Photo by: Carlos Puma
Coaches' Corner: Assistant Volleyball Coach Eric Ballelos
12/6/2016 5:28:00 PM | UC Riverside Athletics Association
I began my coaching career as a volunteer coach at San Francisco State University in 2009. Michelle Patton was in her second season as the head coach there after restarting the program in 2008.
As a boys and girls high school and club coach at the time, I was looking to learn from her to bring that knowledge back to my teams. After volunteering for two years, I was promoted to assistant coach in 2011 and stayed there until 2013. When there was an opening for an assistant coaching position here at UCR, Michelle gave me a call and asked me to come.
The diversity of the campus makes UCR unique. I thought living in the Bay Area was diverse but UCR trumps it in that category. I'm also impressed by the university's goal to provide a UC education to people of all backgrounds.
Our goal from the beginning was to build a team starting with a winning culture. An important trait we're looking in our student-athletes is the desire to compete for every point in practice and matches. We want to give them every opportunity to be the best they can be on the court and in the classroom.
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Reconnecting with our alumni is an important part our program. We have an open-door policy for our alumni and our team always enjoy connecting with them whenever they stop by. We're proud of what we are building here and want to share it with all alumni of UC Riverside. Alumni are always welcome to stop by and say hi! They can stop by for a practice and relieve their college days. Also, come out to a match during the season. Bring your family, friends, and if you have an aspiring young volleyball player, we'd love to meet him or her. Our team has met with youth teams after matches and they work with them individually at our volleyball camps.
Finishing the 2015 season with four wins in the second half of conference play was a big testament to our student-athletes who continued to work with a high level of intensity day in and day out. They could have packed it in but they continued to fight to finish the season strong.
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Every donation or gift will help us improve our student-athlete experience. Every little bit will help our program from allowing us to travel further for preseason tournaments to providing more resources for our student-athletes. Please give what you can to help elevate our program and our department.
Â
People might not know that I got my coaching start as a head coach of the boy's JV volleyball team at Junipero Serra High School in San Mateo, CA. Before that I worked in the video game industry with stints at SEGA and EA.
As a coach and former player, I really enjoyed reading Phil Jackson's books. As an avid NBA fan, I love hearing and reading about Greg Popovich, Steve Kerr, and Brad Stevens. As an Oakland A's fan, the greatest sports moment I witnessed was amazing and torturous at the same time. I saw the 2001 Jeter flip play versus the A's in person.
As a coach, I was fortunate being part of a team at SF State in 2009 that upset the #2 team in the nation in UCSD and that victory helped us secure an NCAA tournament berth.
As a boys and girls high school and club coach at the time, I was looking to learn from her to bring that knowledge back to my teams. After volunteering for two years, I was promoted to assistant coach in 2011 and stayed there until 2013. When there was an opening for an assistant coaching position here at UCR, Michelle gave me a call and asked me to come.
The diversity of the campus makes UCR unique. I thought living in the Bay Area was diverse but UCR trumps it in that category. I'm also impressed by the university's goal to provide a UC education to people of all backgrounds.
Our goal from the beginning was to build a team starting with a winning culture. An important trait we're looking in our student-athletes is the desire to compete for every point in practice and matches. We want to give them every opportunity to be the best they can be on the court and in the classroom.
Â
Reconnecting with our alumni is an important part our program. We have an open-door policy for our alumni and our team always enjoy connecting with them whenever they stop by. We're proud of what we are building here and want to share it with all alumni of UC Riverside. Alumni are always welcome to stop by and say hi! They can stop by for a practice and relieve their college days. Also, come out to a match during the season. Bring your family, friends, and if you have an aspiring young volleyball player, we'd love to meet him or her. Our team has met with youth teams after matches and they work with them individually at our volleyball camps.
Finishing the 2015 season with four wins in the second half of conference play was a big testament to our student-athletes who continued to work with a high level of intensity day in and day out. They could have packed it in but they continued to fight to finish the season strong.
Â
Every donation or gift will help us improve our student-athlete experience. Every little bit will help our program from allowing us to travel further for preseason tournaments to providing more resources for our student-athletes. Please give what you can to help elevate our program and our department.
Â
People might not know that I got my coaching start as a head coach of the boy's JV volleyball team at Junipero Serra High School in San Mateo, CA. Before that I worked in the video game industry with stints at SEGA and EA.
As a coach and former player, I really enjoyed reading Phil Jackson's books. As an avid NBA fan, I love hearing and reading about Greg Popovich, Steve Kerr, and Brad Stevens. As an Oakland A's fan, the greatest sports moment I witnessed was amazing and torturous at the same time. I saw the 2001 Jeter flip play versus the A's in person.
As a coach, I was fortunate being part of a team at SF State in 2009 that upset the #2 team in the nation in UCSD and that victory helped us secure an NCAA tournament berth.
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