A Year in Review: David Rehr
3/27/2020 5:30:00 AM | Volleyball
A one-on-one interview with Houston Head Coach David Rehr
HOUSTON – In just his first season at the helm of Houston Volleyball, head coach David Rehr has rejuvenated the program to heights that has not been seen in years.
With the three All-Conference selections in 2019, along with four different players earning a conference Player of the Week honor, we sat down with the reigning American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year to talk about his first season with the Cougars and the upward trajectory of the program.
On his first year at the University of Houston
"Year one is always fun and nerve wracking at the same time. It's the fear of change and leaving what you know to embark on a new adventure with something you don't know. It's the trepidation, on whether the team you're inheriting is going to buy in to the level of the team you left. It's also the excitement of something new, of being able to be around something different and hopefully provide some wisdom on a new group of young ladies. It was all that.
"When we came in (during the Spring of 2019), they were so willing to learn and so willing to buy in to what our vision was. Then going into fall and having all the freshmen join us made it a little more fun again, but there were also stresses that came with trying to teach 21 people. Normally, you're only teaching a large freshmen class of five or so, and everybody else helps you, versus doing it by yourself. That was another challenge.
"Once we started experiencing some success during the season, I think it helped spark the interest of our team moving forward. The second week at UTSA helped move us forward. I know we didn't get any wins from the Baylor weekend, but we played really well. At Texas Tech, we didn't play well, but then conference play came around. That magical run of starting 7-0 made it a little more fun. I think we started feeling good about ourselves, but then we had an injury that changed everything.
"So, we had to go back to step one of reteaching, relearning, and trying to find another way to win. We battled and I'm proud of the way the team fought. I'm proud of the way we came back, but our goals were to be good again, and I think we excelled past that. You look at what the league thought of us (heading into the season), being picked 10th, and then ending up as the fourth seed in the conference tournament, being one win away from the second seed, it changes a lot of your perspective."
On how he views his first year being a success
"My bar is really high, so to a lot of people it was. To me, I still think we are a work in progress. There are a lot of 'What if?' moments that I wish we could have back, and there are things we could have done different, faster or got to quicker. I know it's a process, so it's not just magic answers.
"I talked about it with our staff, before we started this whole thing, and that was to be above .500 in conference play. That would've been a mark of success for us. That would be 8-8, and 10-6 surpassed that goal. Seeing how we were one game away from being the second seed in the conference tournament is something I thought was achievable.
"We dropped the ball in a couple of matches that I think we could've won. I think the goal of getting to the conference tournament was something that was always our goal. It was surprising to other people, but not to us. I still think we should've played better when we got there."
On whether it was easy for the team to buy into his philosophies
"I think in the beginning it was. There is always that time – for any team – where it gets old. Everybody has that excitement level in the beginning. It's whether they can maintain that excitement and buy in. It's not the easiest thing to do. You can do it at the beginning because everybody bought in.
"It's why when times get rough, they kept buying in. When things became successful, they still bought in. You have to be a forever learner. I know my staff is, and I know I am. We keep trying to learn and try to see how to do stuff in a different or better way. Sometimes when you are 18 to 22-years-old, that doesn't always go full circle. It's trying to make sure we stay up and keep them in that motive of 'How can I get better today?' We're getting there still."
On the program's progress and expectations
"That's the hard part. Our expectations with the team are not outwardly low. We didn't really put expectations on them of where we should be, until we started winning. I didn't want a potential record failure to make it seem like it was a year of failure. Then we started winning. Once that happened, we put goals in mind. I know they have goals, but they wouldn't be goals for long. When we got halfway through the league play and we were 7-1, which should've reset our goals. We talked to the team and we set our goals, because if we hadn't, it would've been our past goals. We would've won one more game and called it good. I was trying to tell them that every day we're just trying to get one more win. Every day at practice, following a game, whether we won or lost, we wore shirts that said '1-0.'
All we were looking for was to get the next win. We don't live on past wins and losses, just the next game. I think that has resonated around the team. They understand this is what we're trying to do. We had great leadership for most of the season. (That leadership) helped us get through. I'm proud of the ways the kids stayed with us during that time. Again, there are things I wish we could've done more to nurture that senior class and help them become better leaders, but I'm proud of what they did and hopefully that last year moves us forward for this year."
On moving forward without Katie Karbo
"That's a big hole to fill. We're finishing up week three of our spring season and we have good candidates for the job, but we don't have a standout candidate yet. It's still something that's in play. I like how everyone is working, but you can't replace (Karbo). She was a four-year starter. It's the idea of if our players that are going to be a junior and a sophomore, respectively, could be a candidate for the job. No one is locked into the job after three weeks, but we love how they are working. We love the skill sets they have, but (Karbo) is a huge loss.
"You can go onto Megan Duncan and Claire Karsten, and those are huge losses for us as well. Claire Karsten was a great leader and Megan Duncan took a lot of swings for us. Losing that is a lot. Having Isabel Theut, Rachel Tullos, Abbie Jackson come back and Abby Irvine come back from her injury, I think that is something that we are going to be better for moving forward."
On expectations for the upcoming season
We're setting expectations of who we are supposed to be. Our expectations were really low and being picked 10th, everybody had low expectations for us. Now, our expectations are to win and to finish in the top third of the conference – and being in the top-three all the time. It's going to be a new league next year, with key graduations from different programs and transfers out of others.
"It's going to give us a chance to slide in, but everybody is getting better. It's not just us thinking we're going to get better and no one else is. Our goals are to be in the conference finals and try to win the league. With that if we fall short, we may still get a chance in the NCAA tournament, and that is going to be our goal every year from now on."
On Abby Irvine's leadership
"That's what makes her different and that's why I love having her as one of our leaders. The team is first for her – always. There were times during the year where we benched her and there were times when we moved in and out of a 6-2 set versus a 5-1. Her role changed a little bit, but she never changed. She comes in (our offices) and does homework, just to be a part of the program and to talk about what the team make up is going to be in the future. She's special. I expect good things from her and for her to bounce back to exactly where she's supposed to be."
On the mindset going into the 2020 season
"I think the big part with us is that Abby Irvine is going to be that rock for us and bring that stability to us. She hates to lose as well, so it's bringing that back into the rest of the team. We thrusted Abbie Jackson, Isabel Theut and Rachel Tullos into a lot of roles last year. Coming from Arkansas State, Isabel Theut was our rock and helped transition the way the coaching staff wanted things done for this program. Her role is big as well, but then the blessing was bringing in Kortlyn Henderson at semester. She was an All-American at the junior college level. Also, adding Sequoia Wattles to help us set and join us in the spring was huge.
"They have both been a pleasant surprise with what they can do for us. As long as we keep talking about the positive ways of what we want this program to be, I think they're going to help replace some of the things we needed replaced. (Henderson and Wattles) will help us get better. Last year was not a one and done thing. We're building this into a stable program."
On teaching the team how to win
"You need to learn how to win on your own and learn different ways to win, so you don't have to go out and reach for the top-five programs all the time. You need to try to reach for teams in the 100-150 RPI range in the beginning, and once you start beating those on a regular basis, then you can start shooting for the team in the top-30 RPI range. I think that's part of growing into it. We're always going to play a weekend where we're going to get tested.
"On the flip side, there are times when we need to know how to win, teach our team how to win, and to know that it is not about trying to beat a bad schedule. It's trying to make sure that you're getting ready for conference play, but at the same time you need to learn how to have your own adversity. We'll get there, but not next year for sure."
On his three- to five-year plan for the program
"A five-year plan is too far away. We've got a one-year plan, a two-year plan, and most likely a three-year plan. The part where we are at right now is that we have Abbie Jackson for three more seasons. We have Rachel Tullos for three more seasons, and Kortlyn Henderson for two. The way we look at it right now is we've got a short-term, two-year window with Kortlyn Henderson. Then a three-year window with Abbie Jackson and Rachel Tullos. Those are two really good cornerstones to build off of. We know we can take a shot for two years. We're going to try to push that two-year window, and then it's trying to get people who can play like Kortlyn Henderson and Abbie Jackson in the future. Not necessarily getting kids like them but getting kids better than them. That's how you build a program."
On ignoring doubters
"You're going to get a lot of people's best shots. That's also what happened to us after the first half of conference. That's one of the things I hated, but you have to learn to embrace it. Everywhere I've been, we went from being the hunted to the hunter to the hunted. In Junior College you become everybody's dollar hotdog night. Everybody has a promotion for the game they want to fill the gym for. Usually, it's a dollar hotdog or free pizza. We became everybody's dollar hotdog night. One of the games we went to after the seven-game run, we were someone's pack the gym night. I don't know if they wanted that because at the time they thought it was going to be an easy win, or they noticed they needed that game. You love being the underdog, but there's a time where it flips and that means you're doing something right."
On the difficulties of losing
"(The Cincinnati match) I thought we should have won. Tennessee, I thought we should have won. UConn, I thought we should have won. The second time around against Tulsa and Tulane in the Fertitta Center, I thought we should have won. A lot of that was not having Abby Irvine. That's part of the life, but it's tough because you want to win every game. I want to win every game. It becomes a fun dance with how you prepare your team. How do you prepare the expectations? We hate to lose. Everybody should hate to lose, but it's something that bothers us. I love the fact that my whole staff has that same feeling.
"For us, it's trying to get the team to feel the same way. We'll hunt and do everything in our power not to lose a game. I think we did that a lot this year, coming back the way we did. The way we were able to play five-set matches. That takes determination. The old staff would say 'Good try. We'll try again tomorrow.' If I ever become that, it's time for me to walk away and not do what I'm doing. I can do that at a different level and enjoy being where I'm at. If we're not hunting championships, I don't know why I'm doing my job."
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With the three All-Conference selections in 2019, along with four different players earning a conference Player of the Week honor, we sat down with the reigning American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year to talk about his first season with the Cougars and the upward trajectory of the program.
"Year one is always fun and nerve wracking at the same time. It's the fear of change and leaving what you know to embark on a new adventure with something you don't know. It's the trepidation, on whether the team you're inheriting is going to buy in to the level of the team you left. It's also the excitement of something new, of being able to be around something different and hopefully provide some wisdom on a new group of young ladies. It was all that.
"When we came in (during the Spring of 2019), they were so willing to learn and so willing to buy in to what our vision was. Then going into fall and having all the freshmen join us made it a little more fun again, but there were also stresses that came with trying to teach 21 people. Normally, you're only teaching a large freshmen class of five or so, and everybody else helps you, versus doing it by yourself. That was another challenge.
"Once we started experiencing some success during the season, I think it helped spark the interest of our team moving forward. The second week at UTSA helped move us forward. I know we didn't get any wins from the Baylor weekend, but we played really well. At Texas Tech, we didn't play well, but then conference play came around. That magical run of starting 7-0 made it a little more fun. I think we started feeling good about ourselves, but then we had an injury that changed everything.
"So, we had to go back to step one of reteaching, relearning, and trying to find another way to win. We battled and I'm proud of the way the team fought. I'm proud of the way we came back, but our goals were to be good again, and I think we excelled past that. You look at what the league thought of us (heading into the season), being picked 10th, and then ending up as the fourth seed in the conference tournament, being one win away from the second seed, it changes a lot of your perspective."
On how he views his first year being a success
"My bar is really high, so to a lot of people it was. To me, I still think we are a work in progress. There are a lot of 'What if?' moments that I wish we could have back, and there are things we could have done different, faster or got to quicker. I know it's a process, so it's not just magic answers.
"I talked about it with our staff, before we started this whole thing, and that was to be above .500 in conference play. That would've been a mark of success for us. That would be 8-8, and 10-6 surpassed that goal. Seeing how we were one game away from being the second seed in the conference tournament is something I thought was achievable.
"We dropped the ball in a couple of matches that I think we could've won. I think the goal of getting to the conference tournament was something that was always our goal. It was surprising to other people, but not to us. I still think we should've played better when we got there."
On whether it was easy for the team to buy into his philosophies
"I think in the beginning it was. There is always that time – for any team – where it gets old. Everybody has that excitement level in the beginning. It's whether they can maintain that excitement and buy in. It's not the easiest thing to do. You can do it at the beginning because everybody bought in.
"It's why when times get rough, they kept buying in. When things became successful, they still bought in. You have to be a forever learner. I know my staff is, and I know I am. We keep trying to learn and try to see how to do stuff in a different or better way. Sometimes when you are 18 to 22-years-old, that doesn't always go full circle. It's trying to make sure we stay up and keep them in that motive of 'How can I get better today?' We're getting there still."
On the program's progress and expectations
"That's the hard part. Our expectations with the team are not outwardly low. We didn't really put expectations on them of where we should be, until we started winning. I didn't want a potential record failure to make it seem like it was a year of failure. Then we started winning. Once that happened, we put goals in mind. I know they have goals, but they wouldn't be goals for long. When we got halfway through the league play and we were 7-1, which should've reset our goals. We talked to the team and we set our goals, because if we hadn't, it would've been our past goals. We would've won one more game and called it good. I was trying to tell them that every day we're just trying to get one more win. Every day at practice, following a game, whether we won or lost, we wore shirts that said '1-0.'
All we were looking for was to get the next win. We don't live on past wins and losses, just the next game. I think that has resonated around the team. They understand this is what we're trying to do. We had great leadership for most of the season. (That leadership) helped us get through. I'm proud of the ways the kids stayed with us during that time. Again, there are things I wish we could've done more to nurture that senior class and help them become better leaders, but I'm proud of what they did and hopefully that last year moves us forward for this year."
On moving forward without Katie Karbo
"That's a big hole to fill. We're finishing up week three of our spring season and we have good candidates for the job, but we don't have a standout candidate yet. It's still something that's in play. I like how everyone is working, but you can't replace (Karbo). She was a four-year starter. It's the idea of if our players that are going to be a junior and a sophomore, respectively, could be a candidate for the job. No one is locked into the job after three weeks, but we love how they are working. We love the skill sets they have, but (Karbo) is a huge loss.
"You can go onto Megan Duncan and Claire Karsten, and those are huge losses for us as well. Claire Karsten was a great leader and Megan Duncan took a lot of swings for us. Losing that is a lot. Having Isabel Theut, Rachel Tullos, Abbie Jackson come back and Abby Irvine come back from her injury, I think that is something that we are going to be better for moving forward."
On expectations for the upcoming season
We're setting expectations of who we are supposed to be. Our expectations were really low and being picked 10th, everybody had low expectations for us. Now, our expectations are to win and to finish in the top third of the conference – and being in the top-three all the time. It's going to be a new league next year, with key graduations from different programs and transfers out of others.
"It's going to give us a chance to slide in, but everybody is getting better. It's not just us thinking we're going to get better and no one else is. Our goals are to be in the conference finals and try to win the league. With that if we fall short, we may still get a chance in the NCAA tournament, and that is going to be our goal every year from now on."
On Abby Irvine's leadership
"That's what makes her different and that's why I love having her as one of our leaders. The team is first for her – always. There were times during the year where we benched her and there were times when we moved in and out of a 6-2 set versus a 5-1. Her role changed a little bit, but she never changed. She comes in (our offices) and does homework, just to be a part of the program and to talk about what the team make up is going to be in the future. She's special. I expect good things from her and for her to bounce back to exactly where she's supposed to be."
On the mindset going into the 2020 season
"I think the big part with us is that Abby Irvine is going to be that rock for us and bring that stability to us. She hates to lose as well, so it's bringing that back into the rest of the team. We thrusted Abbie Jackson, Isabel Theut and Rachel Tullos into a lot of roles last year. Coming from Arkansas State, Isabel Theut was our rock and helped transition the way the coaching staff wanted things done for this program. Her role is big as well, but then the blessing was bringing in Kortlyn Henderson at semester. She was an All-American at the junior college level. Also, adding Sequoia Wattles to help us set and join us in the spring was huge.
"They have both been a pleasant surprise with what they can do for us. As long as we keep talking about the positive ways of what we want this program to be, I think they're going to help replace some of the things we needed replaced. (Henderson and Wattles) will help us get better. Last year was not a one and done thing. We're building this into a stable program."
On teaching the team how to win
"You need to learn how to win on your own and learn different ways to win, so you don't have to go out and reach for the top-five programs all the time. You need to try to reach for teams in the 100-150 RPI range in the beginning, and once you start beating those on a regular basis, then you can start shooting for the team in the top-30 RPI range. I think that's part of growing into it. We're always going to play a weekend where we're going to get tested.
"On the flip side, there are times when we need to know how to win, teach our team how to win, and to know that it is not about trying to beat a bad schedule. It's trying to make sure that you're getting ready for conference play, but at the same time you need to learn how to have your own adversity. We'll get there, but not next year for sure."
On his three- to five-year plan for the program
"A five-year plan is too far away. We've got a one-year plan, a two-year plan, and most likely a three-year plan. The part where we are at right now is that we have Abbie Jackson for three more seasons. We have Rachel Tullos for three more seasons, and Kortlyn Henderson for two. The way we look at it right now is we've got a short-term, two-year window with Kortlyn Henderson. Then a three-year window with Abbie Jackson and Rachel Tullos. Those are two really good cornerstones to build off of. We know we can take a shot for two years. We're going to try to push that two-year window, and then it's trying to get people who can play like Kortlyn Henderson and Abbie Jackson in the future. Not necessarily getting kids like them but getting kids better than them. That's how you build a program."
On ignoring doubters
"You're going to get a lot of people's best shots. That's also what happened to us after the first half of conference. That's one of the things I hated, but you have to learn to embrace it. Everywhere I've been, we went from being the hunted to the hunter to the hunted. In Junior College you become everybody's dollar hotdog night. Everybody has a promotion for the game they want to fill the gym for. Usually, it's a dollar hotdog or free pizza. We became everybody's dollar hotdog night. One of the games we went to after the seven-game run, we were someone's pack the gym night. I don't know if they wanted that because at the time they thought it was going to be an easy win, or they noticed they needed that game. You love being the underdog, but there's a time where it flips and that means you're doing something right."
On the difficulties of losing
"(The Cincinnati match) I thought we should have won. Tennessee, I thought we should have won. UConn, I thought we should have won. The second time around against Tulsa and Tulane in the Fertitta Center, I thought we should have won. A lot of that was not having Abby Irvine. That's part of the life, but it's tough because you want to win every game. I want to win every game. It becomes a fun dance with how you prepare your team. How do you prepare the expectations? We hate to lose. Everybody should hate to lose, but it's something that bothers us. I love the fact that my whole staff has that same feeling.
"For us, it's trying to get the team to feel the same way. We'll hunt and do everything in our power not to lose a game. I think we did that a lot this year, coming back the way we did. The way we were able to play five-set matches. That takes determination. The old staff would say 'Good try. We'll try again tomorrow.' If I ever become that, it's time for me to walk away and not do what I'm doing. I can do that at a different level and enjoy being where I'm at. If we're not hunting championships, I don't know why I'm doing my job."
Follow Houston Volleyball on Twitter and Instagram at @UHCougarVB, and "Like" UHCougarVB on Facebook.
Fans can help support the Houston Volleyball program by joining the Point HOUSTON Club. To find out more information about the Point HOUSTON Club, visit UHCougars.com or call Cougar Pride at (713) 743-GoUH.
– UHCougars.com –
Players Mentioned
OH/RS
/ Volleyball
DS
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
MB
/ VolleyballHouston at Big 12 Media Days
Thursday, August 07
Cougars All-Access: Barakat Rahmon (VB)
Tuesday, November 19
Cougars All-Access: Kate Georgiades (VB)
Wednesday, October 02
Cougars All-Access: David Rehr (VB)
Monday, September 16