Introducing Chatt Chats: In-depth, real, and behind-the-scene stories of our incredible GoMocs student-athletes & programs. A series told by Chattanooga Softball's own Allison Swinford.

Vol. 1 - Mission First, Family Always

March 1st, 2011 would be the start of something new for the Division I volleyball program at The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. It would be on this day that Travis Filar would step into the program and radically change everything that it stood for. 
 
"I sat in that locker room," Filar said, "and I told those girls that we were now going to be a family and from that moment forward, that was what our program was going to be about."
 
It didn't stop with one meeting. However, the family dynamic has lasted the entire nine years Head Coach Travis Filar has been at UTC and never once has he wavered in what he said his program was going to stand on. In fact, the culture of his program has evolved from the simple statement of being just a family, into the program's motto of Mission First, Family Always. 
 
A senior, Dani Szczepanski, best explained what the culture looked like to her by saying that, "The culture of the volleyball team is nothing like you've ever experienced, [and] a genuine word would be family." Szczepanski mentioned, in this quote, that it was something perhaps some people had never experienced, but it is almost as if when watching the matches, people of the stands can feel the undeniable closeness and the true teammates that encompass the Chattanooga volleyball program. 
 
Prior to Chattanooga, Coach Filar had been an assistant coach in various Division I programs for roughly 10 years. Filar says that it is through these programs and the years of experience where he truly learned more about what he did not want to implement as a head coach, than what he did. Luckily for him, through this experience, he knew exactly the program that he wanted to lead, and what I wanted it to be based on. 
 
Szczepanski says it best when she states that, "At the collegiate level, Travis takes the atmosphere of a family, one step further." He does not let a day go by where he does not implement family values and pour into the culture that he has set before the team. 
 
"At the top, [Travis] loves each and every one of us," says junior Bailey Bennett. She goes on to say that having her teammates be her family is the big picture that everyone can see, but the smaller, more important picture lies within the small things Coach Filar pushes the most. Bennett continues about how Travis strives for the small things, and that "every little thing matters" in the end. 
 
Travis himself highlights his coaching in the "every little thing matters" mindset when he speaks about his previous years of coaching as an assistant. He directly states that, "You've got to be willing to sacrifice, and you've got to be willing to put in the hours. Just because I wanted to be a head coach did not mean that I did not have to do all of the little things as an assistant coach to get to where I am.

"When I became a head coach, I never wanted to make my student-athletes, assistant coaches, or any support staff feel like what they were doing was beyond what I could do, and that I could still do those things, and I could appreciate all of the little things they did because I had done it myself."
 
This program pushes for the culture of a family, and one of the many reasons they are so successful in doing that is because from the very top, starting with Travis, the little things are getting done. The little things are building to the big picture, and the big picture is that Chattanooga is a Mission First, Family Always driven program with a head coach who has never deviated from what he started nine years ago. 
 
This overarching, reoccurring theme of family has been one of the many ways Chattanooga has pushed through the adversity they have faced in their 2019 season already. Senior, Mikaela Gauthreaux, suffered a season ending injury which is that of a torn ACL, but she has not been walking through this difficult time alone. 
 
Gauthreaux explains, "It is not easy going through this. [My teammates] have really helped and supported me a lot through this." Coach Filar says that their team has been able to support the senior in all of the ups and downs of this process, but as a team, they have been able to overcome this trial by truly leaning into the support that the family gives. 
 
"The Mission First, Family Always mindset says that no matter what comes our way, whatever mission is put before us—no matter how hard, difficult, or challenging it is—we can still complete that mission with a feeling of unity and positivity." Filar continues to dive further into their culture by saying, "The reason we can rise above all adversity and make it through the hard times is because we can rely on the strength of the family and that it has always been what has surrounded and grounded everything we have done and will do."
 
A day in the life of a Chattanooga volleyball student-athlete looks a lot like a day in the life of a genuine family. These female student-athletes share friendships and bonds that cannot simply be broken or wounded because they are rooted in the idea of what a true family looks like. 
 
From the outside looking in, it is clear to see that the Chattanooga volleyball program is one of grace, love, respect, and intentionality. These values start at the top with the head coach and they trickle down to the athletes at the bottom. The girls on the team are reaping the good seeds of great coaching sown by their head coach, and it shows. There is no denying that there is not something special going on in the culture of this program. 
 
In the laughter filled words of almost all the players on the team, it is as simple as just another day of, "ballin' with the bros." 
 
For this team, it is another day, another chance, and another moment to be a part of something bigger than themselves, but to also play the sport they have loved their entire lives at the same time.
 
*Story told by Allison Swinford, student assistant. Produced by Tate Johnson, Production Director, and Corey Belonzi, Strategic Communications Assistant Director. For the latest up-to-date info and stories regarding Chattanooga Athletics, please follow on social networks @GoMocs or by visiting GoMocs.com.