From helping build an athletic program as an athlete, to helping build an athletic program as a coach, Luke Reynolds has undergone a major career change in the past year, but it’s a change and challenge he’s embraced.
Reynolds played four seasons with the Bobcats men’s volleyball team and was part of the first wave of international recruits from Australia to suit up for BU in 2007, joining fellow Aussies and long-time friends Cam Blewett and Paul Sanderson.
The three made the journey from Melbourne to Brandon and quickly made an impact, turning the team from a relatively new program to a perennial powerhouse.
All three found success on the court playing for Brandon, but where their careers have taken them since is different.
Blewett is a myotherapist back home in Melbourne. Sanderson continues to play volleyball at the professional level in Finland.
Reynolds’ name may not be all over the school and league record book the way Sanderson’s is, but in his time on the court he was known as having a tireless work-ethic and keen eye for the game - skills that have translated well to his current career.
Reynolds is in the midst of his first season as a pro volleyball coach. He leads Svedala VBK, a pro women’s volleyball club in the Swedish Elite League, and it’s been a pretty spectacular season.
“If I hadn’t gone to BU I wouldn’t be here in Sweden in the position I am in right now,” Reynolds recently said from his home in Sweden. ”My coaches at BU mentored me and got me into the situation. I’m thankful for all of the opportunities they gave me. “
BU may have provided the opportunity, but it’s been Reynolds who made the most of it.
After finishing seventh in league standings last year and earning 17 league points, Svedala started the season on a six-match winning streak earning 18 points, surpassing all of last year. That was just the beginning.
With Reynolds at the helm, Svedala finished the first-half of the 2013-14 season in second place with an 8-1 record, the only loss coming to Hylte, another club based out of Hyltebruk, Sweden.
It didn’t take long for Reynolds and his club to forget about the loss, as the league Gran Prix was to be held in the first weekend of January.
“Gran Prix is the biggest calendar event in Swedish volleyball, so it’s a big deal,” Reynolds says. “It gets tons of press and our performance made people pay attention.”
And pay attention they did, as Svedala exacted a measure of revenge on Hylte, capturing the team’s first Gran Prix title in club history. Another feather in the cap of a head coach who has had a remarkable start to his first season as head coach.
“I wasn’t expecting to be this successful this early. I was more nervous than anything,” Reynolds adds. “Being a head coach for the first time, and coaching women for the first time was different, but it didn’t take long to adjust. After the first week I built confidence and the girls grew confident in me and in themselves.”
Not only has the team improved on the court, but fans are taking notice. After selling just 11,000 game tickets all of last year Svedala had attendance numbers of 7,000 and 6,000 in consecutive matches, meaning the team sold more tickets in one weekend than all of last year thanks to the improved performance of the team. Early estimates show the team increasing ticket sales by over 400%.
“Luke was a role model for younger players at BU in terms of commitment and work ethic, striving to be the best volleyball player then the best coach he could be. At the same time, he always had a team-first philosophy and had always been determined to help the Bobcats men's volleyball team achieve continued success,” says
Russ Paddock, BU Athletic Director and former men's volleyball coach.
Reynolds feels those same values have carried on into his new role, and are lessons that will stay with him for a long time.
“I’m really enjoying the challenges of coaching. You’re trying to always make things better and improve,” says Reynolds. “On top of everything BU taught me, I’m finally taking really detailed notes too.”
