Written by: Danny Talbert
Dan Schulte clinched his 300th career coaching victory with a memorable first win as the Panthers Volleyball Head Coach. After going down 2-1 against Wesleyan, the volleyball team fought back to win 3-2 in a momentous win for the program and Coach Schulte.
With over 40 years of coaching experience at all three NCAA division levels, obtaining the 300th win is an exceptional accomplishment and a great memory to share with this year's team. On this win, Coach Schulte said, "To get the first win, a comeback win, in the way we did it, was not only a great first win at LaGrange College but it was a great 300th win to share with the team… call it karma, call it fate, it is a good monument for when I win my 100th game at LaGrange (college) the alumni can look back on the day they got my 300th career win."
When he was coaching at Syracuse University, Schulte helped organize a game that featured an U.S. Olympic silver medalist and a Chinese Olympic gold medalist. After the match, the two world-class competitors signed a volleyball for him, which he still keeps. The day after winning his 300th career victory, Coach Schulte brought the ball in to talk to the team about its importance to him and what it could represent to them. He said, "These women are now in their 50s but everytime they see the U.S. or China compete in the Olympics, it has to go through their mind what a great milestone it was competing in something that special. So when this team has moved on down the road, and begins reading alumni letters about my 400th or 350th or whatever career win while still at LaGrange (College), it can bring back good memories that they can cherish of where this all started." He also describes that this win is a great starting point, to help begin to build a legacy, tradition and championship culture for the Panther volleyball team.
On the comeback win, he said that he wants to instill into the team that LaGrange Panthers do not quit. That if they are tied, winning or down they will fight hard for every point. He also said, "This game gave me the opportunity to point out that we are not last year's team. This is their team, this year, now."
You can watch the team play against Birmingham-Southern at 8:30 p.m. today (Sept. 7), here.
