Mike Hebert retired from coaching volleyball at the University of Minnesota in 2011, but said he was not ready to give the game up all together.

Herbert has traveled to visit teams during preseason the past three years to talk to and motivate them. SIU was one of his stops last week.

During his coaching career, he won five Big Ten Conference championships and reached the NCAA tournament five times, finishing as high as second place in 2004. He also wrote “Thinking Volleyball” a book on coaching philosophy.

“If there are credentials, he is the John Wooden of volleyball,” Saluki volleyball coach Justin Ingram said.

Hebert helped the team last season and junior hitter Taylor Pippen said she noticed a difference.

“(Hebert) has taught us a lot about not only things on the court but also about the chemistry of the team,” Pippen said.

Sophomore setter Hannah Kaminsky said the team started slow last season, but once they realized it’s not only about the skills, they started playing better, and Hebert was a big part of that.

“It’s awesome getting the experience of having him here,” Kaminsky said. “He’s a volleyball legend.”

The Salukis finished second in the Missouri Valley Conference last season, and Ingram said the team is focused on winning the championship this season.

“Our goals are so high this year,” Ingram said. “We’re looking at things that are unfamiliar. We’re looking for championships. We haven’t talked solely about that in, I don’t know how long.”

Hebert said he always enjoyed visiting Carbondale when he coached at the University of Illinois. He considers Ingram an up-and-coming coach who understands the game and has great potential.

“This school has taken some pretty good strides to establish itself at the [Division I] as an elite school,” Hebert said. “I’ve been really impressed during the last couple of times I’ve been here.”

Hebert said the team has a lot of size and athleticism. He said it needs to work on a few things, but watching one scrimmage was enough to get an idea of how it would finish the season.

“I’m not yet able to distinguish what separates this team from some of the others in the Valley,” he said.

Ingram said he is thankful Hebert has come in to help because the team is young.

“We have 15 athletes that are either freshmen or sophomores, of the 18 total,” Ingram said. “That number is so big, there is a lot of maturing and a lot of understanding that needs to happen in order for us to get really as high or higher than even the athletes think they can get.”

Hebert has done some coaching with team USA, and said the only way he would come out of retirement is if he got an offer to coach there.

“I’ve got my grandkids and my golf clubs back in San Diego,” Hebert said. “When I’m done, I’ll be headed back there.”

Hebert plans to help Ohio State University, Iowa University, Pittsburgh University and Concordia University Irvine before the season begins.

Aaron Graff can be contacted at [email protected], @Aarongraff_DE or (815)-483-3781