Matt Helm took over the reins of the Whitman volleyball program heading into the 2012 season. His leadership has mentored numerous players to All-Northwest Conference honors including first-team selections Jillian Davis and Olivia Nielson in his inaugural season.
The Molokai, Hawaii, native has also been published in the AVCA Journal, penning an article titled 'Coaching and Dealing with Grief.'
Helm made an immediate impact in that first season. In 2012 the Missionaries tallied their highest conference win total (9-7) and finished over .500 in the league for the first time since the 2007 season, securing a fourth place finish within the final conference standings.
Under Helm's guidance, Whitman won six of its last seven matches finishing the 2012 campaign with an 11-12 overall mark -- the eleven wins was the most by a Whitman volleyball team since the 2007 squad that produced a 13-11 record, and marked a seven-win improvement over the previous season with essentially the same team.
Helm's coaching philosophy is "teaching life lessons through collegiate competitive volleyball. What does that mean?" says Helm. "That life is above and beyond just volleyball, that we take our work ethic, our relationships, our adversities on the court and relate them to life and how they will prepare us for life after college."
Towards that end, Helm says he tries to create a family environment within the team. "I want to have good relationships with my players where we have trust, open communication, we have faith in each other and I work collaboratively with them. It's not a dictatorship, obviously. Rather, we're striving to achieve goals that we all come together to agree upon."
Prior to arriving at Whitman, Helm had a stellar eight-year stint as head coach of Molokai High School in Hawaii. The Farmers won four league titles and earned six consecutive trips to the state tournament, including the 2010 championship, during Helm's tenure. Helm's win-loss record at Molokai was 79-37.
Helm gained his initial coaching experience at the University of La Verne in California where he served one year as an assistant coach. Coaching positions at California's Baldwin Park and Sierra Vista high schools followed.
As a player, Helm starred at La Verne. Named a captain in his freshman season, Helm, an outside hitter, went on to gain all-conference and Player of the Year honors. La Verne was still a Division I program at the time.
On coaching at Whitman, Helm says, "Coaching a Whitman student-athlete is unique. Their passion for working at getting better is very important to them. We try to create a competitive environment every day in the gym so that when we get into that situation in a game, we know how to handle it. And I think our players respond well to that, especially in the second half of the season."
Matt and his wife, Erika Helm, have four children: daughter Noelani and sons Kahili, Kahiau and Makaio. Erika Helm, a native of Chino, California, competed in track and field at La Verne and also has coached the sport at the high school level while also working as an elementary school teacher. She currently teaches kindergarten at Edison Elementary in Walla Walla.
