Category: Wizard Quotes and Clips

The philosophy of training plans

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In this excerpt from his Volleyball Coaching Wizards interview, Jan De Brandt talks about his approach to planning, structuring, and organizing training. Among the views he expresses is that coaches should look for ways to make training shorter and that fewer good repetitions is better than many bad ones.

Jan De Brandt was most recently the Hungarian Women’s National Team coach, having previously also coached for his native Belgium. At the club level he has coached in Belgium, Italy, Turkey, Spain, Azerbaijan, and Germany. He is a Winner of the European Volleyball League, a CEV Champions League Silver Medal, and a CEV Cup Bronze Medal. While coaching in Turkey his teams won 2 league championships, 1 cup, and 1 Super Cup.

This subject is one John & Mark discuss in Episode 9 of the Podcast. Another of the concepts from Jan’s interview – the roles of the coach – is the topic of Episode 30.

Selecting team captains and assigning responsibilities

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In this excerpt from her Volleyball Coaching Wizards interview, Jenny McDowell talks about team captains. She shares her process for selecting captains and talks about the responsibilities she gives them.

Jenny McDowell is Head Coach at Emory University. In her more than 20 seasons there she has amassed over 700 wins, reached the NCAA tournament almost every season, made it to the Final Four on six occasions, and won two national championships. She’s coached 40+ All-American selections and 2 National Players of the Year.

This topic is something John & Mark talk further about in Episode 10 of the Podcast.

Which is more important – coaching in training or match coaching

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In this excerpt from his Volleyball Coaching Wizards interview, Redbad Strikwerda answers the question whether he feels it is more important what a coach does in training or what they do during a match. His answer is perhaps different than what many coaches might think.

Redbad Strikwerda has won 6 league, Cup, and Super Cup volleyball titles in his native Holland. He has coached teams in the CEV Champions League, the CEV Cup, and the CEV Challenge Cup. At the national team level, he has coached in the European League and European Championships.

This topic is one John & Mark expand upon in Episode 7 of the Podcast.

Avoiding cultural or clique splits in a team

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In this excerpt from his Volleyball Coaching Wizards interview, Ismo Peltoarvo shares his views on avoiding splits in a team caused by cultural differences or the development of player splits. One of the things he uses to that end is the team goal development process.

Ismo Peltoarvo is one of the most respected Swedish volleyball coaches. He has won more than 20 domestic and international titles in Sweden. He has coached at the international level for both the senior and junior national team. He currently directs the Swedish national volleyball training center.

Differences in coaching female vs. male athletes

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In this excerpt from his Volleyball Coaching Wizards interview, Scottish coach Craig Faill shares his views and experiences with the difference in approach required when work with female vs. male athletes. In particular, he talks about the socialization aspect of team management.

Craig Faill has over 30 years of coaching experience in his native Scotland. His club teams have won multiple national championships. He is currently the Head Coach of the Scottish Women’s National Team. He previously head coached the Scottish Men’s Junior National Team and was an assistant to the Men’s full national squad.

Avoiding specializing players early

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In this excerpt from her Volleyball Coaching Wizards interview, Ruth Nelson talks about the disadvantages of early specialization in players. In particular, she brings up not just developing a more well-rounded sense of the game, but also suggests it increases one’s enjoyment of the sport.

Ruth Nelson is a member of the AVCA Hall of Fame. She won over 500 matches in 16 years coaching NCAA Division I volleyball. She was an assistant coach for the USA Women’s National team under legendary coach Arie Selinger and was head coach for the US Junior National Team. Ruth also coached professional volleyball and ran volleyball for the Special Olympics for many years. She currently runs a youth volleyball program called Bring Your Own Parent (BYOP).

Adapting what you learn

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In this excerpt from his Volleyball Coaching Wizards interview, Iradge Ahrabi-Fard shares his views on coaching education and development. In particular, he talks about the need to adapt what we learn to our own teams and our own unique circumstances.

Iradge Ahrabi-Fard is a member of the AVCA Hall of Fame’s inaugural induction class. He won over 500 NCAA Division I matches in his 19 years at Northern Iowa. In 1997 he was earned the Excellence in Education award from the AVCA, and then in 1999 was the Division I Coach of the Year. Iradge has consulted and coached with USA Volleyball for a number of years.

John & Mark expand on this subject in Episode 3 of the Podcast.

Learning from the gurus

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In this excerpt from his Volleyball Coaching Wizards interview, Tom Tait talks about the importance of considering the source when looking to learn from other coaches. This is especially true when thinking to adopt the same methods and strategies as coaches who have a high profile because of recent success.

Tom Tait is essentially the father of the Penn State volleyball programs – both men and women. He led them both from their early days as club programs to their promotion to full varsity status. He eventually handed off the women’s team to Russ Rose, but kept coaching the men for several more years. In that time he reached 6 NCAA tournaments and reach the finals in 1982. Tom was the 1986 Volleyball Monthly National Coach of the Year. He is a member of the inaugural induction class to the AVCA Hall of Fame.

This topic is something John & Mark expand upon in Episode 3 of the Podcast.

Developing the team concept

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In this excerpt from her Volleyball Coaching Wizards interview, Sue Gozansky discusses the development of the team concept.

An AVCA Hall of Fame inductee, Sue Gozansky won nearly 700 matches during a 39 year career coaching at UC Riverside. That tenure includes 3 national championships and a record 20 straight NCAA tournament trips. She is author of the books Championship Volleyball Techniques and Drills and Volleyball Coach’s Survival Guide. Sue travels the world as a coaching instructor for both the FIVB and USA Volleyball.

This topic is something John & Mark expand on further in Episode 1 of the Podcast, and is also a topic featured in the Wizard Wisdom book.

Being authentic as coaches

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In this excerpt from his Volleyball Coaching Wizards interview, Giovanni Guidetti looks at how different nations have their own approaches to training, each resulting in considerable success on the international stage. He concludes by suggesting that at the end of the day each coach must be authentic in how they decide to coach their teams and players.

Giovanni is currently the Turkish women’s national team coach. He previously coached the Dutch national team to 4th in the 2016 Olympics. He previously also coached the German and Bulgarian national squads. He coaches professionally in Turkey and has won multiple CEV Champions League titles and FIVB World Club Championships.

Additional thoughts from Giovanni’s interview can be found in Episode 8 of the Podcast, as well as in the Wizard Wisdom book.