Volleyball head coach Sandy Hoffman has mastered the art of tough love. Since beginning her Bentley career in 1982, she has led the team with a balance of rigor and compassion.
Hoffman’s two-prong approach has brought honors that include nine Northeast-10 Conference regular season championships, 11 NCAA Division II tournament berths, and a spot in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Moreover, Hoffman and her players form a vibrant extended family.
Her coaching philosophy is embodied in two words: Get tough.
“Our players have to transition from ‘girls volleyball’ in high school to ‘women’s volleyball’ in college,” she explains. “They need to grow up fast, develop a thick skin, and really work hard.”
The “get tough” mantra has taken on special meaning since November 2012. Hoffman developed a rare form of cancer known as adrenal cortical carcinoma, and faced the mental and physical toll that comes with such a diagnosis. Despite frequent treatments, the coach still attended most games, practices and special events with her team.
“When I’m with the team at Bentley,” she says, “I don’t feel like I’m a cancer patient.”
Current and former players have stood tough with their coach and mentor. Kristine Mickelson ’10 (far right) launched a fundraising drive — Rallying for Sandy — on the website youcaring.com. After several months of gathering donations, the alumna hosted a surprise party and presented Hoffman with more than $16,000 to help defray medical expenses.
That first initiative grew into a larger campaign to raise money for adrenal cortical carcinoma research. The name, Dig Lavender, couples the volleyball defensive move with the color that signifies all forms of rare cancer. The team hosts games throughout the season where players earn donations for every dig completed.
“Our Dig Lavender events have spread like wildfire,” says current team captain Alex Tator ’15. “Many teams in the Northeast-10 Conference participate. These events are a perfect example of the close-knit volleyball community. We can be extreme opponents at many points, but we also know how to come together and support worthy causes.”
Last season, the team enlisted support from the entire student body. With the help of the Colleges Against Cancer organization, they facilitated a college-wide tournament whose winners played the varsity team in a final game. All tournament entry fees went to adrenal cortical cancer research at Dana Farber and Brigham and Women’s hospitals.
Tator and her fellow captains, Lauren Colasanti ’15 and Simone Silvera ’15, are planning more large fundraisers for the coming season.
“We’ve been through a tough year or two with our team,” says Colasanti. “But supporting this cause has brought us closer together.”
Hoffman is humbled by the support — and inspired by student athletes’ commitment to giving back. Volunteering, she says, “exposes them to a new awareness that they may have never experienced otherwise. I think it makes them cherish the relationships they have with their friends and family, and appreciate all that they have going for them.”