By JEFFREY KEYES
A good relationship between a coach and his players and assistant coaches is a key ingredient to the success of a team.
Ryan Millar, a middle blocker for BYU and an All-American, said his relationship with head coach Carl McGown has changed quite a bit since he arrived at BYU as a freshman in 1996.
“When I first arrived at BYU, I was a little intimidated by him,” Millar said. “We were losing so he was grumpy a lot of the time.”
Millar said he now considers McGown a friend.
“Besides being my coach, I can call him up and talk to him about anything,” Millar said. “He is always there to help me out any way he can.”
Millar said his most memorable moment was lifting both McGown and McGown’s wife Susan up in the air after winning the national championship.
“I wanted to make sure he knew how much I appreciated him,” Millar said.
Hector Lebron, BYU’s setter, has played for McGown for three years. He said he appreciates the respect the coach shows him and the lessons he has been taught by McGown.
“He teaches us how to be grown men, future fathers and skills to help us support a family,” Lebron said.
Lebron’s most memorable moment with McGown was giving him a hug after winning the national championship.
“I think that will always be in my mind,” Lebron said.
Hugh McCutcheon, Troy Tanner and Rob Browning are McGown’s assistants.
Browning is a volunteer assistant and does not get paid for his help. But being a volunteer does not change the way McGown treats him, Browning said.
“He treats me like a professional,” said Browning. “He doesn’t treat me differently just because I’m a volunteer.”
McCutcheon said that he has a good rapport with McGown.
“He’s a friend of mine,” McCutcheon said. “We’ve always kind of been that way.”
