Rita Buck-Crockett

Position: Head Coach Experience: Sixth year Alma Mater: Iowa, 2002

Rita Buck-Crockett, a member of the United States National Volleyball Team from 1978-84, enters her sixth season as Iowa’s head coach.

In 2002, Buck-Crockett coached several Hawkeyes to impact performances. In her first season as Iowa’s libero, Pam Kavadas finished the year second in the Big Ten in digs and third in digs in conference matches. Middle Blocker Abby Tjaden finished eighth in the conference with 1.19 blocks per game. Setter Jitka Stehnova quickly climbed into the Iowa record book, finishing the year fifth in all-time assists (1,076). In her second game as a Hawkeye, Amoreena Reynolds set Iowa’s school record for attack percentage in a match, hitting .800 (12-15-0) against Binghamton.

In 2001, Buck-Crockett coached Sarah Meyermann to AVCA Mideast all-Region team and all-Big Ten team selections. Meyermann, an outside hitter, finished the season with 578 kills to rank sixth nationally. She ended her career seventh in Iowa history with 1,368 career kills. She also led the Hawkeye defense with 283 digs and notched a team-high 38 service aces.

In 2000, Buck-Crockett and her coaching staff guided the Hawkeyes to a 15-win season, the most victories of an Iowa volleyball team since 1994. Additionally, the Hawkeyes collected eight more conference victories than the previous year to finish the Big Ten season in fifth-place with a 11-9 mark. Buck-Crockett coached senior setter Fabiana de Abreu to the all-Big Ten team. In her only season with the Hawkeyes, de Abreu showed her opponents why she was viewed as one of the conference’s best all-around threats. de Abreu tallied 912 assists, 262 kills, 30 service aces and 254 digs.

In her first season with the Hawkeyes, Crockett coached senior Julie Williams to all-Big Ten status.

Experience

Buck-Crockett was inducted into the San Antonio Sports Hall of Fame in the spring of 1999 and has a dedication plaque located in the Alamodome, in San Antonio, Texas.

“That was a real honor for me,” said Buck-Crockett. “It was a great feeling to go back home to people who have the idea that you are special enough to be remembered in that way.”

Buck-Crockett was a member of the U.S. Olympic Volleyball Team in 1980 (boycott) and 1984 (Los Angeles). The 1984 team won a silver medal.

She was considered one of the best all-around volleyball players in the world. A 1984 issue of Sports Illustrated touted her as the world’s best athlete and nicknamed her “The Rocket,” because of her 42-inch vertical leap and her 100 mile-per-hour kills. In 1981, she was one of six players selected to the All-World Team.

After competing at the University of Houston where she was an AIAW all-American, she joined the U.S. National Team to train for the 1980 Olympics.

In 1981, she led the U.S. to a bronze medal at the World Cup in Osaka, Japan, and in 1982 that team won the bronze medal at the World Championships in Lima, Peru.

For 17 years she has played and coached in the U.S., Japan, Italy and Switzerland.

From 1982-86 Buck-Crockett was a member of the Daiei Team in Kobe, Japan. Her 1986 Daiei squad was the champion of the Japan League.

Buck-Crockett played beach volleyball on the Women’s Professional Volleyball Association Tour from 1988-96 and played Major League Volleyball from 1986-87. She was a Major League Volleyball champion in both 1986 and 1987.

In 1986, Buck-Crockett was named league MVP. During the 1989 beach season, she teamed with Jackie Silva of Brazil to win the World Beach Volleyball Championship. The following season she was the league runner-up with Angela Rock (United States).

From 1988 until 1993, she was a player for Matera, a professional league team in Matera, Italy, and also played in Rome. In 1991 she was voted the MVP of the Italian League, and her 1993 Rome team won the European Championship. Buck-Crockett has been a member of the USA Volleyball High Performance coaching staff at the Olympic Training Center since 2000.

Coaching Around the World

From 1993-98, Buck-Crockett coached and played in Switzerland for RTV Basel. During her tenure, her squads won titles including the Swiss Cup (1994-1996), the Swiss Championship (1995-1996) and participated in the European Cup of Champions (1995). Buck-Crockett was was named most valuable player four times.

In the summers of 2000 through 2002, Buck-Crockett was one of only three collegiate head coaches to coach some of the elite youth talent in the country at the USA Youth High Performance Camp at the Olympic Training Center in Salt Lake City and at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.

Buck-Crockett also coached in the United State as an assistant at Long Beach State from 1986-88.

Buck-Crockett is a technical supervisor for the Federation of International Volleyball Association (FIVB) World Beach Tour in Berlin, Germany. She supervised such events as the Berlin Germany Open and the Goodwill Games in New York.

Coaching Style

Buck-Crockett stated that her philosophy of coaching is to get the best out of her players by preparing them physically, mentally and technically.

“My style of training focuses on teaching the players how to respond to situations that occur during competition,” said Buck-Crockett. Our coaching staff is specialized in each area of the game such as setting, defense, passing, blocking and attacking from the left, middle and right sides. This is a great advantage for our athletes,” said Buck-Crockett.

Buck-Crockett also states that the techniques that she uses are not just what is being taught in America but what some of the best national and foreign teams are using in the world.

Player Expectations

Buck-Crockett believes in listening to the needs of the student-athlete and treating them as she would like to be treated, with respect.

“I expect my student-athletes to respect their coaching staff by giving us 100 percent of their ability on the court and in the classroom,” said Buck-Crockett. “This means to represent the university and yourself with pride by working hard in all aspects of life, because they can be sure that their coaches will.”

Buck-Crockett received a Bachelor of Liberal Arts in communications from the University of Iowa in August of 2002. She is married to Rene’ Buck and is the proud parent of 15-year-old Marrita Royster-Crockett.

The Crockett Ledger

Coaching Experience
1986-88 Assistant Coach - Long Beach State University
1993-98 RTV Basel Regional Athletic Club (Player-Coach)
1995 Switzerland National Team
1998-present Head Coach - University of Iowa
2000 Head Coach at USA U-14 High Performance Camp in Salt Lake City
2001 Head Coach at USA High Performance Camp at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs
2002 Head Coach at USA High Performance Camp at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs

International/Professional Experience
1978-84 USA Olympic & National Team
1982-86 Daiei Team, Kobe (Japan)
1986-87 Major League Volleyball (USA)
1988-93 Matera and Rome (Italy)
1988-93 WPVA (Women’s Professional Volleyball)
1994-95 AVP (American Volleyball Professional)
1993-98 Switzerland - Player/Coach
2000-01 USA Volleyball High Performance Staff

Honors & Achievements
1980 Member of the USA Olympic Team (Boycott)
1981 Voted All-World Team
1981 Bronze Medal, World Cup in Osaka, Japan
1982 Bronze Medal, World Championships in Lima, Peru
1984 Silver Medal, Olympic Games in Los Angeles
1986 Champions of the Japan League
1986 Major League Volleyball Champion (USA)
1986 MVP Major League Volleyball
1987 Major League Volleyball Champion (USA)
1989 World Champion Beach Volleyball
1991 Voted MVP of the Italian League
1993 European Champion (Rome)
1994-95 Voted by Sports Journalist "Best Player in Switzerland"
1994-96 Swiss Cup Champion
1995-96 Swiss Champion
1995 European Cup of Champions
1994-95 Voted by Sports Journalist "Best Player in Switzerland"
1994-96 Swiss Cup Champion
1995-96 Swiss Champion
1995 European Cup of Champions
1999 Inducted San Antonio Sports Hall of Fame