Coach of the Year: Bruce Shang
When you walk into the Love Gym, the first thing you’ll notice is the maroon banners hanging from the wall. Look more carefully, and you’ll notice one of those banners reads, “Girls Volleyball NEPSAC Class A Champions.” Unlike the other banners in the room, this one only has three years written under its title—1994, 2000 and 2014. This year, another date will be added to the banner. While the Exeter girls volleyball program is relatively new, half of Exeter girls’ volleyball’s NEPSAC championships have been won under the leadership of coach Bruce Shang. Shang took the job of head coach for Exeter girls’ volleyball in 2008, assistant coach for girls’ squash in 2010 and most recently founded the Exeter mens’ volleyball team in 2014.
An athlete throughout his childhood, Shang has always been enthusiastic about picking up new sports. Although he started out as a varsity baseball player in college, Shang tried out club volleyball and fell in love with the sport. He started playing 9-man volleyball, which required him to compete in tournaments across the country. Eventually he took an assistant coaching position at Rutgers, where he got his first taste of coaching womens’ volleyball. His wife, Leanne Shang, described his coaching mentality. “Bruce has a passion for coaching and a hunger for learning that I’ve never seen in a coach I’d ever had. If he’s a assigned a sport he’s never played, he will watch every instructional DVD, try the sport himself and stay up late every night trying to figure out the best way to teach it,” she said. That dedication is recognized both in his achievements and by his players.
Shang’s comprehensive coaching ideology has resulted in the adoption of several unorthodox volleyball methods. Prep Sophie Faliero explained, “Shang brings ideas to training that I had never been told before. Those new ideas only made me learn more and helped me improve.” One of those ideas was the implementation of swing blocking, a technique typically used at the college level. Swing blocking requires much more precision and skill than typical high school blocking methods, but it’s one example of how Shang challenges his players.
Senior Katya Scocimara summed up one part of Shang’s coaching philosophy. which places a large emphasis on basics. “He focuses a lot on getting the basic skills really solid in his team before working on any of the more complicated stuff like hitting and blocking and passing. He makes sure that we have good control of the ball which builds a good foundation for everything else,” she said.
“Shang was one of the first people who I had for support. This has been true for both my two years here. Without him, I don’t think I could have felt as comfortable and welcome as I did.”
While both teams had excellent season records, each suffered one loss. In both cases, Shang took the loss as a chance to recommit the teams to their goals of New England Championships and return to the basics. After a tough loss during the boys’ volleyball season to NMH, Shang renewed the team’s commitment to the fundamentals. Upper Graham Rutledge, one of the captains for next year’s boys volleyball team, attributes the championship to Shang’s skillful decision to return to elementary level drills.
“He also puts a lot of emphasis on the fundamentals of volleyball, which are so important in order to be a good player, and why he has produced championship teams especially on the boys side,” Rutledge said.
Another strong belief of Shang’s is that a team must adapt to be successful. He often says that one of the largest differences between his team and other New England volleyball teams is that his team is flexible. Exeter volleyball often switches plays mid-season, a difficult task with the potential to create confusion and resentment, yet under Shang’s direction switching plays throughout the season has proved favorable.
Within New England, mens’ volleyball is sparse. Most students who try out for boys’ volleyball at Exeter have no previous experience in the sport. Stuart Rucker, a lower on the boys’ volleyball team commented on the unique situation of playing boys’ volleyball in New England. “Few boys come to boarding schools with experience, and therefore the team’s talent is directly a result of the coaching,” he said. His attribution of the team’s success is further confirmed by other players. Upper Mitchell Kirsch, who first started playing volleyball at Exeter, said, “[Shang] knows volleyball so well and is able to teach the guys proper technique with ease.” Over the course of spring tryouts, Shang coaches over 40 boys how to play volleyball, from the basics to complex plays later on in the season.
His players note his straightforward, honest manner as a characteristic that sets him apart from previous coaches. Prep Jenny Yang said, “He doesn’t really sugarcoat stuff; he just gets to the point.”
Along with Shang’s candid demeanor, his players have noted his calm presence during games. Senior and co-captain Michelle Bosché recounted, “There’s a famous picture among our team of the seconds after we won the championship point and everyone is freaking out, jumping in the air, screaming or rushing the court, and then there’s Shang, just sitting in the back corner like nothing had happened. He was like that no matter what, and his calm in every game was a steadiness I always liked that pushed me to be better, because I knew under that cool expression he really wanted to win.”
Senior Jess Hebl, a four year member of the girls’ volleyball team, described Shang’s mentality towards priorities. “He genuinely cares about the mental and physical well being of his players and understands that family and school come before volleyball, something that is very rare to find at a competitive level,” she said. On the first official practice of girls’ volleyball every year, Shang tells his players their priorities: family, school and volleyball, in that order. He exudes that commitment to family with his own wife and kids. His wife, Leanne Shang, commented on the unique situation of coaching at Exeter in conjunction with family.
“It’s pretty amazing that we get to eat lunch together as a family, pick him up from practice, watch games and be together in between breaks in his day,” she said.
Off the court, Shang remains a key member of his players’ lives. Senior Katya Scocimara, one of the 2015 co-captains, described Shang’s influence on her Exeter experience.
“Shang was one of the first people who I had for support. This has been true for both my two years here. Without him, I don’t think I could have felt as comfortable and welcome as I did,” she said.
At the end of every practice, both teams finish with a cheer that recapitulates the spirit Shang brings to Exeter volleyball. Jess Hebl, a four year senior on the team, summed up the experience.
“I will never forget the feeling of coming together as a team at the end of each practice and having Coach Shang yell, ‘GET BETTER ON 3 ... 123 ... GET BETTER,’” she said.