Bergman named Mahomet-Seymour Head Volleyball coach

By FRED KRONER
fred@mahometnews.com

Stan Bergman paid his dues to pursue an interest he knew could turn into a passion.

He devoted more than half a decade — six years, to be exact — to working for free so that he could get involved with volleyball as a coach.

In his seventh year at Rantoul High School, he lost his volunteer status and was paid to work with the freshmen and junior varsity volleyball teams.

A year later, in the fall of 1998, he was the Eagles’ head coach and guided them to the school’s first-ever regional championship and a school-record victory total that still stands (29) more than two decades later.

And yet, it wasn’t his successes on the court that made the greatest impact  on Mahomet-Seymour athletic director Matt Hensley as he searched for the next Mahomet-Seymour volleyball head coach.

“What was most impressive,” Hensley said, “is that when we spoke, it was never about conference titles or games won or lost, but the kids who invited him to their weddings or college graduations or let him know when they were starting a family.”

Bergman will soon have the title of M-S head coach, but there are other roles he will relish as well.

Those are areas that Bergman emphasized during the interview process.

“I walked in and spoke about what I’m about and what I hoped for the program,” Bergman said. “The wins and losses will come. The regional championships will come.

“People will remember you for the integrity you have on the court. I love the game and still have a passion for the game.

“There’s a bigger purpose, understanding life lessons and learning life skills.”

Hensley said there were “six or so” people who applied to replace Stacey Buzicky as the Bulldogs’ head coach.

“We brought in two for the final interview,” Hensley said.

Throughout the process, Hensley felt like there wasn’t a bad choice.

“We had good candidates across the field and interviewed a couple of good ones,” he said. “At times people (candidates) make statements during the interview process that make you think, ‘This might be the person we are looking for.’ “

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On the surface, it might appear odd that a person who coached St. Thomas More to Class 2A state trophies the past two years (first place in 2017 and third place in 2018) would leave a program which has one of the area’s premier players (Alabama recruit Allie Trame) returning in the fall.

For Bergman, it’s not as odd as it might seem.

He and his wife, Amy, and sons Aden (a seventh-grader) and Alec (a fifth-grader), moved to the Country Ridge subdivision of Mahomet three years ago.

They’re tried to fit into their new surroundings.

“The boys have acclimated themselves and we wanted to get ourselves out in the community more,” said Bergman, who is serving as a precinct 1 committeeman. “This is a great way to do it.

“There couldn’t be a better fit for me personally.”

Hensley considers that as a two-way street.

“He sees the opportunity to put our kids in a position to succeed and help the program continue to grow,” Hensley said. “We’re excited to bring him in.”

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Bergman has shown the ability to develop quality programs.

After leaving Rantoul for Centennial, he took over a program which had won four regional championships in the previous 26 years.

In his third year with the program, the Chargers started a run of five consecutive regional titles.

Under his tutelage, Centennial won the only four sectional crowns in school history in volleyball and also earned a third-place Class 3A state trophy in 2012.

At St. Thomas More, the Sabers had won regional titles in volleyball, but had never added sectional tournament hardware.

In his third and fourth seasons, the school captured sectional and super-sectional crowns along with the state trophies.

At Mahomet-Seymour, Bergman faces a building task.

The school has earned one regional title in volleyball this century (2015) and has gone 35 years since its last sectional title in Class 1A in 1984.

“I knew what I was leaving (at St. Thomas More) and what I was getting into,” Bergman said.

What has gone unnoticed by many is what has led to the high school success at Bergman’s other stops.

While at Centennial, he coached the Jefferson Middle School program for 15 years and directed that school to state nine times, including an IESA state championship in 2009.

The past five years, he has coached and taught sixth-grade science at Edison Middle School, in Champaign. Last year’s eighth-grade volleyball team was second in the junior high state tournament.

“The feeder programs kept the wheel rolling,” Bergman said.

If a coaching opening occurs at M-S Junior High, Bergman said, “I’d be very interested.”

Otherwise, he anticipates returning to coach a middle school team at Edison.

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In his first year at M-S, Bergman will start with a strong returning nucleus, including 5-foot-8 setter Kayin Garner, who will be a senior.

Garner led last year’s 20-win team in assists (600) and service aces (45), and was third in digs (161).

Though kills’ leader and All-Area standout Savannah Matthews will graduate next month, the next two top offensive threats were underclassmen.

Lauren Minick, a senior-to-be, had 171 kills and Ainsley Ranstead, a junior-to-be, had 146 kills.

Digs leader Josie Hess (389) will be a junior in the fall and blocks leader Amber Yeakel (52) will be a senior.

Other prominent Bulldog returnees are Ashley Wheeler, who was second in assists (121), Ellie Beach, who was second in aces (27) and Brooklyn Houser, who was fourth in blocks (19). All three will be seniors in the fall.

Eight of last year’s 11 varsity squad members were either sophomores or juniors.

“It will be a nice transition to have someone who can run and lead the offense the way she (Garner) does,” Bergman said. “She has great hands and great footwork.”

Adding stability to the program is the desire of last year’s two varsity volleyball assistants to return. Mike Williams and Mike Lanoue both plan to be back.

Bergman expects to have one staff addition.

“I’ll be looking for a volunteer varsity assistant,” Bergman said.

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The new M-S coach — who still needs to be officially approved by the Board of Education — plans to meet with returning players and parents on Thursday.

Since the news of his hiring was released on Tuesday, several have already reached out to him on social media.

“I can tell the kids are hungry for someone to give them that energy from the sidelines and push them to get to the next level,” Bergman said. “I’ll be happy to push them.”

He plans a full off-season of work.

“We will use all 25 of our contact days,” Bergman said.

M-S will again host its annual Summer League. Some camps have been lined up and the coach hopes to have M-S participate in a Parkland Summer Tournament.

Before he completely fills the schedule, however, Bergman would like some input.

“I want to know what the kids want to do, he said. “I’d like to get them in a team camp and see how they can roll in a competitive situation when there’s no worry about a loss because it’s summer.”

The IHSA will allow schools to start preseason practice on Aug. 12.

Bergman’s debut as the Bulldogs’ head coach will occur on Aug. 27 at home against Champaign Central.

He will know almost as much about the opposing team as he will about M-S.

“I coached most of them at Edison,” he said.

In 20 years as a varsity head coach, Bergman’s teams have won 77.3 percent of their matches.

His career record is 587-172-4.

His teams have won 15 regional titles, six sectionals and three state trophies.

Six times in the last 11 years, Bergman has coached the athlete who was selected by The News-Gazette as its Area Player of the Year. Four times in the past eight years, he was selected by The News-Gazette as Area Coach of the Year.