Coach finds balance, wins at Minnesota
Not long after the University of Minnesota defeated Hawaii to advance to the NCAA Volleyball Final Four, coach Hugh McCutcheon approached several hundred Golden Gophers supporters in the crowd in Des Moines. He scooped up daughter Annika, 3, from his wife and headed for the dressing room with son Andrew, 5, hurrying to catch them.
Out of sight, McCutcheon and his children shared a tender moment. “We went back behind the curtain and had a little hug,” he said. “It was sweet. It’s great they could be a part of it. It’s great they can connect to it. To be able to share those moments with them is really special.”
New Zealand-born McCutcheon’s desire to better balance work and family brought him to Minnesota in 2012. The only person to coach the U.S. Olympic men’s and women’s volleyball teams to medals — gold for the men in 2008 and silver for the women in 2012 — he sought a college environment like he had at Brigham Young, where he contributed to two NCAA championship teams as an assistant from 1995 to 2001.
Minnesota seemed a perfect landing spot. Then-athletics director Joel Maturi permitted McCutcheon to finish his Olympic obligations before taking over for retiring coach Mike Hebert. That McCutcheon’s wife, 2004 U.S. Olympian Elisabeth “Wiz” Bachman, grew up in Minnesota helped but wasn’t a primary factor in taking the job, he said. Bachman’s father was fatally stabbed the day of the opening ceremonies in Beijing, and McCutcheon missed three matches before returning to coach the USA to the gold medal.
“It’s been really good for trying to get more balance in that whole work-life equation, which for coaches is tough,” he said. “The main difference for me at this point is the travel and demands here are a little more of a steady diet, vs. the kind of feast or famine of international volleyball, where you could be on the road 30 days in a row in four different countries. ... I like it that my family can be a bigger part of this. ... We’ve really enjoyed our time here so far, and we’re glad it all worked out.”
He stresses that balance to his players, a reason the Gophers (30-4) are in their first Final Four since 2009. The highest seed left at No. 2, they face No. 3 Texas (29-2) in Thursday’s semifinals. The winner plays Nebraska (30-4) or Kansas (30-2) Saturday. Minnesota seeks its first title.
Last year, Minnesota couldn’t close out the final five points of matches — the socalled “red zone” — and missed the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1998. This year, with basically the same players plus freshman setter Samantha Seliger-Swenson, the Gophers figured it out.
“The only part that was missing was knowing what it takes to be a successful team in this conference,” Big Ten player of the year Daly Santana said. “That’s something we learned with time.”