpo sports...but they keep asking for donations?!?
Any latest news regarding the firing?
Any hope of salvaging the season starts the next 2 games at home against probably the 2 worst teams in the conference.
Carin Avery has been hired as the associate head coach of Purdue Fort Wayne.
Carin's bio page at Purdue Fort Wayne reads like a delayed rebuttal refuting the Valparaiso Athletics administration. It begins with the following and then goes on like that for 9 more paragraphs: https://gomastodons.com/staff-directory/carin-avery/585
Carin Avery comes to Purdue Fort Wayne after she took over the Valpo volleyball program in July 2002. She is the winningest head coach in the history of Valpo Athletics, and Avery owns a 528-266 (.665) record in her tenure as Valpo head coach.
Avery claimed the crown as the winningest head coach in Valpo Athletics history in September 2023, as the Beacons' win at Purdue Fort Wayne was her 479th at Valpo. She surpassed the legendary skipper Emory Bauer, the Valpo Athletics Hall of Fame coach who amassed 478 wins in his time leading the Valpo football, baseball and men's basketball programs. Avery hit the 500-win mark at Valpo in October 2024 with a victory at Murray State.
Valpo showed tremendous consistency under Avery, finishing in the top half of the conference standings 24 times in her 25 seasons —a time frame which has seen the program make multiple conference transitions: from the Mid-Continent Conference to the Horizon League, and then to the Missouri Valley Conference. Avery has led Valpo to top-half finishes in the MVC standings in each of the program’s first nine seasons in the Valley, making Valpo the only MVC program to post top-half finishes in each of those seasons.
Under Avery, a multitude of players have enjoyed individual success as well. She has coached six AVCA Honorable Mention All-Americans and 14 All-Region or Honorable Mention All-Region recipients during her time at Valpo. A two-time league Coach of the Year, Avery has led three conference Players of the Year, three Setters of the Year, 11 Libero/Defensive Players of the Year and three Freshman/Newcomers of the Year. In her 24 seasons, 63 Valpo players have been All-Conference selections and 22 players have been named to league All-Freshman/Newcomer teams.
The 2015 campaign brought yet another record-breaking start for the program, as Avery guided Valpo to nine consecutive wins to open the season - a new program record. Valpo went on to win 27 matches, tying the second-most wins in a single season in program history, and advanced to the Horizon League Championship title match for the fourth time since joining the league. The team brought home two in-season tournament titles in the early portion of the season, bringing to 22 the number of in-season tournament crowns Valpo has won during Avery's tenure....
@valpopal don’t read too much into that, the entire bio (except the first two sentences) is copied directly from Carin’s 2025 bio on the Valpo Athletics website.
@valpopal don’t read too much into that, the entire bio (except the first two sentences) is copied directly from Carin’s 2025 bio on the Valpo Athletics website.
That is why it reads "like a delayed rebuttal." In effect, the bio uses the Valparaiso Athletic Department's own praise for Carin, gives it new light, and turns it back at them. Certainly, anyone reading the superlatives will wonder why they let her leave.
The Avery to PFW makes sense, Mike is the head coach for Fort Wayne FC is the USL1 league.
So she’s not going to be the head coach? So the right place location wise but I can’t imagine someone relatively young settling for an assistant coach job after running the show for so many years. I would think she will get several offers for a top job once the season is over.