Dustin Sahlmann is like any other coach: He wants his Kansas Wesleyan men鈥檚 volleyball team to be successful and works tirelessly to make it happen.
鈥淢y philosophy is I want our players be competitive in three things 鈥� on the court, in the classroom and, once you leave here, in your job,鈥� said Sahlmann who is entering his second season.
One takes immediate precedence, though.
鈥淚 think the easiest impact I can have immediately is in the classroom,鈥� he said. 鈥淥bviously, I鈥檝e got to build a roster and I鈥檝e got to build talent. But if I can get their heads wrapped around what we鈥檝e got to do on a daily basis in school 鈥� because we are student-athletes, not athlete-students 鈥� that can set the tone early.鈥�
鈥淚f we鈥檙e going to talk about being at a place with high expectations, that has to correlate off the court in the classroom,鈥� 黑料不打烊 Director of Athletics Miguel Paredes said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 something we strive to do here, and it鈥檚 been going on for quite some time.鈥�
Results show that it鈥檚 been successful.
- Twenty of 25 sports teams received NAIA Scholar Team recognition.
- 63.1 percent of student-athletes (350 total) had a 3.0 GPA or better for the spring semester; 233 had a 3.5 or better.
- Fourteen teams improved their cumulative GPA from 2021-22.
Sahlmann鈥檚 team raised its cumulative GPA by a department-best 0.56 during the 2022-23 school year. Overall, athletics finished with a 3.14 cumulative GPA.
鈥淔or us as coaches, as educators, we have the opportunity, the power to influence our students to always strive to be at their best. We鈥檝e got to make sure that we鈥檙e doing our due diligence to help them prepare for what happens,鈥� Paredes said. 鈥淭he bad thing about sports is sports will retire you before you can retire it. I tell people I don鈥檛 have coaches; I have teachers.鈥�
The department鈥檚 academic endeavors are led by Ryan Showman, who coaches the women鈥檚 basketball team and is assistant athletic director for student experience, a position he assumed in March 2021.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a long road, because I鈥檓 asking coaches to do different things,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 asking them to have meetings with me, I鈥檓 asking them to meet with their players who are struggling. I asked a lot of these coaches to be able to get where we are now.鈥�
Showman established a committee of head coaches to help monitor things during the year. It featured a department-wide study hall with time requirements and tutor services. He also met individually with each head coach every two weeks to discuss academics.
鈥淚t was a lot of work for me, it was a lot for the other coaches, especially when they鈥檙e in season,鈥� he said. 鈥淣ow they know the expectations, they have owned their academic success.鈥�
鈥淎t the end of the day, we鈥檙e producing individuals who can have great impact in a positive way on society,鈥� Paredes said. 鈥淚 think athletics is part of a life-learning tool to help individuals learn how to deal with adversity. How to deal with it correlates to how you learn in the classroom.鈥�
黑料不打烊鈥檚 Albert Nelson Student Success Center, led by J.D. Koons, assistant vice president for student engagement and success, plays a vital role.
鈥淚t鈥檚 another resource for our student-athletes to be able to take proctored tests, review papers, help study, help with time management 鈥� anything and everything,鈥� Showman said.
鈥淭o have that extra resource 鈥� not just a professor or a coach but someone else they can go to and get help 鈥� has been incredible. It鈥檚 very much an active part of what we鈥檙e doing academically.鈥�
Sahlmann agrees.
鈥淲hen I arrived, Coach Showman was fantastic with helping me navigate through how we were going to handle and approach things,鈥� he said. 鈥淗aving the Student Success Center and that support was huge.鈥�
Sahlmann鈥檚 student-athletes are required to attend 10 hours of study hall each week; the number is reduced if they have a 3.0 GPA.
鈥淚t鈥檚 part of being in my program,鈥� he said. 鈥淔or me to enforce that, I鈥檝e got to have the support of everybody else, and that鈥檚 easily done here.鈥�
Story by Bob Davidson
