Olympics turned Finn on to volleyball
A single event can change the entire course of a person’s life.
For Utah State University men’s club volleyball coach Loren Finn, the event was the 1984 Summer Olympics. At the time, Finn was a 25-year-old undergraduate in Korean language at BYU.
Prior to watching the Olympics on television, Finn said he had never seen a volleyball match played before.
“I had no idea what type of game it was, how fast it was,” he said. “I thought, ‘wow.'”
The following semester, Finn signed up for a volleyball class taught by BYU men’s Head Coach Tom Peterson.
Following the course, Finn began teaching volleyball classes and eventually camps. This started him down the coaching path.
After his graduation in 1988, Finn became the head coach of the junior varsity men’s team at BYU for the 1989 through 1991 seasons.
When Peterson took a job as Pennsylvania State University men’s coach, Finn followed him as an assistant from 1992 to 1994.
After his stint at Penn State, Finn returned to Utah to teach at the Salt Lake Community College where Finn and Peterson coached together again.
Finn said he had been at SLCC for several years when Peterson took a position there as the women’s head coach in 1996.
When Peterson came to Utah State as the women’s head coach in 1999, Finn said he had the opportunity to come with Peterson but decided to remain at SLCC to coach. The Bruins were the national runner-up in Finn’s final season.
In the fall of 2000, Finn came to USU for his master’s degree in health and corporate wellness to become more marketable as a head coach. He also became a volunteer assistant to Peterson.
“The biggest reason why I came to Utah State, at that time, was because I knew several of the players and the coaches,” Finn said. “I didn’t know very much about Utah State in terms of the school.”
With Peterson’s departure last season, Finn remained with the women’s team until the opportunity arose to coach the men.
Finn said he had difficulty leaving the women’s team, but time constraints between coaching, school and the opportunity to be a head coach led him to the men’s team.
“[Opportunity] was the bending factor,” Finn said. “It was hard [to leave the women]. They’re my girls and I was with them the year before.”
With Finn taking over for the previously coachless men’s team, he sees the team benefiting from his experience.
“When it comes to knowing the game, I think we’ve been able to teach them that,” Finn said. “Technique, the right places to be on the court, I think they’ve learned a lot.”
Previous to Finn taking the position, team captains Greg Jorgenson and Adam Longmore acted as player coaches.
“Not having to coach and play at the same time cuts my duties in half,” Jorgenson said. “I have time to go to grad school and still be able to [play].”
Outside hitter Brad Davidson said Finn’s knowledge and excitement bring a learning opportunity to the team.
“Who wouldn’t want to talk football with Vince Lombardi or play hoops with Michael Jordan,” Davidson said. “Whenever there’s anybody who has the kind of experience Loren has that it’s a great opportunity just to be around them and partake of their knowledge.”
Longmore and Jorgenson said having a coach can help take the team to the next level.
“It has all the potential. It’s just putting that theory into action,” Jorgenson said.
Longmore said, “It’s up to us. It’s application now.”
Following the season, Finn expects to graduate this semester and will start looking for coaching positions.