Tag: college

Volleyball Coaching Wizard Al Scates

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A Legend Among Legends

When it comes to institutions in the sport, few can match the 50 years Al Scates led the UCLA men’s volleyball program. Over that time he not only did he win a ton, a number of his former players went on to become successful coaches in their own right.

His resume includes:

  • Over 1200 career victories
  • 19 NCAA Championships
  • 5 Coach of the Year awards
  • AVCA Hall of Fame inductee
  • International Volleyball Hall of Fame inductee

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

– Lots of volleyball history!
– Game training vs blocked
– The legend of the blue curtain
– What’s most important elements for competitive success

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

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

You can also find Al’s interview in the following bundles:

John Dunning on defining team culture

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At the Art of Coaching Volleyball clinic in Fort Worth, TX (held at TCU), John got a chance to sit down with John Dunning, Terry Liskevych, and Russ Rose for a set of interviews. They were not full Wizards style interviews – which generally go 1:30-2:00 hours in length – but they addressed some similar themes. We’ll be releasing clips from those interviews on our YouTube channel over time – five of them this week.

Here’s the first, featuring John Dunning talking about developing and enforcing team culture.

Volleyball Coaching Wizard Dave Shoji

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A Coaching Institution

Dave Shoji is Hawaii volleyball. For more than 40 years he’s been at the helm of a college program which is always at or near the top of the annual attendance figures rankings, with thousands of people coming out to watch his teams play. How many of us would love to coach in front of crowds like that?

His resume includes:

  • More NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball wins than anyone (approaching 1200)
  • Four national championships and over 30 trips to the NCAA tournament
  • 12-time conference, 10-time region, and twice national Coach of the Year
  • AVCA Hall of Fame inductee and named on of the all-time great coaches by USA Volleyball in 2002

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

– Staying in one position for so long
– The pressure of coaching where there is a lot of fan support
– Dealing with problem personalities in the team
– Remembering that coaching is about the players, not about the coach

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

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

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

Volleyball Coaching Wizard John Corbelli

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Assistants Get Credit as Well

John Corbelli is the first interview of someone who has primarily been an assistant coach through is career, notably being a part of a spouse coaching duo. He is well respected as one of the best trainers around.

His resume includes:

  • More than 20 years as assistant coach to his wife at Texas A&M (nearly 500 wins, and almost 20 trips to the NCAA tournament – 2 Final Fours, 30 All-American selections)
  • Three years as an NCAA Division I head coach in his own right.
  • Assistant to Arie Selinger for the USA Women’s National Team during the 1984 Olympics

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

– The qualities of a good assistant coach
– The culture of Hawaiian volleyball
– Coaching with and against your spouse
– Incorporating structured and game-like training approaches

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

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

John’s interview is also available in the following bundles:

Volleyball Coaching Wizard Garth Pischke

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Coaching as a Continuation of Playing

A lot of people have probably never heard of him, but Canadian Garth Pischke has become one of the winningest colleges coaches of all time during his 30+ year tenure leading the University of Manitoba men’s program. This is after being one of Canada’s best national team players.

His resume includes:

  • More victories in men’s college volleyball than even the legendary Al Scates (more than 1300)
  • 26 trips to the CIS National Championships, winning 9 golds, 9 silver, and 5 bronze medals
  • Head Coach of the Canadian National Men’s Volleyball Team from 1996-2000 and guided them from 21st in world rankings to 10th.
  • Selected to the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame, the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame, and the Canadian Volleyball Hall of Fame.

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

– The structure of Canadian volleyball
– The importance of being honest
– Shifting from having a player’s mentality to a coach’s mentality
– Training philosophy
– The use of visualization
– Parenthood and coaching

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

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

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

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 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: