Lessons from legendary coaches helped mold former Arizona Wildcat Heather Orr

For Heather Orr, life was coming full-circle.

She bumped into Arizona volleyball coach Dave Rubio near the court in McKale Center on Friday afternoon — student-athlete and coach together again.

This was the same floor that Rubio coached her on 27 years ago during her senior season — his first-year as head coach at UA.

Orr (the former Heather McCormack) was quick to relay a story about their first spring tournament right after he was hired.

The night before, Orr had been making a smoothie and was pouring the finished product into a cup, when the blade of the Cuisinart landed on her toe.

She got on the bus the next morning and informed her coach that she couldn’t play, to which Rubio replied “That’s an auspicious beginning.”

Orr, had to look up the word ‘auspicious’ to understand what he said.

This story embodies that 1992-93 season of transition, as Orr worked hard to understand her new coach — his philosophy and rules of thumb. These were hard and fast rules she had never been taught, such as: Always set the quick middle in transition and never set quick middle on perfect pass in serve receive.

“The transition that year was tough, but I look back on it fondly,” Orr said. “I am so grateful for being on the team; it was something that was bigger than me. I learned selflessness. I only had him as a coach for one year. I wish I would have listened closer and absorbed more.”

Orr gets to do this now as the coach of the boys and girls volleyball teams at Arizona Prep. On Friday and Saturday, Orr and her girls team, were in Tucson for Rubio’s high school team camp and coaches’ clinic.

“It’s nice to come back and learn more from Dave and now my girls can, too,” said Orr.

Orr, who played at UA from 1989-92, was Rubio’s first standout player for a program that would become home to so many, including Dana Burkholder, Kim Glass, Madi Kingdon, Penina Snuka, Jill Talbot and Bre Ladd.

In Rubio’s first season at the helm, the team finished 10-17.

“I was blessed to have someone with good formal training in that position (setter),” said Rubio, who would go on to take the 1993 and 1994 teams to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament. “Heather was a hard-working, terrific person. It was never about her, it was always about the team.

“I look back on that time and appreciate the qualities Heather brought to the team. She was a skilled setter, which is a highly-skilled position, like a quarterback in football. Her skills were really fine-tuned and she had size at that time — to have a setter at 5 feet, 10 inches or 5 feet, 11 inches was uncommon.

“I felt bad, I should have let her play. You don’t mess with a senior. I was a young coach trying to make a lot of changes. I should have left her alone. I was introducing new techniques and Heather worked on probably to the detriment of her game. She was always coachable. She had great enthusiasm, was upbeat, and a positive person, and this carried over to the floor.”

Orr did play in 26 of 27 matches and collected 814 assists — good enough to become UA’s all-time leading leader with 3,517. That mark is now good for sixth in school history.

“It was a challenge for me to be positive when I was a senior and not contributing as much. Yet, it is one of my best memories as he played me enough to achieve the assists record,” said Orr. “He knew how important it was to me. I am so grateful.”

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Orr became a Spanish teacher after her playing days. She had no idea she would become a coach, but a few years after she graduated, she started coaching at Canyon del Oro and Tucson High with volleyball coaches Patsy Lee and Melva Lundy.

“I learned so much from these legendary coaches,” said Orr. “I learned how to coach and how to lead and distill those disciplines. I became part of the community and it was special.”

Besides Rubio, Orr doesn’t have to look far for those who influence her coaching. It can be watching how Arizona Diamondbacks manager Tony Lovullo conducts press conferences, or going back to the philosophies of legendary basketball coaches John Wooden of UCLA and ex-UA great Lute Olson.

She also listens to her husband, Ed, share what he’s learned working with top-notch coaches.

“Coach Wooden’s rules and lessons apply to sport, and life, as well. I am a huge Wooden fan,” said Orr. “My kids read “Inch and Miles” (by Wooden) and this drives everything. Ask any of my kids what my definition of success is and they will say it comes from John Wooden.

“I was fortunate to meet Lute Olson. My husband worked for him for seven years, and would bring home his lessons as a leader and a coach. He also worked at Bowling Green State for a year with (current Ohio State coach) Urban Meyer. Ed would explain their philosophies to me.

“If you are an athlete you are with a coach for four or five years. My husband was with Lute for seven years — someone who is honest and character-driven. How can that not influence you and want you to spread the word?”

Five years ago Orr started spreading the word to the boys who she recruited to play volleyball — mainly soccer players — at Arizona Prep.

“Soccer and volleyball really don’t relate,” Orr said laughing. “They do have great footwork, are super quick, track the ball with their eyes, and orient their bodies in the right position. So there are parallels. I want them to love the sports and then they will come back.

“We are a tiny, tiny school playing big, experienced teams. We focus on competing and having fun. We measure success in a different way for the boys. It’s not about getting the ‘W,’ we look at what did the team achieve?

“For coaches in other sports it is win or die. Here it’s about learning life lessons; being the best teammate. What role you can take in making the team successful. ...

“The boys are just starting. If they have a great attitude and are an athlete, I will take them. I’d rather lose with character-driven kids than win with kids who don’t have character.

“Coach Olson would have said the same thing; give me an athlete who is coachable with a great attitude and let’s go.”

Two years ago Orr was asked to start up a girls program. She was a little more fortunate on this side as the core group had been playing for her in junior high. This team went 44-2 over three years. The girls have five or six divisions, so they are playing schools that match their size and experience.

Rubio thinks Orr’s success comes back to those traits he recognized years ago — that enthusiasm that he said carried over to the floor.

“I think anytime you have someone with a general disposition as positive as hers, it’s a good influence with the players she coaches,” he said. “I imagine her players really like playing for her.”

For Orr, it all comes back to her time at UA. She had so many opportunities — to learn, to compete, to travel, to make long-lasting friendships with teammates, and to meet her husband.

“What a profound influence Arizona has had on me. I think so many avenues were opened,” Orr said. “It’s neat; the evolution. It all comes back to: Being an athlete at Arizona has made me who I am today. Once a Wildcat, always a Wildcat.”