New employees at Seattle Pacific University have found their stride amidst a turbulent period for staff members. With a 40% decrease in the university’s budget, including the removal of multiple programs and staff members, the athletic department has specifically felt an extra amount of pressure.
The chaos surrounding SPU hiring can make it particularly difficult for newcomers. Among the newcomers to the athletics program is women’s soccer assistant coach Sydney Pluhacek. Pluhacek, a Portland native came to SPU from coaching at her alma mater Belmont Abbey College in Belmont, North Carolina.
Pluhacek attributes a lot of the team’s success to the support from head coach Arby Busey.
“Arby and I are pretty similar in terms of the way we approach things which has made it a smooth transition. The girls alone, their competitiveness and drive, they have so much in them to give and the sacrifice on and off the field has been incredible,” Pluhacek said.
Pluhacek has not let all the noise surrounding SPU get in her way, pulling from her prior experience coming from a similar environment.
“Where I came from in North Carolina, it was a very small private school as well so it had a lot of similarities, so that transition was very smooth,” Pluhacek said.
Similarly, the SPU men’s soccer team has seen their assistant coach Luke Sandblom find his niche quickly in his first season with the team. Standout sophomore forward and business major Orlando Erazo attributes much of his early success this season to Sandblom’s presence.
“Luke is well experienced with a ton of knowledge in his background… I always see our guys responding well to whatever he says, so he’s been great,” Erazo stated.
Looking forward to winter sports, the men’s basketball team has seen significant changes with now interim head coach Keffrey Fazio taking a step up from his role as an assistant last season. The newly appointed assistant coach Donald Rollman is also new to SPU, but not new to Fazio.
Rollman came to SPU after a stint as a coach at Peninsula College, where he had already formed a relationship with Fazio. Aside from being hired during a turbulent time for SPU, Rollman needed to transition smoothly and in a timely manner due to his crucial role in recruiting players for the squad.
“Keffrey pushed hard to get things through. Dan Lepse, the athletic director, did an incredible job in understanding the timing, and how quickly we needed to get things done in June so that I could get to work recruiting in July. [Dan] wears a lot of hats and [the athletic department] is a short crew but they supported us a lot and I felt comfortable with questions and getting things done,” Rollman said.
Fazio is extremely excited and optimistic about Rollman and their first-year partnership.
“Coach Rollman was a really easy decision for me from a talent standpoint. There’s a culture fit whic
h has been awesome since he’s been here. The guys love him and the transition couldn’t be any better,” said Fazio.
