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There are some standard themes which come through from the Wizards interviews. One of them is the subject of this episode of the podcast. The subject is copying from other coaches and/or coaching gurus. Tom Tait, Iradge Ahrabi-Fard, and Giovanni Guidetti all shared their thoughts on the subject during their interviews, some of which we’ve excerpted from this show.

Actually, we apparently were going for some kind of coach name-dropping record, as at least seven different Wizards were mentioned somewhere along the way! Mark tossed in a Big Bang Theory reference as well. :-)

Tom Tait is basically the father of Penn State Volleyball. He was the first coach for both the men’s and women’s teams, having handed the latter off to Russ Rose. He developed the men’s program into a consistent NCAA championship contender before eventually also handing that off. Since then he’s been focused on coaching education, working with the US national team program, and continuing his work as a professor at Penn State.

Iradge Ahrabi-Fard is Iranian-born, but has sent the majority of his career in the US. Like Tom, he too has primarily been a university professor. His views on coaching have been widely published in both academic and coaching circles. Iradge is a member of the AVCA Hall of Fame, won over 500 NCAA Division I matches as a head coach, and consults with the USA national team program.

Giovanni Guidetti is currently the head coach of the Dutch women’s national team and of the Vakifbank club in Turkey. Internationally, he also coached for Germany and Bulgaria. At the club level, he has won two CEV Champions League titles (plus a runner-up) and has won gold and silver at the World Club Championships. In his native Italy, he was twice named Coach of the Year.

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