Month: June 2016

Podcast Episode 23: The qualities of a good assistant coach with John Corbelli

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What are the qualities and characteristics of a good assistant coach? In this episode of the Volleyball Coaching Wizards Podcast we get the views from long-time NCAA Division I assistant John Corbelli and share our own perspectives from both sides.

John Corbelli is one of the most respected trainers of volleyball players around. This is perhaps no surprise given that he assistant for the USA Women’s National Team under legendary coach Arie Sellinger during the 1984 Olympics. John is probably best known for being the lead assistant to his wife Laurie at Texas A&M where the two have spent more than 20 years together. During that time they’ve won nearly 500 matches, made almost 20 trips to the NCAA tournament (including 2 Final Fours), and have had players earn 30 All-American selections.

Fellow Wizards Vital Heynen, Bill Neville, and Jim Stone were mentioned in this episode. Vital was featured in Episode 2 and Bill was part of Episode 16.

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

Volleyball Coaching Wizard Dave Shoji

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A Coaching Institution

Dave Shoji is Hawaii volleyball. For more than 40 years he’s been at the helm of a college program which is always at or near the top of the annual attendance figures rankings, with thousands of people coming out to watch his teams play. How many of us would love to coach in front of crowds like that?

His resume includes:

  • More NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball wins than anyone (approaching 1200)
  • Four national championships and over 30 trips to the NCAA tournament
  • 12-time conference, 10-time region, and twice national Coach of the Year
  • AVCA Hall of Fame inductee and named on of the all-time great coaches by USA Volleyball in 2002

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

– Staying in one position for so long
– The pressure of coaching where there is a lot of fan support
– Dealing with problem personalities in the team
– Remembering that coaching is about the players, not about the coach

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

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

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

Podcast Episode 22: Jump Counts with Ryan Mitchell

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In baseball, managers use pitch counts to help them make decisions on when they might need to replace their pitchers. Could we do something similar in volleyball? That’s the subject of this episode of the Volleyball Coaching Wizards Podcast.

Ryan Mitchell has been a head coach at a three different high schools in the greater Dallas area, as well as having coached at the Juniors level for three of the area’s clubs. At the high school level, Ryan won five straight Texas titles, earning himself six Coach of the Year selections in the state. He was also selected National High School Coach of the Year by the NFHS. At the club levels his teams have earned national qualification nearly every year.

Fellow Wizards Ismo Peltoarvo and Redbad Strikwerda were mentioned in this episode. Redbad was featured in Episode 7 of the podcast.

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

Volleyball Coaching Wizard John Corbelli

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Assistants Get Credit as Well

John Corbelli is the first interview of someone who has primarily been an assistant coach through is career, notably being a part of a spouse coaching duo. He is well respected as one of the best trainers around.

His resume includes:

  • More than 20 years as assistant coach to his wife at Texas A&M (nearly 500 wins, and almost 20 trips to the NCAA tournament – 2 Final Fours, 30 All-American selections)
  • Three years as an NCAA Division I head coach in his own right.
  • Assistant to Arie Selinger for the USA Women’s National Team during the 1984 Olympics

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

– The qualities of a good assistant coach
– The culture of Hawaiian volleyball
– Coaching with and against your spouse
– Incorporating structured and game-like training approaches

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

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

John’s interview is also available in the following bundles: