Dear Old U.Va.

Jeff White Article on Championships

Monday, April 26 2010 by Tim

If you want to get a good feel for what it’s like to be a Virginia coach right now, check out Jeff’s article today.

Virginia has already won one NCAA title -- in men's soccer -- and appears headed for its first top-5 finish in the Directors' Cup competition. And that, the Cavaliers' coaches say, has created an ideal working environment.

"I think the kids [in different sports] feed off each other a little bit," Sauer said, and so do the coaches.

"I would say it's a little uncommon," Starsia said. "I've been around here awhile, and there's a lot of camaraderie in the department among the coaches, and everybody's pulling for each other. It's really neat to be part of it. It drives you a little bit."

Boland said: "I believe that the standards are high, and when standards are high and expectations are there, it's only going to help everybody.

"I've learned so much from the likes of [swimming coach] Mark Bernardino and Dom Starsia and Brian O'Connor, and I have so much respect for them. And I think there's a lot of mutual respect amongst the coaches across the different sports, and they really want to see success for one another, and I think that's a great team environment. It's a really special place to work right now, and I'm really proud just to be a part of that."

Sounds to me like the ideal situation from which a couple of national championships should come…