Competitive but warmhearted is how Stein Metzger’s student-athletes would describe their coach.
From the minute Metzger took over the team in 2013, the group became a force to be reckoned with.
After leading UCLA beach volleyball to back-to-back NCAA championships in 2018 and 2019, Metzger is in his 11th season as the head coach of the Bruins this season, seeking his third national championship.
With UCLA entering the NCAA championships in Gulf Shores, Alabama, this weekend as the No. 1 seed, the team’s players credit Metzger for creating a positive environment and building team spirit for the squad.
Metzger emphasizes fostering relationships rather than partnerships.
“What (associate head coach) Jenny (Johnson Jordan) and I focus on is all about trust and understanding relationships,” Metzger said. “We focus a lot on the relationship between the teammates, and in order to do that, we need to create empathy.”
His strategy to invest in the relationships between players has paid off. Not only is empathy present between the players, but it’s also present in the coach himself, according to graduate student Abby Van Winkle.
“Stein has got some emotion to him, which is good when he’s coaching a team full of girls,” Van Winkle said. “He can feel for us, and he’s special, and it’s been great having him as a coach.”
Van Winkle, who has played under Metzger for five seasons, is no stranger to his lessons.
Van Winkle commends the program and community that Metzger has fostered, adding that she was aware of that culture long before she committed to play for the Bruins.
“I’ve been here for five years,” Van Winkle said. “I’ve been able to see the program that has been created, and I think he’s done a great job of fostering a great community of friends. We call ourselves a band of sisters.”
With an overall record of 37-3 ahead of the NCAA championships, Metzger and the Bruins are no strangers to winning. But winning is not a unique feeling for this UCLA team.
With multiple titles in recent seasons, Metzger has established a culture in Westwood that looks poised to carry the Bruins to even more success down the line.
Sophomore Jessie Smith shared similar sentiments as her other teammates on the lessons taught by Metzger.
“The biggest lesson is having an underdog mentality,” Smith said. “We are ranked No. 1 going into the tournament, but he wants us to go in thinking we are the underdogs and to have fun.”
As the Bruins head to Alabama to begin the first round of the NCAA championships, Metzger noted that it’s not a solo effort.
“In the end, it is the student-athletes,” Metzger said. “We just help to shape the culture in the right direction.”
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