Category: Wizard Quotes and Clips

Getting better over the course of the season

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In this excerpt from his Volleyball Coaching Wizards interview, US high school coach Tod Mattox shares his view on the need to keep developing as a coach. As he notes, some coaches coach the same season over and over again, never seeking to get better.

Tod Mattox has accumulated over 600 victories, including 7 San Diego County championships in his time leading the high school program at the Bishop’s School. He was chosen for the USA Volleyball Leadership Award in 2008 and the 2016 Head Coaches Award by the San Diego Hall of Champions. Tod has also done a lot of work in juniors coaching, has coached professional beach volleyball teams, and is a long-time coaching clinician.

Remembering it’s about the players

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In this excerpt from his Volleyball Coaching Wizards interview, US college coach Dave Shoji shares a piece of advice for new coaches – and really for all coaches. Remember it’s about the players, not about you.

Dave Shoji is a volleyball institution in Hawaii where he has coached the women’s team at the University of Hawaii for more than 40 years. During that time he has won more NCAA Division I matches than any other women’s coach (nearly 1200). He’s won 4 national championships and his teams have made more than 30 trips to the NCAA tournament. Dave has been recognized for his accomplishments with All-Time Great designation by USA Volleyball, AVCA Hall of Fame induction, and numerous other awards.

A view on blocked training

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In this excerpt from his Volleyball Coaching Wizards interview, legendary American men’s collegiate volleyball coach Al Scates lets you know what he thinks about blocked training.

Al Scates coached the UCLA Men’s Volleyball program for more than 40 years. During that span his teams amassed over 1200 victories and won 19 NCAA championships, with another 6 runners-up finishes. Scates was named Coach of the Year five times: 1984, 1987, 1993, 1996, 1998. He was inducted into the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Hall of Fame in 2004.

A side vs B Side or mixed team scrimmages

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In this excerpt from his Volleyball Coaching Wizards interview, US college men’s coach Arnie Ball answers the question whether he prefers scrimmaging starters against non-starters or mixing the players up.

Arnie Ball spent more than 30 years coaching the men’s team at IPFW where he won over 500 matches, reached the NCAA Final 4 six times, and was a national runner-up. He also won over 200 matches as the IPFW women’s team coach in the first few years of his tenure there. Arnie was named conference Coach of the Year three times and the 2007 AVCA National Coach of the Year. He has worked in the USA national program in a number of different coach roles and is a member of the AVCA Hall of Fame.

This is a topic John & Mark delve into more deeply in Episode 20 of the Podcast.

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.