Your Extraordinary LIFE 2021 | Page 83

HEAD COACH PROFILE
STEVE WILCOSKY

Cultivating Life ’ s Opportunities

Head Women ’ s Volleyball Coach
Steve Wilcosky moved to Georgia with his wife and first child in March 2014 after being at Nova Southeastern University in Davie , Florida for eight years . In December 2014 , he saw the posting for Life University and the opportunity to start a program from the ground up .
“ At the time , my wife was a practicing DC in Florida , and I was familiar with Chiropractic and aligned with the vitalistic culture at Life U ,” explained Wilcosky . “ I was fortunate enough to get an interview with former AD Dan Payne and knew from his vision and where the Athletic Department was about to go that I had to be a part of that and add value from all my years of collegiate coaching . He gave me an opportunity , and now here we are .”
Seven years later , Steve Wilcosky has captained a program that has featured four NAIA All-America recipients , 50 Conference Player of the Weeks and 10 Daktronics-NAIA Scholar Athletes . During the 2020 season , the team was mentioned for the first time in the NAIA Top 25 Poll . 2021 has seen his team reach unchartered territory , as they ’ ve advanced to the NAIA Women ’ s Volleyball National Championships held in late November .
When asked on what separates Life U ’ s Women ’ s Volleyball from the rest of the NAIA he mentioned , “ We pride ourselves on building and cultivating relationships with the student-athletes who have been a part of our program . To know that they have decided to play for you is an honor , and then getting the opportunity to help them along their journey , both athletically and in life ( no pun intended ), is what gets me fired up to come to work every day .” a village , and we are fortunate enough to have some of the most incredible people in our department who are vital to the progression of our program . Without those individuals achieving high levels of success for us behind the scenes , the program would not be set up for greatness the way it is .”
What makes the WVB program different ?
“ That ’ s a great question . I ’ m not sure what makes us different , but I know we have an amazing group of young women that all have unique skill sets , both on and off the court , and they have agreed to pursue something greater than their individual goals . I think you combine that with a love for competing and a passionate coach to make the perfect recipe . We try to show up and work hard every day , and when we miss that mark , we take note and try again the next day .”
When Wilcosky started , Women ’ s Volleyball had just become the sixth sport on campus . Fast forward to the present , the Running Eagles currently offer 23 sports on campus , and feature the largest student-athlete population in all of metro Atlanta .
For more information on the Life U Women ’ s Volleyball program , visit liferunningeagles . com .
Achievements can be measured in a variety of different ways , both on the court and off the court . During his tenure as the head coach , the program has featured nearly 30 Academic All-Conference members .
Wilcosky added , “ Success comes in many ways . Maybe it is as simple as getting 1 % better at a particular skill , or maybe it is finally achieving above a 3.5 GPA . When asked how we seek success on and off the court , I would say it is through practicing a growth mindset and having a clear understanding of how we can get good at things . It is important for me to start with meeting the student-athlete where they are currently at in the way they believe in themselves and how they view things . From there , I work on building our relationship so that I can help them with understanding the process of growth . It takes
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