By Ali Abdelazime —
After a heartbreaking loss to Ramapo in the semifinals of the Skyline Conference tournament last year where NJCU was on the verge of pulling an upset, NJCU looks for redemption with a new coach. Coach Ray Vance is the new coach for both men’s and women’s volleyball. The challenge of coaching both teams was what attracted Vance to NJCU.
Vance had many coaching experiences before coming to NJCU. He was on the coaching staff of Virginia Commonwealth University, which is a Division I team. He left VCU in 2003. He also coached at the club level for 19 years. He won ten tournaments with the team he coached at SUNY New Paltz. Most of his teams held a .500 record or better.
NJCU was also a huge attraction because of the high number of first generation students.
“I can relate to first generation students, because I was a first generation in my family to go to college,” said Vance.
Also, Vance has a goal set to change the culture at NJCU. The men’s team has the ability to be aggressive and hardworking, but he would like to take it to the next level.
The men’s team has the expectations to go far again this year, as some of its talent from last year has come back. For instance, BemirArslani, 19, Health Sciences, from Wayne, looks to lead the team once again to the semis and further. Arslani has been named Skyline Conference Rookie of the Week seven times, NJCU Male Athlete of the Week (01/30/2012), Skyline Conference Honor Roll (02/16/2012), First-Team All-Skyline Conference, and the 2012 Skyline Conference Rookie of the Year.
“What I do know now is that we have a new coach; someone who has never attended NJCU before. That’s something I think this program needs. Coach Vance is more active as a coach, as I watch him coach the women’s team. He’s smart, he knows the game very well, and he amps us up about our season and motivates us to keep our grades high,” said Arslani.
Vance was asked if he can meet the high expectations this year.
“Absolutely, I can. I can see this team go back to the Skyline Conference tournament and win it and even get a berth at the NCAA tournament,” he replied.
His players have his back and believe that he can get the team further than ever before.
A.J. Flores, 19, Criminal Justice, from Jersey City, a three-year veteran, said, “I like Coach Vance because he’s an all around cool guy. He seems patient and thinks like a realist. I say realist because it’s easy to know roles on the team. And for our team to be great this year we’re going to have to play our role. We’re all excited to play this year and win the conference and make NCAA’s.”
The men’s first regular season game is on January 26, 2013 against Brooklyn College at the JMAC court.
On the other side, the women’s team does not have a lot of expectations this year, but Vance is trying to change that mentality in the team and on campus.
The team started strong this year. They won their first three games but lost the next five. Vance’s goal is to change the team’s outlook, make them tougher, faster, and most importantly, more aggressive. With veterans such as Kiara Martinez, 21, Pre-Law, from Newark, Indigo Hatcher, 19, Health Sciences, from Jersey City, and Jade Medley, 19, Psychology (Minor: Criminal Justice), from Queens, NY leading the team, the sky is the limit. Vance can see this team getting to NJAC playoffs.
When asked about Coach Vance, Kiara Martinez jokingly said, “[He’s] a breath of fresh air.”
But on a serious note, she added, “He is a great coach. He knows the game very well and knows what this team is capable of doing.”
She also believes Vance is what the women’s team needs to reach the NJAC playoffs.
Vance is the right man for the job as he has a lot of experiences in coaching and in winning. The players seem to admire him and love to play for him. Vance has a winning attitude that hopefully can be contagious on campus. He knows that he has a lot of expectations coming in this year and he knows that it only takes hard work to meet those expectations and even exceed them.
