“I’m really passionate about . . . experiencing more than the bubble we live in.”
In the 11th episode of the 35,000 Feet podcast, we got the chance to sit down and talk to Abbey Sutherland, the head coach of women’s volleyball at the University of Wisconsin Green Bay, located in Green Bay, Wisconsin. We talk about how she made her transition from player to coach, her most memorable experiences from the 2019 season including putting the team in difficult situations, and even sharing something about herself that no one else knows! Listen in to learn about this incredible coach and her experiences.
In this episode, we discuss:
How Abbey decided to become a coach (0:12)
Abbey’s most memorable experience from this past season (3:36)
Upcoming travel the team is looking forward to (5:18)
Something no one knows about Abbey (6:15)
Abbey’s advice to student athletes who want to play in college (7:19)
How Abbey Became a Volleyball Coach
Gracee: What was the defining moment where you're like, "Okay, it's time for me to coach and put down my perspective."
Abbey: I never thought I was going to be a coach. I love to compete and thankfully, competing at St Norbert College left me with wanting more. I had a really great student-athlete experience, which means I had a great experience with my coaches who made an impact on me. So, I decided to apply for every graduate assistant position in the nation and Southern Miss provided me with the opportunity. I moved to Southern Miss without ever being in Mississippi before, which was definitely a much different culture than Wisconsin. And got my Master's in teaching Spanish, so I have an education background, was my major and then my master's.
But after I finished my graduate assistant position, I knew I wanted to apply for coaching jobs rather than teach. I was kind of sick to my stomach applying for teaching positions, which means that probably wouldn't have been a great profession for me, even though coaching is closely related to education and teaching. And then thankfully, I was promoted to assistant coach at Southern Miss. And three to four years later was elevated to Head Coach after we won the conference and my boss took a job in California at UC San Diego. I moved back to Wisconsin in 2013.
I was pretty fortunate to be a Division One Head Coach at the age of 27 which was really, really hard. But I learned a lot and it's crazy to think that that was 10 years ago and how different I am and how I would have done things so much differently. That's growing and that's learning.
I took a different path. I actually, in 2013 took a Division Three job and moved closer to home, which I didn't want to move from Southern Miss, because I really did like my job there. But my house was hit by a tornado and my mom was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's, all within the span of a couple of weeks of each other. And so, it really caused me to reflect and think about the importance of the family and being to be there for my mom. And just going through that difficult time with the tornado made me think of a lot of things as well.
So move to Steven's Point, Wisconsin, coached Division Three and it made me better because there were less resources. I didn't have an assistant coach. I had to teach on top of everything. So I reignited my passion for learning and growing, I would say, at Steven's Point. And we experienced a lot of success there. In my first two years, we made it to the final four. And then two years ago the Green Bay job opened up. I had missed coaching Division One and it was really the ideal situation because it was close to home and Division One is a great opportunity for me. So, here I am.
University of Wisconsin Green Bay Women’s Volleyball Most Memorable Experience from Last Season
Gracee: So what was your most memorable experience from the season?
Abbey: This past season...
Gracee: Or the highs and lows.
Abbey: Yeah, that's a fun question actually to ask our student-athletes, our young women, and it's funny because we play volleyball a lot and we practice a lot. And they put a lot of work in, but they remember a lot of non-volleyball moments. For example, this year we try and put them in difficult situations where they can learn and grow while enjoying it. We went on a day-long fishing trip. So a lot of people who had never fished before learned how to do that. And we made it a contest between three boats. So that was, I think, one of their favorite memories, but they learned a lot from it. We did our ropes course, which definitely showed fear with me. I did that with them. So I showed some vulnerability and worked through the course with them and I think they really enjoyed it that day. We took a trip to Pittsburgh, so we played at Pitt. They're a very, very good team.
But during that weekend, that's when we beat Ohio state and we picked up another one at the PPG Paints Arena, where they played the national championship. So we were a trial run. So we were the first team to win in that arena. Volleyball had never been played there before. And Pittsburgh's a beautiful city. I had no idea. I mean the culture, the food...
Gracee: I'm surprised by that.
Abbey: Yeah, and we went on like the river tour, so took them on that tour and went sightseeing. So overall, that was a really fun weekend for us and a great experience where... I think those are the memories that our student-athletes are going to remember.
Gracee: Yeah. That's funny that almost all of them are off the court. That's awesome. Have you guys done any foreign tours or anything like that?
Abbey: We have not. But we are going this May, so I'm really passionate about traveling and seeing the world and experiencing more than the little bubble we live in Green Bay, Wisconsin. So when I got the job, I told them that was one of my goals and we've worked to get there. So, at the end of May, we are traveling all throughout Italy, starting in Rome, going through Florence, Cinque Terra and ending in Lake Como. And I'm just so excited for them. They're going to love it.
Gracee: Oh, so fun. Yeah. The foreign tours are basically like the ropes course and as the fishing just times 10-
Abbey: Yes.
Gracee: Which is going to be so exciting and especially the culture over in Italy and Lake Como, it's beyond beautiful. That's going to be an amazing trip for you guys.
Abbey: Yep. We're excited and we get to compete along the way. But yeah, they'll probably remember the tour more than the competition.
Gracee: Yeah. But the competition keeps them on their toes. It's a good space.
Abbey’s Spiritual Journey
Gracee: What is one thing that no one knows about you that you can share?
Abbey: That's a very good question. You've got me stumped there. Gosh, we just talked about travel. I mean I feel like everyone knows that about me. I would say this past fall I worked on becoming more spiritual. And I haven't shared that with the team, but I read a book through WeCOACH, which is the women's coaching organization called "7,000 Ways to Listen". And it really spoke to me and I think helped me in my journey because it's really hard to be a coach. And so, finding the purpose in general of the world and of the universe, I think has helped me find more perspective as a coach. And so, I've reignited my spiritual journey and I'm excited about it.
Gracee: Oh yeah. I'm always so excited about that. There's definitely something so humbling about being able to grow spiritually. I definitely can see the excitement about that. That's so awesome.
Abbey’s Advice to Prospective Collegiate Student-Athletes
Gracee: If you were a student-athlete wanting to play in college, what would be your advice?
Abbey: I would say we like to use camps to get to know potential student-athletes. And I just like that so much more than identifying talent and being out recruiting, which obviously I like to do, but getting an opportunity to work with them. So being coachable is so important because sometimes there are the recruits who have a lot of talent, but if you try and coach them at the camp and they're not willing to work hard or be open to your feedback, you can pretty quickly cross them off the list.
So being open to feedback, being coachable and working hard, working on all the intangibles, are very, very important. And you're not going to get as many opportunities if you don't have those intangibles. If you have the talent only, you might have some people who obviously are interested in you, but it won't help you grow when you're at that school, either.
Gracee: I also really love it when I see student-athletes putting in the work to get recruited, making highlight videos, reaching out to coaches. I think that's always a great aspect to have as a student-athlete.
Abbey: Yeah. You have to be persistent. My staff and I, we get hundreds of emails on a consistent basis. And so if we don't write you back right away, sometimes it doesn't mean that we're not interested, but there's just so many people where we have to shuffle through the emails and work to be organized. We're going to notice you more if you follow up and send another email. That definitely helps us recognize your name a lot better.
Upcoming Adventures for University of Wisconsin Green Bay Women’s Volleyball
Gracee: Yeah, totally. That makes sense. Perfect. So, as we're rounding out this podcast, what is your next adventure, either in your personal life or with the team?
Abbey: Well, the team is the Italy trip. That's something we're talking about a lot. We're working on fundraising for that. But we just started our spring training this week. So, it can get long. We're practicing early in the mornings, so it's kind of crazy. I'm up at 6 AM now, which will be good to get into a routine. But yesterday I looked at the clock and it was 1:00 and I was like, "Oh my gosh, we've gotten so much done today and it's only 1:00 PM." But yeah, we have a lot of competitions in March and April. And so we put in the work with a growth mindset and getting better overlooking good and fostering a safe learning environment and being great learners. So for us, that's our mission. And one of my favorite quotes is, "Growth equals emotional consistency." So as long as we're continuing to grow, it will be stable emotionally in our gym. And that's really what we're shooting for.
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Podcast made in partnership with Acanela Expeditions
Theme Song - I’ll Just Be Me by Gravity Castle