The analytical approach to sports is nothing new, with Hollywood even taking to the big screen to showcase it in the 2011 movie MoneyBall about the analytical approach to building teams and positioning the right players in the places.

For incoming Head Coach Matt Kearns, he brings this approach to the ULM Volleyball program as he looks to build the Warhawks into Sun Belt Conference relevance.

“I really got into coaching wanting to be able to run my own program one day, but also knew that I had a lot to learn,” Kearns said. “I had a lot of data analytics skills Northern Kentucky thought was valuable, so I had two-years there and learned so much. This really helped me to develop a pretty detailed plan, 35 pages long, that really outlined my vision and what I can bring to the table.”

This detailed plan caught the attention of ULM Athletic Director John Hartwell and his staff during the coaching search.

“I thought it was time though to start applying to head coaching jobs, and never really thought I would be in the running for any of the openings, but wanted to go through the process,” Kearns said. “ULM came on my radar and plays in a great conference, I know a lot of the coaches around the league, so I was excited about the opportunity. I think when they saw the plan, they really liked that it can be the difference to get us the extra one or two points to win a set, just like in the conference tournament.”

Detailed in the plan include making small steps to get to the big steps.

“We are going to serve really well, we are going to pass really well,” Kearns said. “I know that’s not really the exciting transformation that maybe everyone is expecting, but we are going to be really precise on how and where we are serving – deep, shallow, to a certain location, etc. My data analytics is going to really be used to showcase what and where we need to play. We want to find the range with all of our players and maximize their efficiency.”

Kearns goes on with great passion about the same detail planning for passing, digging, and every other component of the game, all backed by his take on analytics.

With any change in staff, the re-recruiting of the roster is one of the top priorities for the first year head coach.

“We have pretty much everyone coming back, and really we have such a young team that we are going to be hitting the portal,” he said. “Our roster is really set and they all get rave reviews from one another and from the administration. In talking with them, they all just want to win, they all want to get better and win game. I don’t think a lot of them really knew what it took to win; time in the off season, over the summer, and when no one is watching.”

Kearns will look to build a winning culture at ULM and right the program’s direction that has not seen double-digit wins since posting 12 in the 2019 season.

“I’m willing to be the underdog and I love that role, so I’m excited to see what we can do this upcoming season.”