Steven Dallman, with 25 years of experience as a women’s volleyball coach, has been hired at Roane State.
Oct. 08, 2019
By Bob Fowler
Roane State Staff Writer
Roane State Community College is adding women’s volleyball to its roster of athletic programs and has hired a Maryville resident with 25 years of coaching experience, including a stint as apprentice coach with the U.S. women’s Olympic team.
“That was a great experience,” says Steven Dallman, who has already started recruiting potential players for the new Roane State team. Dallman said he worked with the Olympians during the Goodwill Games in the summer of 1989, and the experience “opened a lot of doors for me.”
While launching a women’s volleyball program from scratch at Roane State will be a daunting task, officials said Dallman’s background will be an invaluable asset.
For the past seven years, he’s been the head coach of the Blount County-based K2 Volleyball Club’s 18 Regional Team, and he says he knows many of the top-notch lady volleyball players in the region.
He says he’s already close to obtaining a couple of commitments from those players.
Dallman says the new Lady Raiders volleyball team will have from 12 to 14 players, and training will start next July. The season typically runs from August through October. There are four women’s volleyball teams in the conference in which Roane State is a member, he said, and “Walters State is the one to beat.”
“I’m excited,” Dallman said of his new job, “and I’ve really enjoyed the people that I’ve worked with so far at Roane State.”
He has years of experience as a volleyball coach at the collegiate, high school and club levels, including as head coach at the University of Louisville, University of Virginia College at Wise, University of Missouri-Kansas City, and University of Southern Mississippi.
Roane State’s new affiliation with the adidas sports brand played a key role in his landing his new job, Dallman said. Brian Loveday, the local adidas representative, told Roane State Athletic Director Randy Nesbit about him, he said.
Dallman said Roane State President Chris Whaley had urged for the creation of a women’s volleyball team.
Roane State is a two-year college providing transfer programs, career-preparation programs and continuing education. Founded in 1971, the college has campuses in Crossville, Harriman, Huntsville, Jamestown, Knoxville, LaFollette, Lenoir City, Oak Ridge, Wartburg and Clinton.
For more information, visit roanestate.edu or call (865) 882-4554.
Remember, eligible adults can now attend Roane State tuition-free with the new Reconnect grant. Learn more at www.roanestate.edu/reconnect.
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