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As a middle blocker at the University of Hawai'i, Deitre Collins established a reputation as one of the greatest athletes ever to play the game. Along with leading the Rainbow Wahine to national championships in 1982 and '83, Collins was a three-time AVCA All-American and the 1983 Honda Broderick Cup Winner as the National Athlete of the Year. In 2005, Collins-Parker was one of six players named to the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball 25th Anniversary Team.

Collins played on the U.S. National Team at the 1988 and '92 Olympics and on professional teams in Europe before beginning her coaching career with assistant positions at the University of South Alabama, Northern Arizona University, and the University of Houston. In her first job as head coach, Collins revived a dormant program at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, and became the winningest coach in program history. In 1998, her third year at UNLV, the Lady Rebels compiled a 23-8 record, and Collins was named the Western Athletic Conference Coach of the Year.

Over the next five years, UNLV struggled to post another winning season, and in 2004, Collins became head coach at Cornell University, where she found her stride once again. In her first season, the Big Red finished 17-9, sharing the Ivy League title with three other schools. In 2005, Cornell improved its record to 19-6 and reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 12 years.

We interviewed Collins-Parker for our sister publication, Coaching Management in 2005, and we reprint her insightful words here:

AM: What did you learn coaching in the Ivy League?
Collins: I learned to listen to my players. When I interviewed at Cornell, I met with the team, and one of the athletes said, "Sometimes we're going to be so bogged down with schoolwork that we'll need a break from volleyball. But we're not going to tell you--we'll just go on doing whatever you tell us to do. How are you going to handle that?"

As a coach, it was wonderful to hear that your players will do anything you tell them to do. But it was actually more important for me to understand that the lines of communication always need to be open. My response was, "That's where we need to trust each other. I might not be able to read your mood, so if you need a break, you have to tell me. We need to have that dialogue, and together we can work hard and take the breaks we need."

How was that different from your approach at UNLV?
At UNLV, I spent too much of my time stressed, managing the kids who didn't really want to be there instead of coaching the ones who did. People misunderstood my energy and thought I was too demanding. I had one athlete come to me and say, "Coach, we think you want us all to be Olympians." That's definitely not what I was aiming for.

When I left, I felt burnt-out, ready to believe that coaching wasn't what I was supposed to do. I looked at other kinds of jobs, but I knew that my heart still wanted to teach volleyball. I'm not a great motivator, so I've realized if I'm going to succeed, I need athletes who work hard because that's what they want to do. People come to Cornell because they want to be here, not because I'm offering them a scholarship. Those athletes fit my coaching style.

I'm a very competitive person, and I could stay in the gym all day. But if my athletes are stressed, I back off a little bit, and it relieves the stress. We don't get nearly as many practice hours as we could use, but I let it go. For me, that's much easier to deal with than kids who don't care that they're struggling.

How do you teach your athletes to take responsibility?
By putting my expectations out there. When we set goals at the beginning of the season, I tell them what I think they're capable of achieving. But it's up to them to decide what they really want, because I can't make them want any more than what's in their hearts. And I have kids now who are honest enough to say, "You know what, coach? I just want to be as good as I can in college. Because after that, I have to focus on being an engineer." That's reality: setting goals that fit within what you're willing to do.

What do you tell players about your playing career?
I don't talk much about playing. I talk about what I gained by being an athlete--all the places I traveled and the things I learned. It doesn't necessarily make them better volleyball players, but it helps them understand who I am and why I love the sport.

How do you make your players better volleyball players?
I believe in discipline and consistency. I'm perfectly straightforward with them, saying, "This is what I expect and there's no wavering." Also, I am the same person every day, and I think that's helped them play well. My players tell me they respect me because I am fair and honest and I don't play mind games with them. They know what they can expect from me.

What do you do to get more minority players interested?
First and foremost, I try to be visible and let minority athletes know I'm here. Another thing that attracts minorities is knowing there are other minority athletes on your team. Cornell does a lot to bring minority students to the university, and their exposure is a tremendous help.

Are there ways to get more minorities involved at the high school and club levels?
There are always ways. Getting more information to city schools, where we lack exposure, will hopefully produce more minority athletes. And so will developing more minority high school coaches, because they're going to help bring in minority players.

What are the challenges of being a female volleyball coach?
Number one is that athletes think it's better to play for a man. Number two is that life for a woman is more than just going to a job. My husband is incredibly supportive, but it's still challenging to put in the hours necessary to do my job well and maintain my home.

Are there specific challenges you face as a minority coach?
There are challenges as a minority, period. Society is quicker to notice your failures, and it's much harder to bounce back. As a minority, you always feel you're representing your entire group. You wish you could just be recognized as a person, or as a good hire, instead of having to represent your whole race. We could probably count on one hand the schools that have gotten rid of a minority coach and hired another. It does happen, but it's rare.

And not only do I represent minorities, I represent women. If we don't succeed, are schools going to take a chance on another woman? Or are they going to try a man next time instead?

What's the solution?
Men who are coaching women have to help their athletes become coaches. We can't do it without their help. They should be training their assistants to coach, not just to recruit. They should want women to become coaches of women.

If you could go back to your college playing days, what would you change?
I would do better in school. When I was in school, I didn't focus on schoolwork, I focused on winning a national championship. But I got turned down once for a coaching job because I didn't have a college degree. I decided that would never happen again, so I took a semester off from assistant coaching at South Alabama, finished my 21 credits, and earned my diploma.

What was it like to go back to college after 12 years?
I got to see what it was like being a full-time student with no distractions. I had seven classes, but it was my best semester ever.

Kenny Berkowitz is an Assistant Editor at Athletic Management.