It’s not supposed to happen this early. Most coaches usually need at least five years to establish a culture, stability, and results. But varsity girls’ volleyball head coach Hannah Korslund only needed one season to lead the team (27-6) to a Division III Central Coast Section (CCS) championship and earn a Division I State Tournament berth.
In her second year at the helm, the Panthers took home the Peninsula Athletic League title with a 13-1 record, qualifying for the Open Division of the CCS playoffs. In November, Korslund received the American Volleyball Coaching Association (AVCA) 30 Under 30 High School Honor for her achievements. The award recognizes 30 up-and-coming high school volleyball coaches under 30 years old.
The AVCA promotes professional development, hosts tournaments, and governs volleyball in the United States. They also highlight impactful high school, club, and college volleyball coaches.
“It’s nice to get recognition, but it’s not why I coach,” Korslund said. “I think it’s cool to see Burlingame’s name out there as a program that’s being recognized nationally. But ultimately, I don’t coach for the awards. If I hadn’t won this, I would still say the season, and my time coaching at Burlingame so far has been a success.”
Korslund’s accomplishments extend beyond girls’ varsity volleyball. In her first year at Burlingame, Korslund led the girls’ freshman volleyball team to a 14-0 league record and coached boys’ junior varsity volleyball in the spring season.
“I really enjoy coaching high school,” Korslund said. “I’m grateful for the relationships I’ve built with my players over the years at Burlingame. Being part of a high school program where you see players grow up from freshmen to seniors is really special.”
Korslund also has experience at the club level and currently works with the Women’s Coaching Alliance to help other coaches develop their volleyball curriculum.
“It’s all about failure for volleyball players, I think that’s a really important life skill…You’re succeeding 30 percent of the time and learning to be okay with when you’re failing 70 percent of the time,” Korslund said.
Korslund’s road to coaching wasn’t exactly conventional. While she played collegiate volleyball and won a national championship at Johns Hopkins University, it was actually her time off the court that ignited a passion for coaching.
Korslund suffered knee, hip, and back injuries that forced her to miss two seasons. To stay involved with the team, her college coaches encouraged her to be an assistant while rehabbing from injury.
“I was lucky to have three really awesome college coaches… Those coaches all brought me into an assistant coaching role, and recognized that if I was out and injured…coaching could be a natural fit for me,” Korslund said. “I’m grateful for them bringing me behind the scenes of coaching, planning practices, giving feedback. They’re also always an ear to listen to,” Korslund said. “If I need to have a difficult conversation with a player or their family, they’ve seen volleyball through many levels, so they have a lot of experience that I can draw on.”
While Korslund was disappointed about the end of the girls’ volleyball season, she’s excited to keep growing the program for next year.
“It’s a really strong program,” Korslund said. “We have a lot of girls trying out every year, and we’re hoping to build on what we’ve accomplished so far. I’d love to make it further into NorCal and compete for a state title, keep building a program that’s positive and supportive and represents Burlingame well.”
