Geoff Carlston's tattered black notebooks are well known by the beginning of his fifth season at Ohio. The old ones line the windowsill of his office, and the current one is never far from him. This time, he's poring over its pages, concocting lineups with a furrowed brow.
He always likes to put the focus on his team when talking about the Ohio volleyball team's 75-1 record in the Mid-American Conference during his tenure, skirting questions about himself.
But this summer, he was part of probably the biggest news ' of any positive nature not directly associated with a win ' to come out of The Convo in recent months. In July, Carlston signed a three-year contract extension with Ohio, guaranteeing that the most successful coach in program history and the man who made volleyball matches an event in Athens will remain until at least 2010.
I don't think anyone even knows
Carlston said with a laugh. But it's hard to believe those who've grown accustomed to his Mountain Dew bottle-toting on the sideline won't be relieved. It's no secret his 118-16 record since arriving in 2003 came with Ohio's steady climb up the national rankings, bringing attention ' and job offers.
I've been offered some jobs out there that have been pretty intriguing. Bigger conferences bigger-name schools Carlston said, identifying some of the schools that have courted him as Indiana, Pacific, New Mexico and Georgia.
There certainly are programs with more money and larger
shinier facilities
Carlston said. But the culture within the department and within our program that we've developed G? through the community to the high school level is something I don't take for granted.
That Carlston chose to remain at Ohio is something no one should take for granted. It's more than likely he can, and eventually will, go on to do great things with other programs, but there's something special for him here.
It just didn't feel right leaving
he said.
The Bobcats are his first Division I team, and they are his team, his recruits. It's a connection that even Carlston, who's rarely short on words, can't quite explain.
This past weekend, Ohio defeated the two highest-ranked opponents in school history, including a victory over Carlston's alma mater, Minnesota, and legendary coach Mike Hebert, who was Carlston's mentor.
In a sense
it was kind of like growing up for me
he said of the match that the Bobcats played in front of his family, friends and former players.
Carlston likes this team, granted, he's not sure he ever wouldn't like one of his teams. Although he's been advised to never make a decision to stay or go based solely on a certain team, the players on this year's squad were a large part of the reason why he opted to stay.
This is the longest I've been anywhere in my life
Carlston said. I travel and I bop around a lot. I might be getting older. I don't know. I think bottom line is there's not a lot of better jobs out there and there's not a lot better support than we have here.
Lucky for Ohio that he thinks so.
Katie Carrera is the sports senior writer who covers football for The Post. Her weekly column will regularly run on Wednesdays. Send her an e-mail at kc207604@ohiou.edu.
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