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UCLA Volleyball's Alfee Reft excited for head coaching debut

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Steve Angeles | TFC News Los Angeles

<figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0FQmVAyIYYY?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div><p>There&#x27;s a new &quot;wizard&quot; in Westwood and this time, it&#x27;s a Filipino-American who takes the helm as UCLA&#x27;s head volleyball coach.</p><p>Alfee Reft is set to make his head coaching debut when the Lady Bruins head to Louisiana for the start of a new NCAA season.</p><div><a data-ved="2ahUKEwilifuMtfSAAxWUSGwGHV8nDnAQFnoECBsQAw" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/04/01/23/fil-am-coach-looks-to-make-his-mark-with-ucla-bruins#:~:text=The%20storied%20volleyball%20program%20of,named%20coach%20in%20December%202022." jsaction="rcuQ6b:npT2md" jscontroller="M9mgyc" jsname="qOiK6e" ping="/url?sa=t&amp;source=web&amp;rct=j&amp;opi=89978449&amp;url=https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/04/01/23/fil-am-coach-looks-to-make-his-mark-with-ucla-bruins%23:~:text%3DThe%2520storied%2520volleyball%2520program%2520of,named%2520coach%2520in%2520December%25202022.&amp;ved=2ahUKEwilifuMtfSAAxWUSGwGHV8nDnAQFnoECBsQAw">Fil-Am coach looks to make his mark with UCLA Bruins</a></div><p>Since the program began in 1965, UCLA has collected seven national titles, and has reached the NCAA Final Four 11 times. The program has only had three head coaches prior to Reft.</p><p>&quot;It&#x27;s hard to put in to words, especially with coaches that have come before, in particular Andy Banachowski,&quot; Reft said. &quot;Seeing championships in UCLA inspired me. I don’t see this as pressure but an opportunity and a responsibility to fill the shoes of the great ones that’s come here before.&quot;</p><p>As a player, Reft was a member of the U.S. National Team, and played professionally overseas.</p><p>He has held assistant coaching stints at several Division 1 colleges and is currently on Team USA&#x27;s staff. When UCLA brought him on as head coach last January, he immediately buckled down to work.</p><p>&quot;We did go straight to work and I think that it’s definitely paying off as we trained all summer,&quot; said volleyball player Anna Dodson. &quot;But a big part of that is a lot of time off the court together, so it&#x27;s not all just training. He did hit the ground running, but we spent a lot of time hanging out as just college athletes.”</p><p>Family values make up a large part of Reft. His Filipino mother, Grace Carino, met his Alaskan father while she was a touring musician.</p><p>The family eventually settled in Oxnard, California where he was born and raised. Reft makes frequent visits to Pampanga to visit his mother.</p><p>He said he takes pride in being one of the few Filipinos in his position.  </p><p>&quot;There’s a lot of parts to the Filipino heritage and it&#x27;s in my blood,&quot; Reft added. &quot;It&#x27;s an absolute reason why I came here today. My mom’s hard work and the community that I grew up, in will always be a part of me. It&#x27;s engraved and woven in this fabric of who I am.&quot;</p><p>A recent Pac-12 Coaches Poll had projected UCLA to finish fifth in their conference.</p><p>But the Bruins say they are eyeing a bigger prize — to bring home the NCAA championship, which has eluded them since 2011.</p>

Reft will make his head coaching debut when the Lady Bruins head to Louisiana for the start of a new NCAA season.