The volleyball team will make an addition to its coaching staff for the 2008 season. Head coach Ken Nichols announced last week that he will be adding Resa Forsythe as an assistant coach.

Forsythe comes by way of the University of Alabama-Birmingham (UAB), where she was part of a coaching staff that led the Blazers to a 27-10 record in 2006 and a 24-10 record in 2007. She also spent the 2005 season with Georgia Southern where she served as a recruiting coordinator for a team that went 21-11.

Before getting into coaching, she spent four seasons from 2000-03 as a player for Georgia, where she served as team captain in 2002 and 2003 and finished with the fifth most digs in the school’s history.

Nichols said Forsythe’s previous coaching experience and ability to effectively recruit played a role in his decision to hire her.

“Resa had several years of significant experience at the Division I level as an assistant coach,” he said. “She has a significant technical background. Her role as a player was predominately in the back row. Resa’s the first assistant I’ve hired with significant D-I experience.”

The 2002 University of Georgia Athletics Sportsmanship Award winner said she plans to help the Huskies’ defensive game.

“I’ve been playing and coaching volleyball for more than half of my life, so I think I’ve got the experience. My background has been primarily in defense, so typically that’s what I focus on,” she said.

Her defensive expertise has helped her significantly in her coaching career so far. In 2007, she played a role in the coaching of two All-Conference USA selections and in 2006 trained the record holder for digs in a single season at Alabama-Birmingham.

Nichols said she will bring the kind of recruiting ability that could help the Huskies stand out in the competitive Colonial Athletic Association and potentially reach the NCAA Tournament, as UAB did in 2006.

“She’s capable of getting out there and doing recruiting,” he said. “She was looking at the same kind of kids we look at to get UAB to the next level.”

Since finishing her playing days, she has also coached as a student-assistant for Georgia and worked for five years with the under-17 Georgia Juniors volleyball club.

Forsythe said she is happy to be coaching at Northeastern, and said her enthusiasm for the game and background in coaching would help make her a productive coach at Northeastern.

“I’m excited. I’ve heard nothing but good things about Northeastern,” she said. “I have a true passion for volleyball and when the season starts I think that’ll show through.”