It was only a week ago that new Illini assistant Kevin Hambly got a look at his new team and tried on his Orange and Blue polo shirt. During the summer, Hambly was stylish in the Mediterranean, sporting threads of Red, White and Blue.

Hambly was chosen to represent America as an assistant coach for the Women’s Olympic National Team in Athens. After being named first team All-American as a middle blocker at BYU in 1995 and playing professionally in France for Montpellier, Hambly continued to follow his love of volleyball by coaching. As great a player as Hambly was, it could be coaching that turns out to be his true forte.

“Having him join our program is incredible,” Illini head coach Don Hardin said. “Kevin is one of the best volleyball trainers in the country and certainly one of the up-and-coming coaching talents in our sport.”

While in Athens, Hambly was both soaking in the experience while learning as much as he could about the sport.

“I learned a lot as far as coaching and managing teams,” Hambly said. “I especially learned a lot about handling distractions and what it takes to compete at the highest level. I was amazed at how much I learned – a ton of different systems and how to adapt that to the personnel.”

Hambly wanted to make sure he didn’t spend too much time with a pad of paper and a pencil and took time to appreciate his opportunity. While 56 million Americans watched the opening ceremonies in awe of what it must be like for the athletes to be there, Hambly was experiencing it firsthand.

“I’ve been to a lot of major competitions, and the only time I was like ‘wow’ was at the opening ceremonies,” Hambly said. “I wasn’t star-struck, but it was definitely surreal – all the athletes in one place. As I’m walking around the track I look next to me and see Martina Navritilova. Looking around you, are all the basketball players, Lebron (James), and it’s cool because these are the people on your team. You really build relationships with the rest of the athletes, and then you root for them even more. It was really special.”

Coach Hardin said that Hambly is the type of confidant that he hasn’t been paired with in a long time and that his coaching knowledge, although vast, is only a piece of what he brings.

Now that Hambly has returned, all the focus is pointed on the impact he is going to make on the Illini. Even though he has only been with them for a week now, his impact is being felt around the team.

“He has brought a national team atmosphere to our gym, which has stepped our game up a level,” said senior setter Erin Virtue.