Category: Wizard Interviews

Interviews of Volleyball Coaching Wizards completed thus far.

Volleyball Coaching Wizard Terry Pettit

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A Legendary Program Developer

Terry Pettit is a legend in US coaching circles not just for his success at the University of Nebraska where he built a powerhouse, but also for his work since then in helping coaches develop and grow. Among other things, he is known as perhaps the only poet-coach in volleyball, and his writings present a unique view on coaching and leadership.

His resume includes:

  • Nearly 700 NCAA Division I victories
  • Winner of over 20 conferences championships, six trips to the Final 4, two runners-up finishes, and a national championship.
  • 3-time AVCA National Coach of the Year and 9-time conference Coach of the Year
  • 2004 USA Volleyball All-Time Great Coaches Award winner
  • AVCA Hall of Fame Inductee
  • Author of Talent and the Secret Life of Teams; The Journey to Extraordinary Coaching; and A Fresh Season – Insights Into Coaching, Leadership and Volleyball

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

– Recruiting philosophy
– Developing volleyball in Nebraska
– Situational coaching
– Developing problem-solving situations rather than telling
– Exercising both the cooperative and competitive sides
– Team-building

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

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

Terry’s interview can also be found in the following bundles:

Volleyball Coaching Wizard Teri Clemens

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A coaching career cut short

USA coach Teri Clemens only had 14 seasons coaching at NCAA Division III Washington University before health reasons forced her retirement after achieving an .873 win percentage (#1 among retired coaches in all the NCAA). Teri’s energy and enthusiasm are obvious in her interview.

Her resume includes:

  • Seven NCAA Division III National Championships, including six in a row
  • Over 500 NCAA career victories
  • 3-Time AVCA Division III National Coach of the Year
  • AVCA Hall of Fame inductee
  • Winner of 3 straight Missouri state high school championships before moving to the college ranks.
  • Author of Get With It Girls! Life is Competition.

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

– Creating a competitive environment
– Developing strong servers
– Season training progressions
– What she looked for in the recruiting process
– Team-building
– The differences in why men and women play sports
– Goal setting

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

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

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

Volleyball Coaching Wizard Arnie Ball

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Coaching to your personality

USA coach Arnie Ball spent over 30 years coaching at IPFW, primarily with the men’s team, though he also coached the women for several years, and prior to that coached boys and girls in high school. He is father of legendary US national team setter Lloy Ball.

His resume includes:

  • Nearly 800 combined NCAA match victories, more than 500 of which came on the men’s side.
  • Six trips to the men’s NCAA Final 4, including a runner-up finish
  • Three-time conference Coach of the Year and 2007 AVCA National Coach of the Year
  • AVCA Hall of Fame inductee
  • Worked for USA Volleyball in a variety of coaching roles.

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

– Being a demanding coach
– Coaching men vs. coaching women
– Developments in and the future of men’s NCAA volleyball
– Having a star player for a son
– Being professional as coaches

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

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

You can also find Arnie’s interview as part of the following bundles:

Volleyball Coaching Wizard Peggy Martin

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Tried retirement, but didn’t like it

USA college coach Peggy Martin spent 33 years at NCAA Division II Central Missouri before retiring. That retirement only lasted a few months, though, before she was back on the court at a new school with the same level of success.

His resume includes:

  • Winner of more than 1300 college matches (mostly NCAA Division II)
  • More than 20 conference championships and 25 straight trips to the NCAA Division II tournament (6 Elite 8s)
  • 22 Coach of the Year Awards including the 1987 NCAA Division II National Coach of Year Award
  • AVCA Hall of Fame inductee

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

– Early-career coaching development
– Changes in the coach-player dynamic
– Working with and managing captains and team councils
– Recruiting good people
– Hiring good staff
– Dealing with the pressure to maintain a high level of success

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

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

Peggy’s interview is also featured as part of the following bundles:

Volleyball Coaching Wizard Bill Neville

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Looking back and looking forward

Bill Neville is one of the most respected coaches in US volleyball coaching circles, and probably beyond as well. His long experience in the game provides him a perspective on the sport and on coaching that few can match.

His resume includes:

  • Olympic coach for both the Canadian and US national teams, including for the 1984 gold medal winning USA.
  • Over 15 years coaching NCAA Division I women’s teams.
  • USA Volleyball Technical Director
  • USA Volleyball National Commissioner of Coaching Education
  • Developer of the Coaches Accreditation Program (CAP)
  • Author of Coaching Volleyball Successfully

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

– His favorite memory for the 1984 US Olympic team
– The qualities of a great setter
– Key factors in good coaching education
– Being an innovative coach
– How the game has developed and where it might be headed

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

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

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

Volleyball Coaching Wizard Bob Schneck

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Life decisions and coaching

USA coach Bob Schneck spent his entire 35 year college coaching career at the University of Rhode Island. In the early days he had the unfortunate situation of having to face Penn State in conference each year, resulting in him accumulating a lot of second place finishes. Along the way, though, he did manage to get little URI into the national rankings.

His resume includes:

  • Over 600 NCAA Division I victories
  • Coached 32 All-Conference performers, 6 conference Freshmen of the Year, and 2 conference Players of the Year.
  • NCAA District I Coach of the Year twice
  • Long-time member of the USA Volleyball CAP cadre
  • Outstanding high school coaching record before moving to college.

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

– The off-court demands of college coaching
– Work/life balance
– Assistant coach development
– Program building
– Recruiting foreign players

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

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

Bob’s interview can also be found as part of the following bundles:

Volleyball Coaching Wizard Tom Turco

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Coaching the mental at least as much as the physical

USA high school coach is a legend in New England volleyball circles. A major part of his success he attributes to the mental, off-court training he has been doing with each of his teams going back 20 years. It seems to be working pretty well!

His resume includes:

  • 18 Massachusetts state high school championships
  • 110 match winning streak from 2003 to 2007.
  • 2008 AVCA National Coach of the Year.
  • 2012 NHSCA National Volleyball Coach of the Year

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

– Tryouts and making cuts
– Focusing on the mental part of the game
– Staff management
– Working with your administration
– Creating a culture

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

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

Additionally, Tom’s interview is featured in the first Volleyball Coaching Wizards book. His interview can also be found in the following bundles:

Volleyball Coaching Wizard Mike Lingenfelter

Posted onAuthorVolleyball Coaching Wizards

Finding Your Coaching Niche

USA club coach Mike Lingenfelter spent a number of years in the college coaching ranks as both an assistant and head coach following his own playing career. He has really found a home coaching younger developing players at the Juniors level, though. He’s spent over 15 years at the highly respected Munciana program – the oldest volleyball club in the US. There he feels he can have the greatest impact as a trainer and player developer.

His resume includes:

  • Four national championships, four national runner-ups, and three third place finishes with his Juniors teams
  • Three Indiana state high school championships.
  • Indiana state high school Coach of the Year on three occasions.
  • Regular coaching clinic presenter

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

– Evolving as a coach
– Having a culture
– Structuring and managing team tryouts
– Developing team culture and cohesion
– Managing the demands of a long season
– Having a player-first mentality

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

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

Mike’s interview can also be found in the following bundles:

Volleyball Coaching Wizard Joel Dearing

Posted onAuthorVolleyball Coaching Wizards

Coaching as Teaching

American coach Joel Dearing spent 30 years coaching the women’s team at Springfield College in NCAA Division III. He also coached the Springfield men for 7 years before handing them off. All of this was while teaching. Joel is one of the most respected coaches in the Northeast of the USA, not only based on the performance of his teams, but also for his efforts in helping other coaches develop.

His resume includes:

  • Ranks in the top 10 in NCAA Division III victories with over 700
  • Lead the Springfield men’s team to a final #1 ranking in his final season
  • AVCA Regional Coach of the Year 5 times.
  • Coached 10 All-Americans
  • Author of Volleyball Fundamentals and The Untold Story of William G. Morgan – Inventor of Volleyball
  • On the board of the Volleyball Hall of Fame
  • 2019 Inductee into the AVCA Hall of Fame
  • Long-time member of the USA Volleyball CAP Cadre

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

– Volleyball history
– Having protocols
– Coaching blind spots
– Reinventing yourself as a coach over time
– Developing your best players, not just improving your weakest
– Gender differences in team bonding
– Developing captains and team leaders

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

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

You can also get Joel’s interview as part of the following Bundles:

Volleyball Coaching Wizard Anders Kristiansson

Posted onAuthorVolleyball Coaching Wizards

Mentor to other Coaching Wizards

Anders Kristiansson is a legend in his native Sweden, and has done pretty well for himself in other places as well. He was mentioned by fellow Wizards Ismo Peltoarvo and Jefferson Williams at influential in their own development. He’s also often referred to on The Net Live show as host Kevin Barnett’s coach when he played in Belgium.

His resume includes:

  • 26 combined men’s and women’s championships in Sweden
  • 15 titles in Belgium and 3 more in Greece.
  • 4 CEV Champions League Final 4s, with two trips to the finals
  • Coached the Swedish National Team to silver at the 1989 European Championships, the nation’s best ever performance at a major international tournament.
  • Currently coaching in Japan

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

– Improving volleyball for fans
– Understanding good technique
– Coaching in Japan
– Thinking about the psychological aspect of technical development
– Working on team cohesion
– Adapting to different cultures

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

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

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