Al Scates

Allen Edward Scates (born June 9, 1939) is an American former volleyball player and coach who was head coach of the UCLA Bruins for 48 years.

Scates is the winningest volleyball coach in the history of the NCAA, and the 19 NCAA titles the Bruins won during his tenure ties him for the most NCAA titles won by a coach in a single sport with Arkansas' John McDonnell (Indoor Track and Field).

Scates' teams won collegiate volleyball championships in five different decades.

In addition to coaching, Scates was a physical education instructor at Horace Mann and Hawthorne, two of the elementary schools in the Beverly Hills Unified School District.

Scates grew up in Santa Monica in Los Angeles and attended Westchester High School.

At 6 ft 2, he was tall and athletic, and played both basketball and football in high school.

When he graduated he went to Santa Monica College, majoring in physical education with the goal of coaching football at the high school level.

He played football at Santa Monica College, and was an undersized center on the school's basketball team.

Scates' interest in volleyball began when his college football coach required his players to try out for a volleyball team to stay in shape during the off season.

Scates did not make the team roster, but a teammate of his on the basketball team not only made the team, but was the best player on the floor.

“So I asked him where he learned to play,” Scates said.

“He told me State Beach in Santa Monica.

So I decided to learn how to play.” Scates was soon a regular at State Beach.

In 1959 Scates transferred to UCLA.

Though a junior with only a couple years of experience, he made the school's volleyball team as a walk on.

A left handed outside hitter, he made a particularly effective right front.

The team played several of the college club teams, but the major event of the year was the USVBA Open National tournament.

Scates was selected as an All American, and was team captain for the Bruins in 1960 and 1961.

From the USVBA Nationals he was selected as a member of the

U.S. National team.

Meanwhile, on the beach he earned a AAA rating, often teaming with Bob Mendoza, a San Diego Hall of Champions inductee.

At the age of 24 Scates moved from player to coach.

When the UCLA volleyball coach took a sabbatical, he offered Scates the job.

Scates was surprised but accepted.

He then went to meet with Athletic Director Wilbur Johns.

"He didn't even tell me to sit down," Scates recalled.

In his first year in 1963 the team finished with a 26-3 record, and placed second at the USVBA national championship.

"I told him that I cannot accept a salary for coaching volleyball because I wanted to be in the Olympics in 1964, and at that time if you coached a sport for money or played for money you were not considered an amateur and couldn't participate in the Olympics. "When he heard that he jumped up, shook my hand, and said, 'Congratulations, son, you're hired.'"

The program was run on a shoestring budget.

In Scates’ first year the volleyball team was allotted $100.

The team uniforms were the discarded old uniforms from the basketball team.

Shoes, socks, and even the entry fees to tournaments were all paid for by Scates and the players.

Scates still competed for the U.S. national team as an outside hitter but missed the cut for the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

Scates' Bruins won a USVBA national title in 1965, and again in 1967.

In 1970 the NCAA elevated Men's volleyball to a championship sport.

In the first sanctioned championship Scates and the Bruins swept Long Beach State University to win the first NCAA title in volleyball.

They would win the next two years as well, and win six of the first seven NCAA Championships held.

From 1981 to 1984, Scates' teams won four consecutive national championships, the longest such streak by any men's volleyball team.

UCLA is the only team that has won more than two consecutive championships, holding streaks of at least 3 national championships 3 times.

Scates was highly competitive both as a player and a coach, and he designed his practices to underscore competition and intensity.