UCLA's Alfee Reft (Photo: Jesus Ramirez/UCLA Athletics)
Photo by: Jesus Ramirez
Five Questions: Alfee Reft
July 06, 2023 | Women's Volleyball
The following Q&A ran in the Spring 2023 Issue of Bruin Blue Magazine.
Q: You've been on the job a little under two months. How has the transition been?
A:ย Just very positive and it starts with the administration and my colleagues in the department. I was told how great this place is and how supportive people would be, and I couldn't imagine that to be more true. There's a sense of community and a feeling that people really want good for me and the program. So that has been really cool to see. The team has been phenomenal. It's a really talented group of players, but also just really hungry group of individuals that want to improve. It's also nice to have my staff here, obviously. It's all been pretty seamless. That's a word I'm going to use a lot. Just how seamless everything has been. Los Angeles it's pretty much home to me and it's coming back to a very familiar space. I grew up in our north of here and I've always resided not too far from here. I've made a lot of transitions in my career and into new spaces and new cities, but again, this is the most seamless one.
Q: Describe your familiarity with UCLA prior to taking the job.
A:ย This was the university I wanted to attend and eventually play volleyball. I was on campus a ton growing up and even came to several camps here with Al Scates as a high school player. And so there was a familiarity with the campus already. Although it didn't come to fruition to play here, I competed here a lot as a player in college. It's hard to not be close to this program if you grew up in Southern California. If you play volleyball while growing up in Southern California, you're around UCLA volleyball and you're watching it. I was a fan of the program because that's where the best volleyball was coming out of. So there is a familiarity to it and a reverence to what's been done here. And I love that feeling of taking responsibility to something that's been great for a long time.
Q: You helped the University of San Diego reach the program's first-ever Final Four. Talk about how special that experience was.
A:ย It was really special. That program has been good for a long time, but when I took the job it was clear that we wanted to elevate what had been done there. I think prior to that our Final Four run, the Sweet 16 was the limit. So for me, the job was very clear what needed to be done and what could be done. However, seeing it come to fruition and materialize is a whole another thing. Our run in the NCAA tournament was really special because it was done by upperclassmen who had been doing the work since they were sophomores. The vision started early and to see a team and these young athletes cash in on so many hours and days and years of work that's really what the season was. It was really special to see things that we've worked on for such a long time really materialize on the biggest stage. It was probably the most fulfilling year I've ever had as a coach.
Q: What made you feel like you were ready for this next step and take over your own program?
A:ย Yeah, that's a good question. I think that journey is so unique to each individual. By no means was I looking to be a head coach. Coaching volleyball is not a means to an end for me. It's not like I was an assistant coach with the sole focus on getting a head coaching job. I was in San Diego and that's where my mind and my heart resided. I was all in there. However, I'd be remiss and not fully honest if I didn't think that I was ready to become a head coach. I knew my time at San Diego had really prepared me and put me in a place to be a head coach should that arise. And it did. My philosophies on how I'd run a program and how I'd run a gym were just in place. That's a large thank you to San Diego because they allowed me to exercise like those skills there and really put my imprint on the program in the time I was there, which allowed me to feel like, all right, I'm ready. But it had to be the right job so it's crazy how it's all worked out.
Q: What does a successful program look like to you?
A:ย Having players and coaches who find purpose and meaning beyond just the sport is success to me. And then just surrounding ourselves with people who wake up every day and push themselves to the max in our gym. Hopefully I'm able to create a vision for these players that's full of purpose and then helping them live and breathe that on a daily basis. Winning a national championship is always the goal, but the results are a byproduct of having a deep meaning, purpose and direction.
Q: You've been on the job a little under two months. How has the transition been?
A:ย Just very positive and it starts with the administration and my colleagues in the department. I was told how great this place is and how supportive people would be, and I couldn't imagine that to be more true. There's a sense of community and a feeling that people really want good for me and the program. So that has been really cool to see. The team has been phenomenal. It's a really talented group of players, but also just really hungry group of individuals that want to improve. It's also nice to have my staff here, obviously. It's all been pretty seamless. That's a word I'm going to use a lot. Just how seamless everything has been. Los Angeles it's pretty much home to me and it's coming back to a very familiar space. I grew up in our north of here and I've always resided not too far from here. I've made a lot of transitions in my career and into new spaces and new cities, but again, this is the most seamless one.
Q: Describe your familiarity with UCLA prior to taking the job.
A:ย This was the university I wanted to attend and eventually play volleyball. I was on campus a ton growing up and even came to several camps here with Al Scates as a high school player. And so there was a familiarity with the campus already. Although it didn't come to fruition to play here, I competed here a lot as a player in college. It's hard to not be close to this program if you grew up in Southern California. If you play volleyball while growing up in Southern California, you're around UCLA volleyball and you're watching it. I was a fan of the program because that's where the best volleyball was coming out of. So there is a familiarity to it and a reverence to what's been done here. And I love that feeling of taking responsibility to something that's been great for a long time.
Q: You helped the University of San Diego reach the program's first-ever Final Four. Talk about how special that experience was.
A:ย It was really special. That program has been good for a long time, but when I took the job it was clear that we wanted to elevate what had been done there. I think prior to that our Final Four run, the Sweet 16 was the limit. So for me, the job was very clear what needed to be done and what could be done. However, seeing it come to fruition and materialize is a whole another thing. Our run in the NCAA tournament was really special because it was done by upperclassmen who had been doing the work since they were sophomores. The vision started early and to see a team and these young athletes cash in on so many hours and days and years of work that's really what the season was. It was really special to see things that we've worked on for such a long time really materialize on the biggest stage. It was probably the most fulfilling year I've ever had as a coach.
Q: What made you feel like you were ready for this next step and take over your own program?
A:ย Yeah, that's a good question. I think that journey is so unique to each individual. By no means was I looking to be a head coach. Coaching volleyball is not a means to an end for me. It's not like I was an assistant coach with the sole focus on getting a head coaching job. I was in San Diego and that's where my mind and my heart resided. I was all in there. However, I'd be remiss and not fully honest if I didn't think that I was ready to become a head coach. I knew my time at San Diego had really prepared me and put me in a place to be a head coach should that arise. And it did. My philosophies on how I'd run a program and how I'd run a gym were just in place. That's a large thank you to San Diego because they allowed me to exercise like those skills there and really put my imprint on the program in the time I was there, which allowed me to feel like, all right, I'm ready. But it had to be the right job so it's crazy how it's all worked out.
Q: What does a successful program look like to you?
A:ย Having players and coaches who find purpose and meaning beyond just the sport is success to me. And then just surrounding ourselves with people who wake up every day and push themselves to the max in our gym. Hopefully I'm able to create a vision for these players that's full of purpose and then helping them live and breathe that on a daily basis. Winning a national championship is always the goal, but the results are a byproduct of having a deep meaning, purpose and direction.
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