Gary Burdick has been named the new head volleyball coach at Tompkins Cortland Community College. Burdick is the 12th head coach in the 36-year history of the program, succeeding Alfie Okaru, who stepped down after 11 seasons as head coach. Dave Stevenson served as the interim coach during the 2021 season while the search for a permanent replacement was underway.
Burdick has been coaching volleyball at the high school and college levels for nearly 30 years. He spent 2021 as the assistant coach at Onondaga Community College, after serving as head coach of the Crown City Volleyball Club from 2018-2020. Prior to that Burdick was the head varsity coach at DeRuyter High School for 20 years, leading the Rockets to three sectional championships and 12 Central Counties League (CCL) championships.
He takes over a program that has seen success in the past, making the NJCAA Region 3 and Mid-State Athletic Conference playoffs in 8 of 9 years during one stretch. He says he is taking the job prepared to put in the work to get back into the postseason. "My goal is to instill in players a love of the game," said Burdick, noting he has high expectations when it comes to his players and the program. "I love to win, but that's not the main objective. If you have players with a love of the game and are willing to put in the hard work, that will result in winning."
Burdick is already recruiting for the 2022 season. "Tompkins Cortland has a lot to offer," said Burdick. "We're recruiting student-athletes that are coachable and looking to grow their love of volleyball. I think we may be a good fit for what they want in their college."