Budget cuts are a rising issue in high schools and colleges all over the country. Due to the economic draught that has taken over, schools are forced to cut programs with a good majority of them being sports. USM has even had to deal with this issue and has had to drop sports programs because of the increase of costs in transportation, uniforms, facilities, etc. After being cut from the athletics department in 2007 for the second time in the sport’s tenure at the school, the University of Southern Maine volleyball program is back up and running after a two-year hiatus. The newly added sports team is lead by first year coach Anne Tricomi, who is looking to rebuild the program from the bottom up and establish it as a force to be reckoned with in Division III women’s college volleyball.
After spending the last year in Ann Arbor, Michigan as a graduate student at the University of Michigan, Anne Tricomi had heard that USM was bringing back the volleyball program that hadn’t seen any action since the 2006 season under former coach Barry Tripp. She had expressed interest as soon as she heard word that there was need for a coach, as she looked to still be involved in the sport.
“I didn’t find out they were looking for a coach until around June,” Tricomi said. “I called Al Bean and told him that I was willing to coach whether it was a club or a varsity program. It didn’t matter to me; I wanted to still be actively involved in the Maine volleyball community.”
The rest was history, as Tricomi landed her first Division III coaching job in July.
The first year head coach brings respected coaching and playing experience, and an enthusiastic attitude that she has collected over her years of being around the game. Tricomi played 4 years at Colby College where she was an outside and right side hitter and also served as the Mules Captain during the 2001 season. She credits a lot of her coaching style to her former coach at Colby, Candice Parent, who has been a huge influence on her.
“Coach Parent has been a big role model for me in my experiences with coaching. She is a very optimistic and enthusiastic individual, much like myself, and I want to bring that kind of energy to our players here at USM,” Tricomi mentioned.
Tricomi has had prior coaching positions as an assistant over the years at Bowdoin College, Division II program Bentley College, and at her alma mater Colby. Along with her college coaching positions, she has also led two club based teams in the Southern Maine area that include an 18-and-under Gold Level premier team and the Portland North Junior Olympic Volleyball Club. She also was a member of the club team at the University of Michigan and mentioned that she learned a lot, as a different style of the game was played there.
With the addition of a volleyball team to the athletics department at USM, Tricomi believes that it’s a big step for the University, and a tremendous thing for the greater Maine volleyball community.
“I think it’s great USM has brought back this team, especially since the cut of UMaine’s program was a big hit on Maine Volleyball. USM not giving up on the program says a lot for the sport and for the state’s involvement.”
A big question that arose when the team was reinstated as a varsity program was the amount of players willing to come out for the team. The numbers are low due to the fact that there aren’t a lot of high schools in Maine with volleyball teams, and the interest in volleyball for girls in the state is on the lower end. Despite the lack of interest, the girls on the club team for the past two years did a tremendous job of putting the word out, as they now have 8 members on the squad in a sport that puts 6 on the court at a time. The team is compiled of student-athletes from Maine, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island including three seniors, two juniors, two sophomores, and a freshman. Senior Captain’s Shannon Shuttle (OH/MB, New Ipswich, NH/Mascenic Regional) and Danielle Netland (OPP/OH, Cumberland, ME/Greely) look to provide leadership and experience to the team along with senior Cassi Sticht (MB/OPP/OH, Meridith, NH/Inter-Lakes) who was on the last varsity squad in ’06 with Netland. Tricomi added that it’s going to be a team effort this year and the team needs to trust that every player on the court can perform well in any situation. In hopes of rebuilding the program, she plans to actively recruit girls from Maine and out of state, and mentions that at this point the program can only go “Nowhere but up”.
The Huskies volleyball team, now 0-3, is into the midst of their season and Coach Tricomi is keeping her player’s motivated. Her biggest concern is that she wants them to get better every day, which is something they have done.
“We definitely have work to do and I don’t really know where we’ll end up in the conference, but I have complete confidence in our players as they have been working hard to get better every day,” Tricomi stated. “Each game, our opponents have gotten better, but if we keep a positive attitude and go out there and play our game, I believe good things will come.”