Watching the Evanston girls volleyball team struggle through the worst season in school history this fall, Mike McDermott had a couple of takeaways from the experience.
One was the obvious one --- the Wildkits had to get better.
The other? That the players returning from that squad next year deserved the chance to get better.
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McDermott plans to be part of that solution. A long-time assistant coach in the program, McDermott was named the head coach last week, succeeding Paris McFall, who led the Kits to a two-year record of 14 wins and 56 losses.
McDermott was the head boys volleyball coach at ETHS for 14 years before turning that program over to the current coach, Stanley Antoine, in 2021. He has worked under 5 different head coaches on the girls side --- current athletic director Chris Livatino, Pam McPherson, Mallory Thelander, Liz Brieva and McFall.
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Now it’s his turn to try to get the program back on the winning track. The Wildkits haven’t had a winning season since 2014 and haven’t won a conference match since 2021.
The veteran coach was part of an effort that produced just a 4-30 won-loss record this fall, but was impressed by the character and resolve of the members of that squad. Most of them, including his daughter Casey, a setter, will return next year.
“I was extremely impressed by how the girls stayed so positive,” said McDermott, a social studies teacher at Chute Middle School. “At the end of the year they were still on their feet (during matches) cheering for the JV kids. They had a strong bond and they remained a cohesive unit. They got what they could out of that season.
“Now we have to figure out a way to put more positivity into the experience. We have to put a little more skills work (in the off-season) into the ’bank’ so we have something to revert to when times get tough. You’ve got to change things up if you want a different result. And just like in any organization, changing the culture has to start at the top.
“We have to strip it down and get back to the fundamentals. We need to focus on skills and technique, and that’s something Paris (McFall) had started to put in. We need to become more proficient at the skills of passing and serve receive, because it all starts with ball control. Because we’ve just been fighting to be competitive the past two years, we didn’t always have the opportunity to dig in and develop the skills you need to be successful.
“I know what the returning varsity players offer --- and where they need to get to. I can help them close that gap. Our goal next year is to win every conference match, and we can do that if they build confidence in themselves and in their teammates.”
McDermott, who is still an assistant coach in the boys program, said he felt “re-energized” after passing the baton to Antoine and learned from the various coaching styles off all of Evanston’s girls head coaches.
“It takes a lot of energy to change things,” he said. “I definitely learned a lot from all of the different coaching styles, and kids have changed since I started coaching, too. We need individual plans to help them get where they need to go, and we need to give them more positive feedback.
“We need to put better systems in place at the lower levels and help our kids so they can compete with the Loyolas and the New Triers. We need to up the level of expectations for the middle school programs and I have to make the connections with those coaches to help spark the interest of kids at earlier ages.
“Changing the culture means changing the commitment the girls show in the off-season. The girls game is way more technical than the boys and you can see the beauty of the game more because it’s not just based on athleticism.
“I’m really looking forward to the challenge.”
