Colonels hire new volleyball coach

Nicholls has its new volleyball coach.

The Colonels announced that Jay Van Vark has been hired to run the team’s program, pending routine approval from the University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisers.

Van Vark will replace Tommy Harold, who coached the team last season. Van Vark lands in Thibodaux with a wealth of experience, having coached as an assistant at four Division I programs, including The Ohio State University.

“Coach Van Vark’s resume speaks for itself and it became obvious through the interview process and when we had him on campus that he was the right person at the right time for our volleyball program,” Nicholls Athletic Director Matt Roan said. “He articulated in great detail his plan to build a championship-contending program. He has recruited at the highest level, developed talent at each stop in his career and his knowledge of the game is second to none. We are so excited to get him here, watch him build his staff and make an instant positive impact on our student-athletes and the community.”

Van Vark was at Grand Canyon University last season and he’s enjoyed success at all of the places he’s been throughout his career.

In addition to Grand Canyon and Ohio State, Van Vark has coached at San Diego State and UC-Santa Barbara.

While at Ohio State, the Lady Buckeyes made the Sweet 16. In 2012 at San Diego State, the Aztecs won the Mountain West and were unblemished at home.

He said he’s enjoyed his time as an assistant coach, but said he believes the time is right to become a head coach and lead a program into the future.

“First and foremost, I’d like to thank (President) Jay Clune, Athletic Director Matt Roan and his entire senior team for giving me this opportunity here at Nicholls,” Van Vark said. “I’m thrilled about joining this program and Colonel Country. The Southland Conference has a proud history and we are aiming to rise and compete at the top of the conference.”

Van Vark has experience working with some of the top players in the country.

In addition to his time at the collegiate ranks, Van Vark has also done a lot of work for USA Volleyball. He coached the USA Collegiate National Team in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2017, which also serving as the USA Volleyball Tech Coordinator from 2013-18 for National Team Tryouts.

In 2017, Van Vark coached USA Volleyball’s Junior National Team at the World Championships – helping the Americans to a seventh-place finish.

“Jay’s toolbox is loaded with just about every coaching skill you can think of,” said Mike Hebert, a AVCA Hall of Famer and the former coach at Minnesota. “He is a gifted teacher in the gym, sees the game well, writes effective game plans, has elite-level mastery over the array of electronic devices so necessary for today’s game, possesses terrific touch as a recruiter and understands how important it is to work within the goal structure laid out by the athletic administrators. … You are going to be very happy that Jay is going to be your volleyball coach.”

But he’s also an innovator.

In addition to his coaching, Van Vark is also the co-founder of a successful software firm called Envision Sports Inc., a statistical and technology enhancement high-tech firm focusing on volleyball. He is also the author of one of the most successful volleyball statistical packages in the world, iVolleyStats.

Van Vark is a graduate of Iowa State University. He was an accomplished semi-pro indoor player in the 1980s. He also spent time as a college referee before getting into coaching.

Former Texas A&M coach Laurie Corbelli said Van Vark is one of the best coaches she has ever met in the sport. She added that he will do terrific things at Nicholls – a program heavily in transition.

The Colonels have struggled mightily in recent years under former coach Tommy Harold – frequently finishing in the bottom-half of the Southland Conference.

“Jay Van Vark is a passionate and dedicated coach as well as one of the most knowledgeable and experienced coaches in our sport,” Corbelli said. “His extensive involvement with USA Volleyball coupled with his collegiate background will certainly inspire the Colonels program to strive for unique achievements. Jay is deeply committed to quality, growth and progress. It will be exciting to see the direction in which Nicholls volleyball will grow under Jay’s vision and leadership.”

Jay Van Vark

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