Todd Dagenais has some adjusting to do.

MSU's former associate head volleyball coach will be spending the next few weeks getting acclimated to his new home, Colorado Springs, Colorado.

"The funny thing is, the biggest adjustment has been getting used to the altitude," Dagenais said, adding that the city is more than a mile above sea level. "My hands are dry and cracking and I can't breathe when I walk up the stairs."

Dagenais started his new position Jan. 6 as coordinator of USA Volleyball Association's High Performance National Programs, programs for training the USA National and Olympic volleyball teams. The organization made the announcement about Dagenais' transfer on Dec. 18.

As coordinator, Dagenais said he will be in charge of developing feeder programs for the women's Olympic team, like the junior and youth national teams. The programs develop future Olympians for USA Volleyball.

"I'll be in charge of identifying the young talent and organizing the team of people who will go out and find the top players in the country," Dagenais said.

Although he knew about the position as early as April, Dagenais said his affinity for MSU kept him from making the final decision until last month.

"I was happy when it came out that they wanted me on staff, but I thought, 'There's nothing that could get me to leave MSU other than a significant head coaching position.'"

But Dagenais was sold after speaking with USA Volleyball's women's head coach, Toshi Yoshida, about a career with the organization and the possibility of coaching an Olympic team.

"I knew this could be my one and only shot at chasing an Olympic dream," Dagenais said. "That was what made me make up my mind."

Spartan head volleyball coach Chuck Erbe said he was happy for Dagenais because the opportunity came at the ideal time.

"He's at an age where he can (leave)," Erbe said. "I mean, how many people get the opportunity to participate with the No. 1 women's team in the world? It was an opportunity he couldn't pass up."

During his five years at MSU, Dagenais also was involved with USA Volleyball, including a stint as an assistant coach.

Now that he's getting adjusted to new surroundings, Dagenais said the thing he misses the most is the girls he coached.

"The toughest part is going to be not having the day-to-day contact with a team or a group of recruits," Dagenais said. "I'm going to have to find another way to get that, other than being with a particular team or group of recruits."

MSU junior middle Brooke Langston said she is going to miss his personality the most.

"He was an emotional leader that brought energy to practice every day," she said. "You could tell that he cared about the team and about all the girls."

She said there weren't any hard feelings when he left because the team knew it was a great opportunity for him. But she added it was still hard to see him leave.

"His recruiting ability is irreplaceable," Langston said. "His people-person personality will be missed a lot."