Coach Hunter headed overseas for professional job

Coach Hunter headed overseas for professional job
In the coaching profession, success often opens up opportunities. That is what has happened for Barton County Community College volleyball coach John Hunter. The Cougar head coach – with the NJCAA National Title under his belt – is on his way to Japan to become an assistant volleyball coach in one of the premier professional volleyball leagues in the World. Hunter tenured his resignation today to the Barton County Board of Trustees at its monthly meeting. The search for a successor will begin immediately.

"We are very appreciative of the job Coach Hunter has done with our volleyball program," Barton County Athletic Director Neil Elliott said. "He elevated us to a level we hadn't been to all of these years. Obviously John will be well remembered here for doing something no other program other than track has been able to manage – win a National Championship."

During his 4 years at Barton the Cougars continually knocked on the title door, finally breaking through this season for the school's 1st NJCAA National Volleyball Championship. The Cougars finished 6th, 8th, and 5th prior to capturing the title this past season. In his 4 years with Barton, Hunter compiled a 149-22 record – highlighted by the 34-1 mark this year. It was telling those very players that was the hardest thing for Coach Hunter in taking the new position.

"These players will always be very special to me. Telling them I was taking this opportunity was the most gut wrenching experience of my life," Coach Hunter said. "I was very moved by their support. After telling them all season to 'work hard and accept the challenge of being the best', it would be hypocritical for me not to take this unique opportunity and I'm glad they understood that."

With the high level of success for Coach Hunter at Barton County, Elliott said it is not surprising that other opportunities opened up for the school's volleyball coach.

"At this level, unfortunately, with success with coaches comes new opportunities and new challenges for those coaches," Elliott said. "That's what happened for John. He has an excellent opportunity for himself and we wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors."

Coach Hunter, however, said he did not look at his time at Barton County as merely a rung on the coaching ladder.

"I never thought of Barton County as a 'stepping stone'," Coach Hunter said. "I came here because I thought we could win a National Championship. There have been many opportunities over the last four seasons to take other jobs, but this opportunity is different. It's the equivalent of Coach (Mike) Warren getting a chance to be an assistant with the Yankees or Coach (Soupy) Campbell getting a chance to be an assistant with the Lakers. I am sure if given the opportunity, they would each embrace it wholeheartedly and that is what I must do as well."

For his work with the Cougars this past season, Coach Hunter was tabbed Coach of the Year by the American Volleyball Coaches Association. Hunter coached 8 NJCAA All-Americans, the 2001 National Player-of-the-Year as well as the NJCAA National Tournament MVP this past season. His teams were not only successful on the court, but in the classroom as well. During his 4 years, the Barton County volleyball team had 6 individuals named Academic All-American. His volleyball teams routinely maintained a GPA above 3.0.

"Winning the National Championship is certainly the highlight, but of all the teams at the National Tournament in the last four years, no other team had a higher combined Nationals finish and Team GPA," Coach Hunter said. "Our players have done an excellent job maintaining Barton Volleyball's tradition of excellence on the court and in the classroom and I appreciate the administration entrusting me with that tradition over the last four years."

The search for Coach Hunter's replacement will start right away for the Elliott and Barton County.

"We will begin an immediate national search in hopes of having a new coach in place as soon as possible. We would like to solidify our returning players as well as finalize the recruiting process for next season."