By Jeffrey Cohen | Sports Writer
After four years at Florida, graduate middle blocker Gabrielle Essix was looking for a new home to finish her college career.
She turned to a familiar face who helped her fall back in love with the game of volleyball: Baylor assistant coach Joshua Walker.
“She’s had a rough background coming up,” Walker said of Essix. “It was just her finding love for the sport again.”
Before her junior season with the Gators, Essix played for Team USA, where she helped the U21 team win gold at the Pan American Cup. She played under Walker and alongside former Bears Lauren Briseño and Allie Sczech. Essix credited that connection and Walker’s guidance as two of the main reasons she transferred to Baylor.
“She told me she was able to do that at [Team] USA,” Walker said. “I was just trying to push her to be the best version that she could be.”
Walker’s focus was on her performance, but his efforts made an impact on Essix beyond the court.
“I don’t think I did anything elaborate, other than just help her realize what her potential was,” Walker said. “[We] worked through things that she was struggling with when it comes down to technique and the X’s and O’s.”
Walker’s effect on Essix, in the limited time they had together on Team USA, reflects his coaching mindset. Walker has long emphasized his desire to build connections with his players while helping them improve on the court for No. 20 Baylor (9-6, 4-3 Big 12).
His coaching philosophy stems from his time as a volleyball player at Hawaii, where he tallied over 1,400 kills across four years and was named an AVCA Second Team All-American as a junior. He’s connected with the athletes he coaches because he’s been in their shoes as a student-athlete.
“That’s what I wanted as a student-athlete,” Walker said. “The experience that I’ve gotten has equipped me to give that to the athletes here at Baylor.”
With an increase in transfers across college volleyball, Walker recognizes that there will be more players he will only be able to coach for one or two years. Still, he seeks to impact his players, even if some transfer.
“My mindset is, ‘If I can only be around this athlete for one year, how can I make the biggest impact?’” Walker said. “If you always have that same intentionality, each day is an opportunity to be better or to learn.”
Walker’s desire to provide the best experience for those playing under him started when he began his coaching career as an assistant coach for his alma mater.
“I had a successful playing career, so I wasn’t as worried about myself,” Walker said. “[It’s] more like, ‘How can I make sure these other athletes have a great experience in college as well?’”
His goals are also team-oriented. Along with building up the athletes, Walker strives to find ways to build up the team and help it succeed.
“I was so wrapped up in the process of trying to figure out ways to be better and ways I could help that particular team be better,” Walker said.
When Walker began coaching, creating long-term success was not on his mind. As he’s grown, his appreciation for the process and grind of college volleyball has become a driving factor in his style.
“Being able to maximize the potential of the team — but also maximize the potential of the sport as well — was something that I didn’t think of when I initially went there,” Walker said. “If you’re focused on the process and what you’re doing every single day, then you start seeing those results.”
Walker’s first connection to Baylor came at the 2019 Final Four. Baylor head coach Ryan McGuyre won AVCA Coach of the Year honors, while Walker won Assistant Coach of the Year.
Walker, who hopes to one day be a head coach, believes “God put [him] here” to invest in Baylor’s volleyball players as part of McGuyre’s staff. He’s told McGuyre he wants to model his program after what McGuyre has done at Baylor.
“We were at the Final Four at the same time,” Walker said of McGuyre. “Listening to him and how he talked about the athletes at Baylor and playing for an audience of one, that connection was pretty big for me.”
Walker and the Bears will take on Cincinnati at 7 p.m. Friday at the Ferrell Center. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
