Charita Stubbs is officially introduced as the new head coach of Arizona volleyball, taking over for her longtime mentor, Dave Rubio.
By Ari Koslow Special to the Arizona Daily Star There were mixed emotions Thursday afternoon as the retirement news conference was held for former Arizona volleyball coach Dave Rubio — while also introducing Charita Stubbs as the Wildcats' next coach. Rubio entered the room with a surfboard in his hand.
“I think you just know when it is time,” Rubio, 63, said. “The last couple of years have been, I think, more challenging than the other years since COVID has happened, and there are a lot of variables that go in with making a decision like this. At the end of the day, when coaches get where I am, you just know that it’s in the best interest of everybody, and personally it was in the best interest of myself.
After spending her first nine seasons coaching at Arizona, Stubbs went on to become the head coach at North Carolina State for four years before returning to join Rubio on the Wildcats' staff. Stubbs talked about her experience in Raleigh and what she learned from those years. “Immediately, in Dave fashion, he started supporting me and tried to take the attention off himself,” Stubbs said.“It was a natural transition for us, for me to recommend her to follow me,” Rubio said. “I’m so appreciative of Dave Heeke and the administration to have enough confidence in her and to make it better. We need to be better, and I have all of the confidence in the world that Rita is the right person for the job.
“It was always my goal once I decided I wanted to be a coach that I wanted to be able to coach here,” Stubbs said. “I wanted to be able to give back. I bleed red and blue. Everything about me is a competitor, and everyone that is going to be around me is going to think the same way.”
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