Ariana Aganus, the head coach of volleyball at Marshall University, sits down with us in this episode of the 35,000 feet podcast discussing some of her favorite expeditions, some lesser-known facts about her, her journey as a coach, and her advice to future collegiate athletes!

In this episode, we discuss:

• How this past season went for the Marshall University Volleyball team (0:22)

• How Coach Aganus got into coaching (2:47)

• Ariana’s favorite travel experience (7:18)

• Ariana’s advice to athletes wanting to play in college (13:54)

This Past Season’s Highs And Lows For Marshall University’s Volleyball Team

Courtney: Hi guys, welcome back. It's Courtney. Today I'm sitting down with Coach Ari Aganus. Thank you so much for joining us. We are super excited to chat with you and get to know you a little bit better. 

Coach Ariana: Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited. I'm very excited. 

Courtney: Yeah, we're super excited to have you. So let's just dive right into this and let's have you tell us about some of the highs and lows of your season. 

Coach Ariana: This past season was mostly highs. I will say that. I think any time you end on a loss would be a really tough low. But as far as the high, our biggest goal was on and off the court to do a little bit better than the year before. So as a first time head coach coming into the first year, we didn't put a lot of stock into wins and losses because the culture was what we wanted to define. So my biggest high is not something that can be measured, but it is just how the team rallied around our vision as coaches and they bought into the program. So that for sure is a high for me. I would say the low is, if we can extend it throughout this year is truly just not being with them this spring due to the coronavirus. But if you would have to fully measure it, I would say just losing that first round of the conference tournament and not being able to kind of push forward a little bit more. 

Courtney: Yeah, definitely. I like what you said though, that the highs were something that can't really be measured but that your team was able to rally together and focus on those goals that you had as a coaching staff. That's really awesome. 

Coach Ariana: Yeah. We tend to... When we came into this, and I say we because I try to be as fully inclusive with my staff, with our support staff, with our admin, with our players, that it's our program. It's not my program. And how I do things, that's just really important, I think. As a first-time head coach, I wanted to be able to kind of extend all of the branches and extend all of my staff's positive features and all their strengths and hopefully those are my weaknesses. But culture is the biggest thing. And I think it's such an odd word because I think we all think sometimes it just means Kumbaya and we're all very happy and we all are... Everything's perfect all the time and that's definitely not it. I think that culture is building a family and it's building something that you're proud of and understanding that the name on the front is ten times more important than the name on the back. And I just hope that when these young ladies leave us, that they are better humans in society. If they're better volleyball players, that's great. But the bigger test is if they're better humans and they've learned something from us. 

Ariana Aganus’s Start In Coaching

Courtney: Yeah, absolutely. I love that. That's so awesome. So how did you become head coach at Marshall University? What led you there? 

Coach Ariana: You know, I have been all over the country and I have had a lot of different stops, if you will. So I started working at my alma mater, at North Alabama, and worked for the coach that I played for who is also in our conference. She's the head coach of Southern Miss now, so that's actually really fun and exciting and kind of an odd way that things all came full circle. But I started there as a TA and I just knew that I didn't want to be done with volleyball. And went then to Wofford, and then I went to Clemson, University of San Francisco, then down to Grand Canyon University. And I remember at Wofford, I took the Clemson job not having been at Wofford but a season and the reason was that I knew that that would kind of help jumpstart me to get my own Wofford. It was such a special experience. It was such a special dynamic that we had as a group. And I really wanted that. So the coach that I worked for, Ron Sweet, was just what you would want to be as a coach in so many ways. With positivity and bringing everybody together and the culture being the thing and then we won. And so it was fun. 

So I think that what got me here was not my record and I say that with a lot of pride because if you look at my wins and losses as an assistant coach, it's not anything to be super proud of if those are the things you're measuring. But I was able to kind of get through to the admin here that it's bigger than that and the things that I can do as a head coach are not measurable things, if you will. So I had a friend, who is actually my assistant, that was the assistant at Marshall before. And she had gotten out of it for a little bit and she had always spoke so highly of Marshall and I thought she was just a little bit crazy. Like she just kind of bled kelly green. And then when I came on an interview, everybody has that same feeling. So I had a really great relationship with my head coach at Grand Canyon. I loved the school, I loved Phoenix, we had a lot of really cool things going on there. And I knew that it was going to have to be something really special to take me away from there. 

Courtney: Yeah. 

Ariana: So when Marshall came open, I had just heard so many great things. It's in one of the best conferences in the country. There's so many really cool pieces to it. But as a university, as a town, it just fits me. I'm from a very small town, so this is actually more of a city to me. And this is just kind of how I thrive. So I think it just all around was a really great fit. 

Courtney: That's so awesome. I love that. The school sounds like it's really tight knit and everybody just loves being there. So it sounds like such a great atmosphere, to be part of a team in that school. 

Ariana: It really is. Huntington, West Virginia is very... hard work ethic from anybody that you meet, but every single person rallies around Marshall. There's a couple of DVU fans, but I would say for the most part, everybody goes to all of the basketball games, all of the football games. We are getting our crowd up really, really well. And it's just... It's because they want to be a part of it. 

Courtney: Right. 

Ariana: So it's a family. The fire hydrants are green, which I didn't even notice until we asked the girls why they chose Marshall and one of them said because of the fire hydrants. So I think that it just shows that no matter where you're at in the town, they're all there for you. Which I think would be a really cool place to play. And I just think that it's something you have to experience, but it is a smaller town, if you will. So I also think that that has to be something you're looking for too, which is really cool. 

Courtney: Yeah. I like that. A lot of times, like you said, everybody comes to the games, everybody rallies around in a small town. It's nice that they have all that support. It would be really fun to play on a team where everybody's rooting for you. 

Ariana: It is. It is. And it's not... It doesn't' just go for your footballs and basketballs, which I think is really cool. We've got an awesome softball team, baseball. It's everywhere you go there's just kelly green. So it's a really cool environment. 

Ariana Aganus’s Travel Experiences

Courtney: Have you been able to travel at all because of volleyball? Have you had any experiences where you've been able to travel with your teams that you coach or with teams as you grew up playing? 

Ariana: Yes. Honestly, my first plane ride, which this I think should probably just tell you where I'm from, but I had never been on a plane. And then when I started playing club volleyball, we had to go to Spokane for a tournament. And terrified all at the same time. But just from coaching, I have lived in Illinois and then I moved to Alabama, South Carolina, California, Phoenix, and now in West Virginia. So it has definitely taken me to some really awesome places. Recruiting, we're all over the country. We're all over the nation at times. And we were supposed to go to... on an international trip and it didn't end up happening just because of everything going on right now, which is totally understandable. 

Courtney: Yeah. 

Ariana: But volleyball just... It becomes so normal to travel. I think you're supposed to be gone every weekend, which sounds exhausting but it's super exciting for me. I think you get to see different places and then you either can come back and want to revitalize different things, or you can just appreciate what you've got at home, which I think is always really fun. 

Courtney: Yeah. That's so awesome. I love that about travel. That you can see and experience different things and then you can come back and incorporate it into your life, wherever you live. 

Ariana: Yes. Yes. 

Courtney: Yeah, that's so awesome. So going along with that, what would you say your most memorable travel experience is? 

Ariana: I'm going to have to put it to this fall. We had... We went to Florida. We played Florida International and Florida Atlantic. And we were the underdog all season, and so it just kind of got to the point where we had done really well. We ended up winning at FIU and then we got to run out and go see our men's soccer team win the conference championship at the same place.

Courtney: Oh, nice. 

Ariana: Then we went to FAU to play and we beat them and then we took the girls down to the ocean and let them get in the water. And that was just something I will never forget. In their jerseys. It had been a tradition from a former softball coach and we were lucky enough to meet her and she gave us this rally around speech and told us that when we were down there, if we won, we had to go jump in the ocean. And so we were just trying to keep the tradition alive. But then we got so... We were having so much fun and doing... just hanging out as a group and as a unit there that honestly, time just kind of slipped away from us and we were so late to the airport. But it was such an awesome feeling that all of us were just kind of like, "Okay, great. If we make it, awesome. If not, that's okay too because this is just such a cool feeling." 

So when you're away, when you get to travel with a team, when you get to take them out of their element to see different things... There were girls that had never been to the beach like that. And that's just a really cool feeling to know that volleyball gave them that experience. 

Courtney: Yeah. 

Ariana: But that they were also... I think one of the best memories that they've got. 

Courtney: Yeah, that's so awesome. I love that. I think it's so cool when... Because teams already, you have to be a unit. You have to be a tight knit group of people to work together, to be able to play together, and I think that travel helps that. Like you said, you guys were just fine if you didn't make it back to the airport. You guys were having a great time. And I think that when you travel, you get out of your bubble that you're used to being in and you get to just spend time with your team and really build on those relationships. And I feel like people that travel together really just grow so much closer together. And so that's really awesome and important for a team. 

Ariana: I couldn't agree more. I think that when you were... If you were to ask any of them what their favorite memory is, I truly don't think it would be a win. I think those are really fun, but I do think that it would be there's a restaurant that we went to that some of them loved that had never been to and it was in a completely different state and there's just so many little things, that to be secluded together is... Those are the thing you remember after your college experience, for sure. 

Courtney: Yeah. I feel like those are the stories my mom always tells from her days playing in college. She just always tells stories about when they were doing things outside of the game. Of course there's stories about the game and stories about wins, but there's big stories about how they bonded together as a team and I think that those stories get to come a lot more from when you guys get to travel together. So that's really awesome. 

Ariana Love it. 

Courtney: So you said that you guys were going to go on an international trip. Where were you going to go? 

Ariana: We were up in the air, but we were going to go to the Bahamas. There's a tournament that goes on there and one of our girls is from Trinidad and she was going to play on the Youth National Team. So we were going to go and recruit at that. But it just didn't end up happening, so. 

Courtney: Yeah, this stuff has kind of been a little bit crazy for everyone. 

Ariana: I know, I know, I know. Hopefully, we all just stay home and stay safe and then we can all resume activity in a semi-fast fashion. 

Courtney: Yeah. When things are safe again, we can all get back out there. 

Ariana: Yeah. And however long that takes, that's fine. I think that's probably one of the joys of travel, if you will, and of this team stuff and how we can stay connected. That you and I can do this. And we did a Zoom call with our team earlier today and we baked cookies together. 

Courtney: Oh, that's awesome. 

Ariana: As silly and crazy as it sounds, it's just a way to kind of check-in on them and get them involved in doing something that's a little bit out of the ordinary. Because it's just such a confusing time, for sure. 

Courtney: Yeah. Yeah, definitely. I love that you are still connected with the team and that you guys made cookies over a Zoom call. That's so fun. 

Ariana: I was not good at it. My assistant, Taylor, she actually taught us all. I'm not a baker. I would never pretend to be that. But she taught us and I started and then I just... I was just so bad. The cookies tasted okay, but my frosting was awful. So we've got another batch in the freezer we're going to roll out and hopefully do better on that one. 

Courtney: Round two. Round two with the cookies. 

Ariana: Yes. Yes. And that's okay. We're not going to get it on the first try. That's why we started. We'll get it eventually. 

Courtney: Yeah. Practice makes perfect. You'll get it. 

Ariana: Exactly. 

Coach Ariana Aganus’s Advice to Future Athletes

Courtney: So kind of my last question for you is if you're an athlete wanting to play for a team in university, what would your advice be to that athlete? 

Ariana: To make sure that there is something beyond volleyball or the sport that you're playing that you love about that university. Especially with everything that's going on in the world right now, there's no telling what could happen. And I think that you've got to think, "If I were to have a career-ending injury, if I were to get really sick... " Whatever the unforeseen future could hold, is this a place that you still wake up and you're really proud to be a part of? So I think you've... As much as having a great connection with the coach is and loving the team and all those thing are really awesome, you've got to be able to wake up if there is no sport and be super proud of the school you're at. 

Courtney: That's awesome. Yeah. I love that. I never really... That's something I haven't heard from coaches. That's really cool to hear that. That you also need to love the school and love the environment that you're in because the sport will end at the end of the day and you need to be able to love where you went to school. That's really cool. 

Ariana: Thanks. I take... We try to push anybody that comes to Marshall, because it is such a community and it is not for everybody. Every single school is not out there for everybody. Every coach is not the right fit for every athlete. 

Courtney: Yeah. 

Ariana: So trying to mesh into this... I don't even have the word. But if you try to mesh too hard into something you're not, you're just going to be unhappy. And so if you do tear an ACL or you do something and then you're out and you just hate the cold, but you're in the cold. Or you hate the heat and you're on the beach. Whatever it is-

Courtney: Yeah. 

Ariana: You're going to be unhappy and those four years go by so fast that you have to be so happy with who you are so that getting up for the six a.m. practice isn't hard. And going to bed late because of studying is worth it. I just think it's really important to have such a balance and know that you're going to a school for your education, first of all, and the sport on top of that is an awesome added bonus. But for sure, being really happy walking around that campus every day I think is so important. 

Courtney: Yeah. That's so cool. Because if you're going around during the day and you're not happy where you're studying, you're not going to be happy playing the sport either. You have to have that balance. That's awesome. 

Ariana: One hundred percent. 

Courtney: Well, that's so cool. It's been so great to chat with you and get to know you as a coach a little bit better. And we're super excited to watch all of your upcoming seasons and just watch how your team will grow and be so successful. 

Ariana: Thank you so much. You guys stay safe and have a great day. 

Courtney: Thanks. You too. 

Marshall University Volleyball

• Marshall University Volleyball Team Twitter

• Coach Ariana Aganus Twitter

Podcast made in partnership with Acanela Expeditions

Theme Song - I’ll Just Be Me by Gravity Castle