Penn Hills grad Salima Rockwell settles into 1st head coaching job with Notre Dame women's volleyball

Salima Rockwell has seen volleyball from many angles.

As a three-time All-American setter at Penn State. As a member — and two-year captain — of the U.S. women’s national team. As an assistant coach under the legendary Russ Rose at Penn State, where she was on board for three national titles and the meat of the Nittany Lions’ record 109-match winning streak. Even from the broadcast table as a commentator for several major networks.

Now, for the first time, she will see it from the head coach’s chair. Rockwell, a 1990 Penn Hills grad, was hired in January as the women’s coach at Notre Dame. The position came open after the Notre Dame administration decided in December not to renew the contract of former coach Mike Johnson, who served four seasons and led the Fighting Irish to two NCAA Tournaments.

Rockwell, fresh off doing color commentary for ESPN at the NCAA women’s volleyball final four in Columbus, Ohio, in mid-December, was hired a month later.

“(Being a head coach) is something I always talked about and, of course, thought about doing,” Rockwell said. “And it really just had to be the right situation, the right time. This really was.

“There are jobs that reach out, but will it be a good fit? Can you get it done there? But this is one of those programs where you know you can get it done.”

With her staff in place — she hired former Pitt assistant Craig Dyer and former Delaware coach Sara Matthews as her associate coaches — Rockwell’s next step is getting her roster together. Several players transferred after the end of this past season, when the Fighting Irish failed to make NCAAs.

That means recruiting and scouring the NCAA transfer portal.

With the players who are left, Rockwell is busy getting to know them on and off the court. One of Rose’s traits that stood out to her was his ability to get the most out of each player, and she hopes to emulate that.

“He was really, really good at understanding individuals and how they respond,” she said. “He always said, ‘I’m going to treat everyone fairly, but I’m not going to treat everyone the same.’ You really have to understand who you’re dealing with, understand how they respond to different things.”

On the court, Rockwell is going to wait and see what her players’ skills are before determining how she wants them to play. She believes in tailoring her team’s style to the players’ abilities and not trying to force-feed a predetermined system.

She also wants her players to understand not only what to do in given situations but why they are doing it. Grasping the nuances of the game, she said, will enable the players to improvise and make decisions on the fly without fear.

“The student-athletes who are here are phenomenal,” she said. “I know we’re going to play hard. I know we’re going to train harder than anyone I know, and I know we’re going to put ourselves in the best position to win.”

Coaching in the ACC will afford Rockwell another opportunity to come home when the Fighting Irish visit Pitt, where she served as an assistant from 2001-03. Her only remaining close family in the area is her mother — “She’ll be there every single game,” Rockwell said — but she said many friends who remain around Pittsburgh have reached out to her, and several likely will be at Fitzgerald Field House cheering her on.

That won’t be for months. In the meantime, Rockwell will begin laying the foundation of her program, one that she is confident will be able to compete in an ever-improving ACC.

“I know people say, ‘Well, as a head coach, you can’t really be that close (with the players),’ ” she said. “I disagree. I think the caring, being close and understanding builds trust. And for me, trust is everything. … So when things get tough, and you’ve got to get tough on them, they understand where it’s coming from.

“It’s about maximizing what you have and allowing them to grow into who they are, not to change them.”