For a player who never liked leaving the court throughout his career, outside attacker Todd Chamberlain could not be more excited to sit on the sidelines next season.
Having the desire to become a coach since the senior joined the Ball State University men's volleyball team, Chamberlain will now get that opportunity in his home state.
The Kentucky native was hired last week as a volunteer assistant coach on the University of Kentucky women's volleyball team for the 2009 season.
"It's nice to come back home," Chamberlain said. "I'm looking forward to the opportunity to be part of a program, and they are very, very good so it will be a great place to start out."
The Wildcats have all but one starter returning from a team that advanced to the NCAA Tournament and was ranked as high as No. 17 last season. It also set a program-best 17-3 conference record and finished the regular season in second place in the Southeastern Conference.
Chamberlain will become a member of this team after leading Ball State (16-9, 6-4 Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association) with a 3.28 kills-per-game average this season. As a starter for three seasons, the 2008 all-conference player also has 722 career kills - the fifth most in school history during the rally scoring era.
Kentucky coach Craig Skinner said he is excited to have Chamberlain join his team. The fifth-year head coach also said Chamberlain will be able to contribute to the program's success.
"Todd is an accomplished player and very enthusiastic about the game and coaching," he said.
Chamberlain is the third person on Kentucky's four-member coaching staff who played for Ball State.
Skinner played for the Cardinals from 1990 to 1993. As a freshman, he helped Ball State win the 1990 MIVA Tournament and advance to the NCAA Final Four for the third consecutive season.
Former Ball State outside attacker Chris Beerman is an assistant coach at Kentucky. Beerman, a two-time second team All-American, graduated in 1990 with the most career kills and digs in program history.
Skinner said he likes to help Ball State players, especially someone like Chamberlain who wants to one day become a head coach.
"He comes from a great program," Skinner said. "It's nice to give someone a chance and opportunity to learn about coaching."
Skinner said he is not completely sure what type of coaching responsibilities Chamberlain will have with Kentucky. The coach said, though, with the exception of recruiting Chamberlain will be involved in most coaching aspects, including helping run practices and doing administrative work.
Chamberlain said there is a difference between men's and women's volleyball. However, much like his career at Ball State, Chamberlain said he feels he can succeed with the Wildcats.
"It's a big difference in speed of the game and style of the game, but that's part of it," he said. "A good coach should be able to adapt to it, so I'm not worried."
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