Courtesy of Navy Athletic Communications
ANNAPOLIS, Md. –– Larry Bock, who won more matches than any other coach in NCAA volleyball history, announced today his retirement after seven seasons as the head coach of the program at Navy and 41 years as a collegiate head coach.
He holds NCAA records for the most career wins as a women’s head coach (1,348) and as a collegiate volleyball coach (1,448).
“No doubt an unparalleled coach, administrator, and leader, but even more importantly a magnificent person who has influenced the lives of so many student-athletes for decades. Larry has been the standard for which excellence has been measured in the sport of volleyball. Without any reservation or debate, his colleagues and peers agree he has been an icon in our profession. I am so grateful for his contributions to the Naval Academy and our midshipmen over one of the most successful tenures in our history. He has built a program with a solid foundation and delivered a mindset that resonates with being a champion in every detail and endeavor. Assistant coach Jeremy Sands will assume interim head coaching responsibilities at this time. I am extremely confident Jeremy will continue to pursue the ambitious goals of the program while conducting business as Larry, with great success,” said Chet Gladchuk, Navy Director of Athletics.
“In 2011, I was charged with getting Navy volleyball on solid footing,” said Bock. “Solid footing here is a high bar that implies competing for championships and beating Army. We’ve made good progress by those measures. Add in terrific returners, level-5 team leadership, wonderful coaches in place, and two top-50 incoming recruiting classes. I think this is now a really healthy sustainable piece of athletics architecture, populated by incredible people and has been built to last. So I think we’re pretty darned solid and I can retire with a good professional conscience. Personally, I’m in good health and reasonably fit, but my energy level is not up to the high standard that we set for our team and that’s been a worry. Family is of course the biggest factor. Mostly, I’m ready to be a more available and visible grandfather, father and husband."
“The last seven years were a wonderful capstone on an athletics career full of many really cool moments. Something of a bonus from working with all my players is an absolute determination that our country will be in really good hands. I’ve been so lucky to have had the good fortune to work with the absolute best of the best.”
Bock arrived at Navy in the spring of 2011 and led a resurgence for the program after the Mids had totaled four league wins and 13 victories in all in the previous two seasons combined. The Mids posted just one Patriot League victory in his first season, but they improved to the .500 level (7-7) in year two. The upward trajectory continued in both 2013 when Navy won nine league matches and 2014 when the Mids finished in third place in the league with an 11-5 record. It was the team’s highest placement since tying for second in 2005 and gave the Mids a winning league season in consecutive years for the first time since doing so in 2004 and ‘05. Navy also attained its first overall winning record (14-12) since 2008, won both regular season matches against Army for the first time since 2005 and swept the Black Knights in a match for the first time since 1997. Additionally, the Mids qualified for the Patriot League Tournament for the first time in seven seasons.
Navy’s 2015 lineup primarily consisted of freshmen and sophomores, and that youth started to gel toward the end of the season when it posted a 7-3 record in its last 10 matches of the year. That late-season push carried over into the 2016 season when Navy posted an overall record of 20-9 and placed fourth in the league with a 10-6 record to again reach the league tournament.
What would turn out to be Bock’s final campaign proved to be one of the best in program history. Navy tied a school Division I record for wins in 2017 with its 23-8 overall record, tallied a school record for wins in a year against league foes with its 12-4 mark, recorded the program’s first victory over 15-time league champion American since 1989, placed second in the league’s regular season and advanced to the championship match of the Patriot League Tournament for the first time in 18 years and just the third time in school history. Bock was selected as the Patriot League’s Coach of the Year following the conclusion of the 2017 campaign.
“Much of the satisfaction for coaches at any level in any sport is to see our athletes feeling good about themselves,” said Bock. “I remember in 2014 seeing Alex Cassel with the biggest smile imaginable after a big Army win and this fall the reaction from all our players after finally beating American. I remember standing beside Chet in Alumni Hall the first time we got to sing second. I remember the Brigade rushing the court after what will be my last home win this past November. Those kinds of wins, those big-win huggers are the moments we all shoot for, but what I have always taken the most satisfaction from are seeing lifetime relationships develop among the players, those occasional times when something happens in the gym to make us all roll on the floor laughing, and the day-to-day training grind that eventually translates into improvement. That kind of yearly growth here at Navy took us from an RPI in 2011 in the 300’s to our 2017 national ranking of 78. I’ve never been much of a counter when it comes to things like wins. But I do measure. A lot. And that RPI measurement over the past seven years gives me great satisfaction.
Bock guided Navy to a 43-17 (.717) overall record and a 22-10 (.688) Patriot League record over the last two seasons, during which the Mids won 20-plus matches in back-to-back years for the second time on the Division I level and reached the league tournament in consecutive seasons for just the second time since the field was limited to four teams starting in 1999. His teams compiled a seven-season record of 96-103 (.482) overall and were 57-51 (.528) in league play, with the Mids posting marks of 66-49 (.573) overall and 40-24 (.625) over his final four campaigns.
“Most people look at coach Larry Bock and see his high victory total that has made him the winningest coach in NCAA volleyball history,” said Tara Dotzauer, who captained the team this fall. However, to the Navy volleyball team he is much more. Coach Bock has transformed Navy volleyball into a competitive team ready to win the Patriot League Championship, and more. His knowledge of the game and coaching ability empowered every individual and, therefore, the team, to be the best on and off the court each day. Coach Bock recruited talented volleyball players, but more importantly, amazing women who continue to raise the bar and set new goals. Navy volleyball is eternally grateful for the work coach Bock has done for our program. We all appreciate the dedicated time, effort, and care he has put into each player individually and the program as a whole. We wish him and his family the best in his future endeavors.”
Bock arrived at Navy after spending 34 seasons as the head coach of the women’s team at Juniata. The Division III program totaled a 1,252-192 record in his time on the bench and advanced to the NCAA Tournament in each of his last 30 seasons. The Eagles won NCAA titles in 2004 and ‘06 and reached the championship match on six additional occasions. Bock also concurrently served six years as the men’s coach at Juniata (100-91-4) and was the school’s athletic director for his last 15 seasons in Huntingdon.
Bock has received nearly every possible coaching award available over the course of his career. He has been tabbed as the AVCA (D-III) National Coach of the Year five times and as the organization’s region coach of the year on nine occasions. Bock also was a member of the AVCA’s inaugural Hall of Fame Class (2003), was elected as one of the two NCAA Silver Anniversary (D-III) Team Head Coaches (2006), received the AVCA Founders Award for service to the sport (2000), garnered the USA?Volleyball Trailblazer Award (2006) and was selected as the 2009 recipient of the All-Time Great Coaches Award by USA Volleyball. He also was named the Division III Central Region Athletic Director of the Year in 2005.
“(Wife) Lyn and I will be moving nearer the kids in Pittsburgh,” said Bock. “And many years ago my very wise Dad once told me in a rare moment of reflection, ‘Son remember that only one thing really matters in life: golf.’ So lots of that awaits me. I’ve been terrible at maintaining relationships so I want to check in with my old players, coaches, friends and colleagues. I want to sit up in the top right corner of Memorial Gym (at Juniata) with Mark Pavlik and watch Heather coach. I want to sit in the stands at Wesley Brown Field House with Jason Wagler and truly enjoy that amazing Navy volleyball fan experience. I want to be a more involved grandfather than I was as a father and may turn into an absolutely pain-in-the-rear helicopter for some truly unfortunate future coaches. I want to read the entire Michael Connelly lexicon of Harry Bosch detective books. And mostly I’m looking forward to finally experiencing fall afternoons outdoors.
“My thank you’s start with my family, especially my sainted daughters Annie and Laura; and the best coaches’ wife of all time, Lyn; Chet Gladchuck and Loretta Lamar for the courage to hire an old man and supporting our wonderful teams so well; Bill Berrier (AD who hired me at Juniata), Kris Clarkson (former Dean and my boss at Juniata) and Tom Kepple (former president at Juniata); all my Navy players; all my Juniata players; assistant coaches at both schools: at Juniata, Priscilla Gibboney, Susan Benusa Yanckello, Sue Barker Hildebrandt, Mark Pavlik, Larissa Weimer Crum, Heather Pavlik, Tom Gibboney, Jodi Burns, Dennis Hohenshelt and Ryan Patton; at Navy, Kait Kozak, Tim Smith, Steph Strauss, Jeremy Sands and Megan Shifflett; and finally, Tom Tait, Mark Pavlik and Russ Rose, my volleyball coaching mentors.”
Bock at Navy
Year - All W-L / Patriot League (Pl.)
2011 - 6-23 / 1-13 (Eighth)
2012 - 11-15 / 7-7 (Fifth)
2013 - 13-16 / 9-7 (Fifth)
2014 - 14-12 / 11-5 (Third)
2015 - 9-20 / 7-9 (Sixth)
2016 - 20-9 / 10-6 (Fourth)
2017 - 23-8 / 12-4 (Second)
Most NCAA Volleyball Coaching Victories –– Men’s and/or Women’s (Yrs.)
1. 1,448 - Larry Bock (47)
2. 1,309 - Peggy Martin, current Spring Hill women’s coach (42)
3. 1,283 - Dave Shoji, former Hawai’i women’s & men’s coach (50)
4. 1,246 - Russ Rose, current Penn State women’s coach (39)
5. 1,239 - Al Scates, former UCLA men’s coach (50)
6. 1,212 - Tracy Rietzke, current Rockhurst women’s coach (36)
7. 1,106 - Andy Banachowski, former UCLA?women’s coach (40)
8. 1,070 - Rich Luenemann, former Wash.-St. Louis women’s coach (32)
9. 1,040 - Chris Catanach, current Tampa women’s coach (34)
10. 1,021 - Shelton Collier, current Wingate women’s coach (36)
Most NCAA Volleyball Coaching Victories –– Women’s Only (Yrs.)
1. 1,348 - Larry Bock (41)
2. 1,309 - Peggy Martin, current Spring Hill coach (42)
3. 1,246 - Russ Rose, current Penn State coach (39)
4. 1,212 - Tracy Rietzke, current Rockhurst coach (36)
5. 1,202 - Dave Shoji, former Hawai’i coach (42)
6. 1,106 - Andy Banachowski, former UCLA?coach (40)
7. 1,070 - Rich Luenemann, former Washington-St. Louis coach (32)
8. 1,040 - Chris Catanach, current Tampa coach (34)
9. 1,021 - Shelton Collier, current Wingate coach (36)
10. 957 - Mick Haley, former USC coach (34)