This year’s Oswego State Invitational had a little more juice for the Lakers’ volleyball team and head coach J.J. O’Connell. Entering the tournament, O’Connell had a career record of 398-301, and with three matches during the weekend, he would be able to reach 400 wins. 

The Lakers provided him with the assistance he needed to eclipse the 400-mark, as they swept the tournament, beating Utica College, Elmira College and SUNY Canton. Despite the coaching record, O’Connell brought it back to his athletes.

“It is a great testament to all the great players I’ve had over the 18 years,” O’Connell said. “12 All-Americans, numerous all-conference players, all the little people that do the little work and just the hardworkers out there. It’s just a testament to the players.”

As usual, O’Connell wanted to keep the focus on the players. As a Div. III coach, O’Connell notices what really matters, personal development. As great as championships are, the game is for the players. This is something that his players can attest to, that his focus is on them. His work as a coach goes beyond the wins and losses on the court. He has a stake in every player as a person, outside of volleyball. He wants to see them grow, something that some coaches may forget, after 16 seasons of coaching.

“He sets up study hall hours for students who aren’t necessarily doing as well in school or even the freshmen who are trying to transition from high school,” senior Shauna O’Flaherty said. “He even tracks your grades. He’ll take your syllabus and tell you what you have coming up, just to make sure you’re on track with school, which is very helpful.”

O’Flaherty transferred to Oswego State after one season on the club team at University of Albany. O’Connell was able to provide her with the student-athlete balance that she was looking for.

“When I was transferring, I was interested in playing volleyball at a school that wasn’t crazy competitive but also a step up from the club team,” O’Flaherty said. “He gave me the best of both worlds, he said, ‘this is very competitive volleyball, [but] at the same time, we are trying to have a good time and have fun as a team.’”

That enjoyment trickles down from O’Connell and the rest of the athletics department. O’Connell and those he works with acknowledged how close he was to both 400 wins and 200 losses at the start of the season, so they made sure to have some fun with his record.

“We had a running bet in the office, so we were joking, what I would get to first, 200 losses or 400 wins? And 200 losses won.” O’Connell said with a chuckle. 

O’Connell brings that same sense of humor to his team. Outside of the obvious laughs that he provides, this demeanor is helpful for younger players. 

“He was funny and I think that’s important for a coach because a lot of times [a coach] can be intimidating,” O’Flaherty said. “Coming in, he had a good sense of humor.”

As a coach, O’Connell has had a lot of success. In his 10 seasons at Stevens Institute of Technology, he reached seven straight Div. III National Championships. Throughout those seven seasons, he produced an incredible postseason record of 22-7. Winning at such a clip is unheard of in the playoffs where it is that much harder to win games. Despite the prolonged success, spanning several iterations of rosters, O’Connell still refused to take credit for the winning.

“We had a national roster, so all of our players had been playing a long time,” O’Connell said. “They had played on the big stage already, playing in a lot of national qualifiers, so again we had talented players.”

After a 2011 season where O’Connell reached the conference semifinals, he moved on from Stevens Institute of Technology. O’Connell was born and raised in upstate New York, going to Ithaca High School, so for him, it was time to go home when he took the Oswego State job.

“I grew up in the upstate New York area, so it wasn’t necessarily starting over, it was just a change,” O’Connell said. “I am more of an upstate New York guy, as opposed to a New Jersey guy. I mean, I’m an aggressive driver, but I don’t like being that aggressive, but you have to there.”

Even outside of the office or coaching, O’Connell still manages to crack a joke. 

But all kidding aside, O’Connell is able to be honest with his players. He is a genuine person who builds trust with his team and does not make lofty promises.

“You want to know your role and that you have a purpose, even if you’re just a practice player,” senior Julia Flohr said. “Knowing that you’re appreciated and him saying, ‘you know, you’re a freshman, I have two seniors ahead of you.’ It made it clear I wasn’t going to play [in 2016] and I didn’t have any expectations that were broken.”

Despite the lack of playing time for freshmen, especially in a program like this, where there are a lot of upperclassmen, O’Connell does a good job working the younger players in.

“He’s always [trying] to give the younger players experience, which you don’t really see on college teams,” O’Flaherty said. “That’s important for future years. He is always trying to get the freshmen and everyone included.”

Getting freshmen involved early on helps foster trust and relationships that flourish into great ones by the time the freshmen become seniors. That relationship was able to create an emotionally charged moment after the Lakers defeated Elmira College for O’Connell’s 400th win.

“We actually prepared balloons and a cake for him,” O’Flaherty said. “We never expect to win but just in case we had one, cause it was a big deal.”

And of course, when it was all about O’Connell, he wanted to bring it back to who brought him to this milestone: his players.

“[I was] a little surprised. I’m usually not about me, I’m usually about the players,” O’Connell said. “I got a little watery in the eyes.”

Photo by Nicole Hube | The Oswegonian