John Forman and Mark Lebedew are the two main movers behind the Volleyball Coaching Wizards project. They do, however, get lots of help from their friends, colleagues, and contacts in the global volleyball community.
John Forman first thought up the Volleyball Coaching Wizards concept. He authors the well-respected Coaching Volleyball blog. John is currently Head Coach the Strategic Manager for Talent at Volleyball England, where he oversees strategy for the England national team programs. He’s also Global Director for Volleyball at Nation Academy.
John previously coached NCAA Division I, II, and III levels, Junior College, and Juniors levels in the US. In the UK, he coached at the university and National Leagues levels, and he coached a professional team in Sweden. He’s additionally has spent time with teams from Juniors all the way up to to the national team level in Argentina, England, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, and Switzerland. John is a member of the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA), holds a CAP III certification from USA Volleyball, and is a Volleyball England Level 3 coach.
Mark Lebedew joins John on the project. Mark is currently the head coach at VfB Friedrichshafen in the German Bundesliga, where he previously led Berlin Recycling Volleys to 3 league titles and a 2015 CEV Champions League bronze medal. In between, Mark coached at two different clubs in the Polish PlusLiga. His professional coaching stops before Berlin included SV Bayer Wuppertal (Germany), VC Pepe Jeans Asse-Lennik (Belgium), Tonno Calippo Vibo Valentia (Italy, assistant coach), and VC Franken (Germany).
At the international level, Mark is the current Men’s National Team head coach for Slovenia. He previously led his native Australia from 2017-2020. Earlier in his career he was assistant for both Australia and Germany. That means he’s coached in competitions like the Olympics, World League/Volleyball Nations League, and World Championships qualification. He’s also worked as a match commentator at the international level.
Mark is author of the At Home on the Court blog. He holds a German DSB A license and an Australian NCAS Level 2. He has been an FIVB Coaches Instructor since 2009. Mark partnered with his brother and father to publish My Profession: The Game. It is an English translation of the last book from Russian volleyball coaching legend, Vyacheslav Platonov.