University of Tennessee Athletics
SEC 'Five Questions' With Rob Patrick
August 20, 2012 | Volleyball
Aug. 20, 2012
By: Sean Cartell
SEC Digital Network
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The No. 15 Tennessee volleyball team enters the 2012 season as the defending Southeastern Conference Champion and the preseason pick by the league's coaches to repeat that feat this year.
Tennessee head coach Rob Patrick, the 2011 SEC Coach of the Year, sat down with the SEC Digital Network on Monday to discuss his team and the upcoming season in the following "Five Questions."
SEC Digital Network: On paper, just like last year, you have a very young team entering the 2012 season, but your young players got so much experience last year. How have you seen that pay off so far in the preseason?
Rob Patrick: "The one thing I've noticed right away is that we came into practice and there's a lot less thinking and a lot more playing. One thing that's exciting for us is that we're playing the game better. A lot of that has to do with their ability to process information that's happening on the court and not having to think about offensive or defensive systems. Last year, we had to think about those things a lot. They are a lot more comfortable with the techniques that we've taught them."
SEC Digital Network: Last year, you were able to surprise some teams with how well you played. After winning the SEC title last season and being predicted to win this season, you aren't going to surprise anyone. How do you think your team will respond to having the target on their backs?
Rob Patrick: "I think our team was very disappointed with how our season ended. They really felt that we should have gone further in the NCAA Tournament. Something that has happened over the last couple of years is that we've been getting everyone's best shot, so that's not going to surprise these kids. We don't think much about being the favorite in the SEC this year. The players have set high goals for themselves this year, one of those is to win the SEC, which is our goal every year. I think they're really focused on those goals and not too much about what other people are thinking of them."
SEC Digital Network: Kayla Jeter returns to your team as a fifth-year senior after sitting out last year with an injury. How has she been progressing this preseason?
Rob Patrick: "She looks great. She has been given 100 percent clearance and we're excited about that. She is feeling really good. We're at the point where she's having to work on getting her timing and everything back, but she's done a fantastic job of that; she has put in a ton of work. She is one of those players who has always been mentally into everything we were doing, so she kept herself on the court mentally, even when she wasn't there physically. She's getting her timing back with our setters and passing. She looks fantastic out there. She has always been very strong and very athletic, and we're excited about having her back on the court. It's just that experience - having someone who has four years - three on the court - of experience is exciting for us."
SEC Digital Network: What are your thoughts on your schedule this year and what went into the way you created it?
Rob Patrick: "I put together our pre-conference schedule the way I did because I thought we had a chance to be pretty good and I really wanted to test us. If there are things we need to work on, I want to find that out early. We will be able to do that in our first weekend with the teams we have coming in - FSU, Iowa State and Cincinnati. We are going to find out the things we need to improve on and I did that on purpose. In the SEC, we easily have the toughest schedule that there is. We play all of the top teams twice, except for Florida, which we play at Florida. We have a really tough schedule, but we've never made excuses. Last year, when Kayla Jeter went down, we buckled down and kept going. We have to be successful, even in the face of adversity. I always try to take the positive and, in this case, our RPI could be pretty good with that type of schedule. Mentally, we are not going to be able to take a break the entire year and that's just going to prepare us. If we take a mental break, we're going to be in trouble. These are things we can use to make the team better. We're going to embrace what's in front of us and have fun with it."
SEC Digital Network: What are some of the positives you have seen from your team during your preseason practices?
Rob Patrick: "Our mental focus and the way we are approaching everything mentally has been fantastic. It is something that I have been very, very pleased with. When you have that type of mental focus, I think you can do a lot with that. It has been a nice surprise for me and something I think will really help us this year. We're working on getting better defensively. When you have a bunch of freshmen, there's only so much you can put in and implement. We really put in our offense last year and our defense suffered. We have placed a huge emphasis on getting better defensively. It's something our kids have really done a good job of working on. They have really taken it to heart and worked their tails off getting better at digging, blocking and serving."
