Bock, Larry (July 11, 1950) Women and men’s volleyball coach 1977-2011 and Athletic Director 1995-2001
Larry Bock attended Penn State University where he played club volleyball with his roommate and eventually graduated with a degree in Agribusiness Management. Before becoming a full-time coach and athletic director, he also held a position at Union National Bank in Huntingdon, PA working in the loans department. Bock started his career at Juniata in 1977 as a part-time coach of the women’s volleyball team. He would go on to coach for the next thirty-four years. He became part of the permanent staff at Juniata College by becoming the Director of Financial Aid in 1982 and a permanent coach in 1989. Not only did he coach the women’s team, but he also coached the men’s volleyball team from 1990-1995; during which he would earn 100 wins to add to his already impressive winning record. In 1995, Bock accepted the position of athletic director for Juniata College where he helped organize and run nineteen collegiate sports teams.
In collegiate volleyball, Bock soon became a recognizable national name because of his extraordinary number of wins. For example, he earned recognition for his 900th win as a coach, becoming only the second NCAA women’s volleyball coach to have earned that many wins, the first was Andy Banachowski, of UCLA, who also gain his 900th around the same time. To close observers of collegiate volleyball, it would be a contest of which coach could reach their 1000th win first. It only required three seasons for Bock’s 1000th win, on September 10, 2004 against Shippensburg University. Bock’s team won the NCAA Division III national championship in 2004 and 2006 and went to the semifinals in the NCAA Division III Volleyball Championships a record twenty-five times. Along with appearing in the semifinals, the Juniata volleyball team also saw the court nine times in the championship match.
Bock ended his career at Juniata as the winningest coach in NCAA women’s volleyball history, racking up a record of 1,252-192, which is a .867 winning percentage and a combined (men and women’s volleyball) record of 1,352-283-4 a .826 winning percentage. After Bock resigned from his position at Juniata, he tcontinued his career at the Naval Academy as the head coach for the women’s volleyball team. Bock, said, "There are few places where I would ever consider moving, and Navy is at the top of that short list.”
Larry Bock has not just been recognized for winning a record number of matches and winning NCAA titles, he has also won many other awards for his achievements as a coach. In 2004, he was named the Tachikara/AVCA—American Volleyball Coaches Association¾Division III National Coach of the Year, which he has won multiple times before. He has been inducted into the AVCA Hall of Fame, in 2003, as well as, Tachikara/AVCA Mid-Atlantic Region Coach of the Year multiple times. Other awards that Bock has earned from volleyball include recipient of the USA Volleyball Trailblazer Award-2006; co-head coach of the NCAA’s Silver Anniversary Division III Women’s Volleyball Team-2006; USA Volleyball All-Time Great Coaches Award; recipient of the AVCA Founders Award-2000, for service to the sport, as well as many other prestigious coaches’ awards throughout the years. In 2005, Bock was awarded the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Division III Athletic Director of the Year.
On February 4, 2012, Bock was inducted into the Juniata Sports Hall of Fame because of his achievements as a coach for the women and men’s volleyball team. With this honor, a banner was hung in the rafters in Memorial gymnasium, located in Kennedy Sports and Recreation Center, naming his accomplishment as the winningest coach. After his thirty-four years of coaching volleyball at Juniata College, he not only had a successful program, but also successful players who have followed in his footsteps. After graduating from Juniata, many of Bock’s former players started coaching their own teams at the collegiate level: Melissa Myers '98, the head women's volleyball coach at Illinois States and Sue Dumars, the head women's volleyball coach at York College of Pennsylvania and a member of the NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Committee to name but two.
During his six years as the Athletic Director at Juniata College, Bock oversaw an outstanding athletic season in 2004-2005: field hockey won their first NCAA bid; swimming placed third in MAC Championships; baseball earned a spot in the Common wealth Conference postseason; and eleven athletes earned All-American honors.
Molly Weber, ‘17
Bibliography
Cookson, Joel. “Just Wild about Larry: Juniata’s Legendary Coach Continues Legacy of Greatness,” Juniata Magazine, Fall 2004, page 3.
“Former Coach, AD Larry Bock to Be Inducted into Sports Hall of Fame during February 4 Men’s Volleyball Match - Juniata.” Accessed February 5, 2015. http://www.juniatasports.net/genrel/2011-12_general_releases/2012.01.24_GEN-Bock_Hall_of_Fame.
Gill, Jeff. “Bock Leaves Juniata for Navy” - AltoonaMirror.com - Altoona, PA | News, Sports, Jobs, Community Information - The Altoona Mirror.” Altoona Mirror. Accessed February 5, 2015. http://www.altoonamirror.com/page/content.detail/id/546344/Bock-leaves-Juniata-for-Navy.html?nav=765.
“Navy Hires All-Time Winningest Volleyball Coach in NCAAHistory” - NAVYSPORTS.com - The United States Naval Academy Official Athletic Site. Accessed February 3, 2015. http://www.navysports.com/sports/w-volley/spec-rel/011811aac.html.
Wall John. “Juniata College - News - Bock Earns National Honor.” Accessed February 5, 2015. http://www.juniata.edu/services/news/?action=SHOWARTICLE&id=1536.
Wall, John. “Juniata College - News - Bock Selected As Division III Coach of the Year.” Accessed February 4, 2015. http://www.juniata.edu/services/news/?action=SHOWARTICLE&id=1238.
Wall, John. “Juniata College - News - Juniata Coach Larry Bock Gets 900th Win.” Accessed February 3, 2015. http://www.juniata.edu/services/news/?action=SHOWARTICLE&id=162.
Wall John. “Juniata College - News - Larry Bock Resigns as Juniata Athletic Director and Head Women’s Volleyball Coach; Accepts Women’s Volleyball Position at Navy.” Accessed February 4, 2015. http://www.juniata.edu/services/news/?action=SHOWARTICLE&id=4919.