Author: Volleyball Coaching Wizards

How volleyball changed a life

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In this excerpt from his Volleyball Coaching Wizards interview, Gerry Ford talks about how volleyball brought together people from both sides of the political and religious divide and gave them a whole different perspective on each other.

Gerry Ford is the head coach of the Northern Ireland men’s national volleyball team. He is also Head Coach at Queens University Belfast and has done volleyball TV commentary. Among his honors is national Coach of the Year. He grew up during the Troubles in his homeland.

Training players to manage themselves

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In this excerpt from his Volleyball Coaching Wizards interview, Canadian volleyball coach Glenn Hoag talks about how he tries to develop in his players and and teams the ability to eventually manage themselves on the court.

Glenn Hoag coached the Canadian Men’s National Team in the Rio 2016 Olympics, leading the team into the medal round. His side also won the country’s first NORCECA title in 2016. At the professional level, Hoag can claim four French championships, three French Cups, two Slovenian championships and cup, and a CEV Champions League gold medal, along with league and cup wins in Turkey.

Looking at jump counts like pitch counts

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In this excerpt from his Volleyball Coaching Wizards interview, US high school and juniors coach Ryan Mitchell explores the idea of volleyball coaches evaluating player jump counts in ways similar to how baseball managers use pitch counts.

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.

In Episode 22 of the Podcast this is a subject John & Mark expand upon.

The off court demands of coaching

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In this excerpt from his Volleyball Coaching Wizards interview, US college coach Bob Schneck discusses the administrative and other off-court demands of coaching at the collegiate level which most new to the occupation don’t quite realize.

In a 36 year career, all spent at the University of Rhode Island, Bob Schneck amassed over 600 NCAA Division I victories. His players included 32 all-conference honorees, 6 conference Rookies of the Year, and 2 Players of the Year. Bob was twice selected as NCAA District I Coach of the Year. He is a long-time member of the USA Volleyball CAP cadre and prior to his college career was a very successful high school coach in Pennsylvania.

The most important skills for a coach

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In this excerpt from his Volleyball Coaching Wizards interview, Australian beach volleyball coach Craig Marshall shares his views on the skills that are most critical for successful coaching.

Australian coach Craig Marshall is a fixture on the world beach volleyball circuit. He has coached teams on the highly competitive World Tour for nearly two decades, with eight podium finishes and a World Championships medal. He has also coached multiple medal wins on Continental tours, including a historic clean sweep of medals at the 2016 Asian Championships. He coached the Australian men in the 2000, 2004, and 2008 Olympics tournaments, and was on-hand in 2012 as well.

John & Mark expand on this subject in Episode 25 of the Podcast. It is also a feature section in the Wizard Wisdom book.

Post-Match Team Talks

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In this excerpt from his Volleyball Coaching Wizards interview, US high school coach Tom Turco shares his approach to speaking with his teams after the match.

Tom Turco has won 18 state high school championships in Massachusetts, where he has coached for over 30 years. His teams won a record 110 straight matches between 2003 and 2007. Tom was selected as the AVCA National Coach of the Year in 2008 and the NHSCA National Volleyball Coach of the Year in 2012.

You can hear more on this subject from John & Mark in Episode 14 of the Podcast.

Winners vs Whiners

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In this excerpt from her Volleyball Coaching Wizards interview, US college coach Teri Clemens describes the two types of athletes – the winners and the whiners.

In only 14 years as an NCAA Division III coach at Washington University, Teri Clemens amassed more than 500 victories and won seven National Championships (at one point, six in a row). Her .873 career winning percentage ranks tops among non-active coaches in all of NCAA volleyball. Teri was selected AVCA Division III National Coach of the Year three times. This is after winning three straight state high school championships. Had health issues not cut her coaching career short, who knows how far she’d have gone! As it stands, she is AVCA Hall of Fame inductee and has authored and/or contributed to multiple books.

Breaking the game down in to manageable chunks

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In this excerpt from his Volleyball Coaching Wizards interview, Mike Lingenfelter talks about breaking games down into sub-games to give players more immediate goals. He shares what he calls his “high five” of team objectives for each set.

Mike Lingenfelter is co-director and 18s Samaurai coach for the Munciana Juniors volleyball club. His teams have won four national Juniors championships, reached the finals four other times, and finished third on three occasions. As a high school coach he won three Indiana state titles and was select Coach of the Year three times. Mike started his coaching career in NCAA Division I volleyball. He is a frequent coaching clinic presenter.

You can hear more on this topic in Episode 13 of the Podcast.

Coaching players as they are

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In this excerpt from her Volleyball Coaching Wizards interview, US college coach Peggy Martin shares her view on adapting yourself as a coach to the personality and motivation of your players rather than expecting them to be like you.

Peggy Martin has over 40 years of college coaching experience, primarily at the NCAA Division II level. She’s accumulated more than 1200 career victories and has won more than 20 league titles. Her Central Missouri teams made 25 straight trips to the NCAA tournament, reaching six Elite 8s and a national championship match. Peggy has been named Coach of the Year 22 times, including earning NCAA Division II National Coach of the Year honors in 1987. She is a member of the AVCA Hall of Fame.

This topic is one John & Mark expand upon in Episode 18 of the Podcast.

Team building and developing the team culture

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In this excerpt from his Volleyball Coaching Wizards interview, US college coach Terry Pettit answers the question what he would do in terms of team-building and developing a team culture if he took over a new team.

Coaching legend Terry Pettit developed what became a powerhouse University of Nebraska volleyball program during the course of his 23 years. While at the Corn Husker helm, Pettit’s teams won nearly 700 matches and more than 20 conference championships. They reached the Final 4 on six occasions, winning one national championship and finishing runner-up two other times. Terry was selected conference Coach of the Year nine times and AVCA National Coach of the Year three times. He received the USA Volleyball All-Time Great Coaches Award in 2004 and was selected to the AVCA Hall of Fame. Terry has written three books: Talent and the Secret Life of Teams; The Journey to Extraordinary Coaching; and A Fresh Season – Insights Into Coaching, Leadership and Volleyball.