The University of North Alabama’s beach volleyball program is set to play their first outdoor competition against the UAB Blazers on Oct. 26. It will be their first game since the end of the spring season in April, when the team finished 22-13, 7-5 ASUN.
Kaleb VanDePerre, the first-ever head coach for the program, enters his third year with the Lions. Named 2023 ASUN Beach Volleyball Coach of the Year, he has been crucial to the program’s growth, breaking the record of overall wins-per-season twice. In August, UNA announced an extension to VanDePerre’s contract to 2026, with the possibility of 2027.
VanDePerre claims pride in the program’s history and its athletes’ upward performance. Within the program’s seven years, he thanked former Brazilian coach Thais Yancey for “laying the foundation” for the Lady Lions.
“She had a huge heart and a huge brain,” said VanDePerre. “[She] really impacted the girls from a volleyball standpoint.”
According to the head coach, leadership was coach Yancey’s main lesson for the team. Previously without a head coach, if there was not a coach around a certain moment of practice, the girls had learned to take initiative.The hands-on lessons of leadership, family and confidence are what the program has grown to be about.
“Family–I think it’s a big word,” VanDePerre said. “Within our family, we talk about growing. We have the ‘corny’ acronym of ‘ROAR,’ Resilient, Optimistic, Authentic, and Reliable. We want those to impact us in the sand, but also, and maybe more importantly, that’s what we’re training to become every day. If we’re faced with a hard situation in school, or in our job, or in our future, that way they just know, ‘I’ve trained in the sand to be able to respond this way [for] the rest of my life,’ so those are four big pieces of family that make them great leaders.”
The first-ever beach volleyball alumni reunion will happen this season, which is exciting for the head coach.
“We want to continue to be in touch with our alumni and keep them connected with the family that is North Alabama, and specifically beach volleyball,” VanDePerre said.
The search for greatness and recognition is showing fruition to the program as it keeps progressing. VanDePerre said the moment his team understood their own importance was not through any major win or record break, but when football head coach Brent Dearmon and men’s basketball head coach Tony Pujol came to their practice.
“The girls were like, ‘I’ve never seen a coach here, and now we’ve got two of the biggest coaches at UNA coming. It’s crazy they know we’re out here and take the time to come see us,’” VanDePerre said.
Progression from the last two seasons are seen within the roster. Most of what the head coach called “Covid kids” have graduated in that time, opening space for a new challenge, a younger team. Last season, the program had one freshman. Now, it has five, a trend the coach sees around many beach volleyball programs.
His coaching style has been different, as VanDePerre explained there is a difference between managing a team of 22-year-olds, who “know how to be adults,” and a younger one with athletes who are having their first-ever experiences away from home and with a university.
The head coach and the upperclassmen have been avid mentors to the younger roster in commitment level and confidence.
“I feel like in the past four weeks they have really settled into their confidence and found their voice,” VanDePerre said. “The shift has been from ‘I don’t know if I belong here’ to ‘I am capable, it’s gonna take some work, but I am where I’m supposed to be.’”
With wins coming in at a higher frequency, standards have also changed. VanDePerre said the team’s mindset was to “try to be competitive” against other teams. Now, UNA’s beach volleyball team knows their own size and reputation, and they know others are coming for them.
After pre-season practices, which had some girls with “fire coming out of them,” this first fall encounter with UAB is what will shine a light on what was done well and where work needs to be done. The program has not yet met the Blazers, so UNA will not only learn where they stand, but also who UAB is.
The work put in now is all to prepare for the American Volleyball Coaches Association Pairs Qualifiers in early November. The team had hoped to receive an automatic bid for the AVCA championship, given their performance last season. However, UNA is set to fight for their righteous spot within the tournament.
“[That] puts a little bit of pressure on us,” VanDePerre said. “I love adversity; I’ll be disappointed if we don’t make it but I also think it’s time for us to go, earn it, and, you know, I think UNA as a whole has that ‘chip on our shoulder.’ We’re not necessarily viewed always as a perennial program, so that’s part of our responsibility to keep progressing. I feel really confident.”
Currently, practices are focused on what the players may expect at the qualifiers. UNA must finish top three for a spot, but there is still a chance of going to the championship if they finish fourth or fifth.
Coach VanDePerre has more in-depth plans for the season. His eyes are set on winning against one of the conference’s top ranked teams for the first time, North Florida, Stetson and Florida Gulf Coast.
“We keep closing the gap, but this year is our year to get one of those teams and keep stepping forward towards a conference championship,” VanDePerre said. “Last year, we beat a ranked opponent [Texas A&M Corpus Christi]. It’s been a fun challenge for us, we want to play a handful of teams in the top 20. Not just play them and lose, but beat a top 20 ranked team.”
His other plans are to keep the team’s GPA on a constant high and build the foundation to win ASUN and advance to the NCAA championship.
