Meet the Staff: One Big Happy Family
10/15/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Oct. 15, 2009
It is gameday at Crisler Arena. Fans are filing into the arena, the players are on the court warming up and the coaches are meeting in their locker room to finalize strategy for the opponent. Just as the clock winds down and the team gets set to walk through the tunnel for introductions, one can see a contingent of people congregating at the top of the tunnel. Upon first glance one might think that it's just a big group of fans, but upon further inspection, it's probably the most important of the fans to enter the area.
To the left is head coach Kevin Borseth's family -- his wife, Connie, and their five children, KC, Carli, Kayla, Kaitlyn and Kale. Joining them is associate head coach Dawn Plitzuweit's family -- husband Jay and their children, AJ and Lexie. The group makes it through the tunnel but not before Lexie runs to find her mom and give her a little squeeze around the neck for good luck.
The group heads down the tunnel and into the arena to their seats. Connie and the girls climb up into the upper bowl where they are met by Mark Savoury, husband of Director of Operations Lisa Savoury and their children, daughter Sydney and sons, Jayden and Julian. KC Borseth and AJ Plitzuweit can almost always be found sitting courtside and they are occasionally joined by AJ's sister Lexie and KC's brother Kale, who you can find pacing -- okay, more like running -- up and down the sidelines cheering throughout the game.
Amanda Williams, assistant coach Mike Williams' wife, makes her way through the tunnel just before tipoff and before she heads to her seat, she makes sure to say hello to KC and AJ. To the left of Amanda's seat, assistant coach Tianna Kirkland's family is seated. Her mother and father sit in the same seats every game and are occasionally joined by her brother and sister and sometimes even extended family.
When you look around Crisler Arena on a gameday or even just after practice, one will always find family because the women's basketball staff is just that -- family. At the head of the family is head coach, Kevin Borseth, a life-long Wolverine fan.
"It doesn't get any better than this," said Borseth who remembers the days of U-M great Cazzie Russell. "I've been a Michigan fan since I was knee-high to a grasshopper. It was back when Cazzie Russell was playing Gail Goodrich for the 1963 National Championship, and I was mad at the TV that UCLA was beating us. I've been a Michigan fan my entire life, and it really doesn't get any better than this to come here and work with the best coaches in the country in all the sports. Of course, the traditions that surround Michigan are incomparable and we are trying to add to that tradition."
Borseth is not alone in his feeling about the university. Every member of the women's basketball staff has reasons as to why they are here and why it is a good fit for them -- from administrative assistant Mark Uitermarkt, the longest-tenured of the staff, who is entering his sixth season with the program to associate head coach Dawn Plitzuweit.
"Why do I like working here? I met my wife here, that's the No. 1 reason" said administrative assistant Mark Uitermarkt."I think the people that you work with and work for are really important. These people are real people. I know who they are as people is what you're going to get.
"They have very high priorities and values and they are in line with what I think is important. They are people of integrity. They are honest, they're going to tell you what they think and they're not going to beat around the bush.
"My dream was always to work in the Big Ten and to be at a school like Michigan is a dream come true."
Lisa Savoury, like Borseth, is born and bred in the Great Lakes state and working at Michigan is nothing short of a dream for her.
"I like coming to work every day because I love this staff, and I absolutely love working for coach Borseth," said Savoury, a Cadillac native. "He makes my job really easy. I was born and raised in Michigan, and I've been a Michigan fan since I was knee-high to a grasshopper. I just love Michigan and for me to work here is truly a dream."
It truly is "Great to be a Michigan Wolverine", and one of the most important things about being a Wolverine is the people and the women's basketball staff really recognizes that the people really make this a special place to be.
"The people are great," said Plitzuweit. "The people that you work with on a daily basis, our staff and the support staff and the fans of Michigan and the community are unique, special and very passionate."
"When I come to work, I feel like I am coming to work with family and friends," said Kirkland, while assistant coach Mike Williams realizes that he works alongside some of the best minds in the country.
"I think I work with some of the best coaches, staff and administrators in the country," said Williams. "I am amazed at how good these people are."
Borseth was hired as the eighth head coach of the University of Michigan women's basketball program on April 10, 2007. Believed to have one of the best basketball minds in the country, Borseth's name has become synonymous with success in his 27 years as a college head coach and his staff is a reflection of that success.
Plitzuweit won a Division II national championship in 2005-06 as head coach of Grand Valley State, while Williams started the women's basketball program at Division II Finlandia University. Kirkland has extensive experience as an assistant coach and Savoury has 16 years roaming the sideline as an assistant coach.
"Working with me might be a little bit different for some of the staff," said Borseth. "Some of the staff comes from different programs where focuses have been different. I'm more of a laid-back, laissez-faire leader. I give my staff space to do the things that they can do and they are capable of doing their jobs. I have confidence in them because we have great relationship with each other."
Borseth could not be more on target. His staff is a fun bunch and often times they all spend time together off the court. Whether it's a summertime pool party at Coach Williams' house, complete with beach volleyball, or grabbing a bit to eat with each other's families after a game. This staff is full of fun people that are more like family than co-workers and it really resonates with the players as well.
"We have an obligation to the players that we recruit, to the parents of the players that we recruit to be an extended family of sorts," said Borseth. "We spend a great majority of time with each other. From my perspective, when I send my children off to school, I want to know who I'm handing them to. I want to hand them to people that I know are going to be firm but fair with my children, I think that's important. I want someone who is going to get the best out of them, whether that's a pat on the back or a kick in the backside depending on whatever will motivate them. I think that every coach here tries to look out for the betterment of the players whether it's the academic front down to the development of the players on a regular basis."
"I think it starts from the head down," said Plitzuweit. "I think there is a culture, whether it is unspoken or spoken based upon who is the leader of the pack and for us, it is coach Borseth. He has a great family that is actively involved and around our players so I think that automatically creates an atmosphere of balance and fun. He's a coach that says it has to be fun and he just creates an environment that allows that. It's a very comfortable, family-oriented atmosphere."
Speaking of families, each of the coaches on Borseth's staff has a family and you can see them just about everywhere that the staff is. At the end of most practices, one can catch Plitzuweit's kids working on their basketball game and typically not far behind is coach Borseth's eldest son, KC, quite the budding basketball player himself.
Family is weaved throughout the fabric of this staff and it is all possible because of Coach Borseth's dedication to his own family.
"I think family is a big deal," said Borseth. "From my perspective, my family is the most important thing in my life. Whatever needs to be done for my family I will do and back to the players as family, I do the same for them as I would do for my own family, but my blood family I make as much time as I can for them. You've got to be really good at time management. Everyone has a little specific job to do and if we all do our specific job collectively that is going to be one strong unit. We are organized in what we do and that allows us time with family."
"Coach Borseth is a big part of the family atmosphere," said Kirkland. "I have worked with a lot of head coaches and coach Borseth is the only one that would just let family be around. He makes it possible for you to have family."
While family is important to each and every member of the staff, there are times where you begin to feel as if there are not enough hours in the day, but everyone realizes that you have to make it work because it is important.
"You have to make it work and we do," said Borseth. "I do not think there is ever enough time and sometimes I feel there is a void in my heart where I feel like I'm not spending enough time in one spot or the other but we all feel that way. I'm surrounded by good people, and I never have to worry about if someone is doing their job."
Dawn Plitzuweit also points out that the family support is just as important as the flexibility that Coach Borseth allows staff members.
"The other side of it is the family support," said Plitzuweit. "I know not only from personal experience and support, but from knowing everyone else's family support I know that they are supportive of what we do and they find a way to make it work as well. Whether it is a spouse, parents, family or kids they just find a way to make it work. It's a whole undertaking by a lot of people that find a way to make it work."
Heck, they even help each other out when it comes to their families.
"Dawn's husband, Jay, sometimes picks my kids up from school," said Borseth.
Williams also realizes that achieving the balance between work and home is tough but sometimes you have to think about what you are gaining and not missing out on.
"It's hard. No question about that," said Williams. "I was telling Dawn the other day that there are 104 weekend days that the majority of Americans don't work and we work 80 of them. It's hard but what I think you do is that you lose sometime in one area and you make it up in others. This job there are also a lot of other opportunities that other families don't get. We get a chance to fly on charters with family to events that other families don't get and we are around big time athletics. You can sit and say we don't get weekends, but there is a lot of take as well and you have to look at your take and invest in that as well and not look at what you're giving up."
This staff has made some big strides, entering their third year together. They inherited a program that was long considered at the bottom of the Big Ten barrel and have worked a little magic.
In the first year under Borseth, they orchestrated the second-best one-year turnaround in the history of the program. Taking a 10-20 team that had not posted a winning record in six seasons to a 19-14 record and its first postseason berth in six years. U-M finished the Big Ten regular season tied for seventh place, which was the highest finish in the league since 2001. The Wolverines also won a Big Ten Tournament game for the first time in four years with a 64-54 win over Penn State.
Last year, Michigan knocked off two opponents ranked in the top 25, including 63-59 overtime victory over No. 8 Notre Dame, but this program is still a work in progress and Borseth acknowledges that.
"Every place I've ever been at it has worked. Why not here?" said Borseth. "In every other place we've been at, we were the best at what we did and our goal here is the same. We have resources here that allow us to achieve above and beyond what a normal person can dream of achieving and we're right on track."
Plitzuweit, who played for Borseth at Michigan Tech and coached with him at Michigan Tech and Wisconsin-Green Bay, knows he is the right guy for the job.
"There are very few people in the country that operate like coach Borseth does," said Plitzuweit. "I think it has allowed him to be very successful at other institutions, and I think he will be highly successful here. That doesn't mean it's easy. When he recruited me (to play at Michigan Tech), his team wasn't very good and by the end, the team and program was at the highest level. Right now, we're laying the foundation and for me there isn't a better situation in the country than to work at the University of Michigan for coach Borseth. At this level, I wouldn't work for anyone else because I know who he is, I know his values and he knows what's important. He gives you the flexibility to do your job the way you do your job."
That same group who was at the tunnel at the beginning of the game is huddled outside the locker room. KC and AJ are shooting baskets, while Lexie is giving everyone a high five and saying "Good game" as the team runs into the locker room. Jay, Connie and Amanda are catching up and sharing stories about the kids, while the coaches are talking to the fans.
After all is said and done, practices are over and games are done and the lights at Crisler Arena have been turned off; this staff has each other and that may be the best story of all.
