Month: November 2015

Volleyball Coaching Wizard Paulo Cunha

Posted onAuthorVolleyball Coaching Wizards

High Level Coaching While Teaching During the Day

Paulo Cunha of Portugal may have coached professionally and at the national team level, but through it all his day job was as a teacher. So he knows how to balance the demands of the two careers. Not only does he have a track record of success as a coach, but he has also directed coaching education at the national level.

His resume includes:

  • Winner of 8 league titles, 7 cups, and 6 Super Cups in Portugal
  • First Portuguese coach to lead a team to a European cup final four.
  • 3 times Portuguese Association of Volleyball Coaches Coach of the Year
  • Coached the Portuguese Junior National team

Here’s some of what Paulo discusses in his interview:

– Teaching and coaching at the same time
– Making career decisions
– Managing a team with players of different status levels (pros vs. non-pros)
– Coaching the genders
– Cultural differences in coaching and players

Play this excerpt for a taste of the sort of insights and ideas you’ll get from the full interview:

Get access to Paulo’s interview now for just a $4.99 contribution to the Volleyball Coaching Wizards project.

You can also get Paulo’s interview as part of these bundles:

Volleyball Coaching Wizard Stelio DeRocco

Posted onAuthorVolleyball Coaching Wizards

Pro and National Team Player to Pro and National Team Coach

Similar to Vital Heynen, Canadian Stelio DeRocco became a coach following a career playing volleyball professionally in Italy and for Canada (fellow Wizard Jefferson Williams was a Junior National teammate). He has gone on to have a career at both the club and international coaching levels and has as a coach mentor.

His resume includes:

  • Coached the Australian National Team during the 2000 Olympic cycle.
  • Coached the Canadian National Team from 2001 to 2006, which includes coaching in the 2003 World Cup
  • Won 2 Euro Cups with Montichiari (Italy)
  • Won 2 leagues and 3 cups with Constanta (Romania)
  • Won 4 cup titles coaching in Dubai

Here’s some of what Stelio share discusses in his interview:

– Transitioning from player to coach
– The importance of being consistent as a coach
– Developing a team philosophy and approach
– Training focus over the course of a season

Play this excerpt for a taste of the sort of insights and ideas you’ll get from the full interview:

Get access to Stelio’s interview now for just a $4.99 contribution to the Volleyball Coaching Wizards project.

You can also get Stelio’s interview as part of the following bundles:

Podcast Episode 7: Coaching vs Training with Redbad Strikwerda

Posted onAuthorVolleyball Coaching WizardsLeave a comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Back to our regular programming with this episode!

The thoughts of Redbad Strikwerda feature in this show – in particular, on the subject of whether it is more important to be a good training coach or a good match-day coach. Comments from the likes of Hugh McCutcheon and Vyacheslav Platonov are included in the discussion.

Redbad Strikwerda currently coaches with Landstede Volleybal in the top men’s division of his native Holland. He has won 6 titles, 6 Cups, and 6 Super Cups in Dutch volleyball. He has coached in the CEV Champions League, CEV Cup, and CEV Challenge Cup. He has also coached in the European League and European Championships with the Dutch National Team.

Feedback, questions, comments, etc. are always welcome!

Volleyball Coaching Wizard Giovanni Guidetti

Posted onAuthorVolleyball Coaching Wizards

Italian Eloquence

Italian Giovanni Guidetti, who currently coaches professionally in Turkey and internationally for the Netherlands, has probably made most of his reputation since leaving his native country. He’s done so at both the club and international level. Though English is obviously not his first language, he speaks quite eloquently on the subject of coaching.

His resume includes:

  • 2018 FIVB Volleyball Nations League Silver Medal as Head Coach of the Turkish Women’s National Team
  • 2016 Olympic Semifinalist as Head Coach of the Dutch Women’s National Team
  • Former Head Coach for both Germany and Bulgaria.
  • Mulitple CEV Champions League gold medals and FIVB Club World Championships coaching at the professional club level.
  • Twice named Coach of the Year in his native Italy

Here’s some of what Giovanni discusses in his interview:

– The need for a coach to be true to themselves
– Being a teacher and a competitor
– Training philosophy
– Developing the concept of team

Play this excerpt for a taste of the sort of insights and ideas you’ll get from the full interview:

Get access to Giovanni’s interview now for just a $4.99 contribution to the Volleyball Coaching Wizards project.

You can also get Giovanni’s interview as part of the following bundles:

Additionally, Giovanni’s interview is featured in the first Volleyball Coaching Wizards book.

Volleyball Coaching Wizard Vital Heynen

Posted onAuthorVolleyball Coaching Wizards

Professional Player to National Team Coach

Belgian Vital Heynen became a coach after a distinguished career playing volleyball for club and country. His experience as a player has strongly influenced his coaching philosophy, though perhaps not in the way you might think. This is something he talks about in his interview.

His resume includes:

  • Gold Medal coaching Poland in the 2018 World Championships, Bronze at 2019 Volleyball Nations League
  • Bronze Medal coaching Germany in the 2014 World Championships
  • 4 league titles, 5 Cups, and 4 Super Cups in the Belgian league.
  • 2 CEV Cup medals
  • Additional professional coaching experience in Poland and Turkey

Here’s some of what Vital share discusses in his interview:

– Managing cultural diversity in a team
– His philosophy of training
– Putting together a coaching staff
– Developing the concept of team
– Expectations and playing time

Play this excerpt for a taste of the sort of insights and ideas you’ll get from the full interview:

Get access to Vital’s interview now for just a $4.99 contribution to the Volleyball Coaching Wizards project.

You can also get Vital’s interview as part of the following bundles:

Podcast Episode 6: Being a Humble Coach and Coaching Education, Ruben Wolochin

Posted onAuthorVolleyball Coaching WizardsLeave a comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

This episode of the podcasts is a continuation of our discussion from Episode 5 with Ruben Wolochin from German men’s team TV Bühl (then in the 1.Bundesliga, but relegated after Ruben left). We continue to talk about what Ruben saw and heard in the big coaching conference he attended in his native Argentina. The conversation here turns to coaching mentality and coaching education. You will hear the term “humble” used several times!

Feedback, questions, comments, etc. are always welcome!