USA Volleyball Blogs

To Build Up or Tear Down - Lessons i …

Wed Feb 03 16:54:00 -0500 2010

Before dawn last Monday morning I was on my laptop, connected to USA Volleyball's office with Office Communicator, when I saw I was getting a call from an unknown number and area code. I answered, and found myself talking to Byron Shewman, head of our Starlings USA program. He had been in Haiti for… Read More

Your Practice Objectives Should not be a Secret

Tue Feb 02 12:17:00 -0500 2010

One of the things about being here at the Olympic Training Center is the chance to watch so many other teachers of elite sport and athletes do their thing. As I watch other coaches teach, one thing stands out to me, in that they all are very good at communicating, storytelling, and player… Read More

The Score Takes Care of Itself

Sun Jan 31 23:05:00 -0500 2010

 I have been watching my son play up this weekend against the teams in Men's A division here in Colorado. As I marvel at how well 17 and 18 year olds fare against the older, far more experienced men, one key thing comes to mind that we all need to do better. - To play one point at a time. If we… Read More

The Power of Story & Serving

Fri Jan 15 11:39:00 -0500 2010

This is a special weekend for me, as I am working with the best, Carl McGown, as part of his staff at the first Gold Medal Squared Coaching Clinic here at Arizona State University. If you get a chance to attend one of their multi-day sessions - you will come away a better coach, and since the best… Read More

No More Drills, Feedback or Technical Training...

Fri Dec 18 10:00:00 -0500 2009

OK coach, hopefully this title has made you click through to this blog to see what the heck I could be thinking here. Please take the time to read and chew on what I am asking you to consider. I will take them in order as each need their own points of consideration. No More Drills Lately in… Read More

StarKidz and Starlings USA Developments

Wed Dec 16 23:22:00 -0500 2009

Back from a rainy weekend in San Diego filled with warmth and the powerful passionate stories of our Starlings USA National Directors Convention. Over a decade ago former USA National team member Byron Shewman was challenged to do something for the young girls who found themselves by fate to be… Read More

Thanks on Thanksgiving

Thu Nov 26 12:11:00 -0500 2009

On this holiday, I wanted to take just a bit of time to give thanks to everyone in the volleyball family around the world. It has been a challenging November for my own family, as the young man we have been hosting since summer when his family had to move out of state to keep their jobs, an IB… Read More

May We Please Leave a Court Up?

Fri Nov 20 10:28:00 -0500 2009

Over 20 years ago I was working with the University of Colorado program, working with several club teams to merge them into a single varsity program. In this process,  I reached one of my top 10 goals in volleyball, that of having a single volleyball court always up for any level of play to… Read More

A Long Month of Champions

Sun Nov 15 22:13:00 -0500 2009

This is may be the best volleyball "month" in the year --  from late October in Wyoming to mid-December this year in Florida--  as some 49 states host district, regional and then final State High School Championships, while the NCAA and NAIA see their over 1,500 schools… Read More

Tryouts and Our Deepest Fear

Wed Nov 11 08:32:00 -0500 2009

Tryouts can bring out our deep fears, as the talent pyramid begins its inexorable narrowing. From six elementary schools teams, to a couple or so junior high 7th grade teams. From the those junior highs to the one high school program, an onward into the college level.  No athlete wants to feel… Read More

Reflections on Open Gym

Mon Nov 09 11:54:00 -0500 2009

My son Cody is a senior at the oldest high school here in Colorado Springs.  We decided together to start a volleyball club at his school this year, to help grow the boy's high school club program. He is also captaining the varsity lacrosse team again this spring, as an attackman, and by my… Read More

Reflections on Net Heights & Court Dimensions

Wed Nov 04 16:29:00 -0500 2009

I find it baffling that the coaches in our sport do not understand the importance of practicing OVER the net. We take 15 minutes to set up the net - then ignore it for half an hour, letting the players pepper in front of it, throwing balls from in front of it, and generally using it as a wall, not… Read More

Happy Birthday Coach Wooden

Tue Oct 13 14:32:00 -0400 2009

I was fortunate in my beginning stages of coaching in the early 1970s to cross paths with Stew McDole of Graceland College (now University), where I was mentored by Stew and coaches like Chris McLaughlin and Carl McGown. We would work seven days a week doing summer camps, putting in… Read More

Tradition Never Graduates

Thu Oct 08 12:00:00 -0400 2009

I took a trip to Chicago this past weekend, missing my own kids' homecomings to attend one of my own - hoping in part to be there to take part in the 2016 celebration that wasn't to be.  Volleyball in 2016 Rio will be very big - that city hosted the first FIVB World Championships of Beach… Read More

Learning the Game at 9,500 feet

Fri Sep 11 16:05:00 -0400 2009

I journeyed back to Aspen, Colorado, for the Motherlode doubles tourney over this past Labor Day weekend, a pilgrimage I have been taking for almost 40 years.  It was 1974 when I drove my VW Squareback  (now with 525,000 miles but restored and owned by my son Cody) up over the Independence… Read More

Top Thirteen Recent New York Times S …

Tue Sep 01 14:32:00 -0400 2009

  I had Nurture Shock on my next thing to blog about, but today a note from Carl McGown came in this morning with yet another New York Times article that is well worth reading and sharing.  This one is about great footwork, great reading, and great racquet speed as a look is taken at the… Read More

We Coach the Way We Were Coached

Wed Aug 26 15:08:00 -0400 2009

  Each fall for high school, then later when Junior Olympic volleyball clubs begin, training takes place that shows that the science of our sport has not impacted the cultural traditions of this same sport. Well intentioned and even trained coaches enter gyms all over America, and train their… Read More

Paralympic Sports Clubs & Military Sports Programs

Mon Aug 10 18:02:00 -0400 2009

I traveled some this summer doing mostly weekend clinics around the USA primarily for coaches and PE teachers at the youth level. I journeyed from Lander, Wyoming, to Long Island, New York, and places like Phoenix for the newly relocated Volleyball Festival, and Atlanta for the Boy’s Jr.… Read More

Back to My Iowa Grassroots

Wed Jul 29 11:22:00 -0400 2009

I have come back to the place that my coaching of coach's journey really began, to a land where nighthawks cry at dusk. Indeed, the 17 year cicadas are now on their third generation since those times, and still vibrate out their amazingly loud ascending and descending song from the trees. For… Read More

OPPORTUNITYISNOWHERE

Mon Jul 20 16:39:00 -0400 2009

This is one of my favorite "words" ever, and given the economic situation impacting us all, leads us into the reason for this grow the game set of options - for I see things as now here, never nowhere...There has never been a better time to grow volleyball, as not only are we a sport for a lifetime,… Read More

Landslide

Thu Jul 16 10:19:00 -0400 2009

What do Tori Amos, Smashing Pumpkins, Dixie Chicks, The Dance, and Stevie Nicks/Fleetwood Mac all have in common?  Whether acapella, acoustic guitar, solo piano, or more - each have sung the powerful song "Landslide" in a beautiful way, and those songs I have been playing over and over on my 30… Read More

More Volleyball From Vanuatu

Mon Jul 13 11:06:00 -0400 2009

Espiritu Santo...Wrecks to Rainforest -- Vanuatu, Discover untouched seclusion and beauty...that is what Carte de Luganville - the map of this town says.... To see and do here?  World class diving, SS President Coolidge, Million Dollar Point, pristine coral reefs...game fishing....adventure… Read More

Beachroots Volleyball in Vanuatu

Thu Jul 09 13:38:00 -0400 2009

 I have come back to where my grandfather, father and a guy named James Michener once travelled and worked.  My grandfather John Fitzgerald, based out of the Tahiti, fighting to eradicate the dreaded Elephantiasis disease from all the thousands of islands, for the World Health Organization… Read More

Ryan Millar, Olympic Gold Medal Setter….

Tue Jul 07 12:50:00 -0400 2009

Of late, one of my favorite "trivia" questions for volleyball coaches is who set the gold medal match point for the USA Men's team in Beijing? Most guess of course Lloy Ball, the four time Olympic setter who so skillfully bettered ball after ball and gave his hitters the sweet set they desired. But… Read More

Joy in Volleyball

Fri Jul 03 05:00:00 -0400 2009

Today, the USA Junior Olympic Boys' Volleyball Championships here in Atlanta began the first of many National Titles with the finals of the 12-and-under division. This city brings back many memories of helping produce the Indoor Olympic and Paralympic volleyball back in 1996, as well as several Big… Read More

Volleyball and Fly Fishing

Wed Jul 01 16:58:00 -0400 2009

I got a new Orvis Helios 3wt recently. Made from the same carbon fiber they use on the Apache helicopters, it is feather light at 1.75 ounces total, and strong as heck, for casting into the afternoon winds along my favorite little streams. The science of technology amazes me, yet in our sport it… Read More

Father's Day and Volleyball

Fri Jun 26 11:21:00 -0400 2009

 My father was my role model in countless ways, and I have done my best raising my kids as a single dad to follow in his World War II veteran footsteps. Fly Fishing, backpacking, skiing, and more, my kids have also done. It may also come as no surprise that both my kids love to play… Read More

Tennis Anyone?

Thu Jun 25 14:20:00 -0400 2009

Warming up on the beach with your partner has two very powerful messages that indoor players and coaches need to listen to so that more kids find success earlier in the challenges of our sport. First is the tradition/culture of Dig/Pass-set-hit to warm up with. Your doubles partner stands off the… Read More

Olympism and the New White House Off …

Wed Jun 17 16:52:00 -0400 2009

The White House yesterday announced the forming of the Olympic, Paralympic and Youth Sports office. I sent out news of this last night to some friends and leaders with the correct phrasing in my opinion of the new formation of the Youth, Paralympic and Olympic Sports office. More than a few thought… Read More

The Loser's Club

Wed May 27 17:59:00 -0400 2009

The Loser's Club and Playing Blind One of the things about YouTube is the way contests I would never have had the chance to "see" are now things I can enjoy and learn from. The clip below by a blind piano contestant, who just made the top 12 of this year's Van Cliburn, share today thanks to one of… Read More

The Talent Code – Deep Practice, Ign …

Thu May 14 13:45:00 -0400 2009

Sorry for the long break in postings - with two kids in teen sports (volleyball and lacrosse) both in state playoffs and finals almost upon us (and proms, who can forget THAT cultural right of passage...) and getting ready for the important USA Volleyball annual meetings, time to free range think… Read More

Stand By Me

Tue Apr 07 17:26:00 -0400 2009

Just back from National AAHPERD Convention, big success, thousands of PE teachers learning new ideas, and will share that in a separate blog.  I spent most my time with the Brazilian Director of Coaching Education and another Brazilian coach, and got caught up in their samba music and… Read More

TED March Teaching Madness

Mon Mar 30 14:42:00 -0400 2009

Technology Education Design posted some very important clips this month, which I feel every leader growing our sport must view, to be both a better teacher, and to give you more energy to do the wonderful things each of you are doing in that task. Three different areas, all vitally important areas… Read More

Disabled Sports and You

Wed Mar 18 18:22:00 -0400 2009

Today thru Sunday the USA Sitting Men and Women's teams will be training and competing at the Colorado Crossroads against Canada. Come by and meet these four wonderful teams if you are in Denver.  This morning Fred Wendelboe, long time USAV leader, forwarded me a link to a great story about… Read More

Appropriate Coaching

Wed Mar 18 12:46:00 -0400 2009

Appropriate coaching is an important part of being a good coach. Some thoughts about the use of running and other physical punishment follow. I will go back a bit in time to when the term coach was used to move VIPs, who could afford to ride, rather than walk or ride a horse, from one place to… Read More

National Conversations on Good Coaching

Mon Mar 09 11:03:00 -0400 2009

Almost a year ago, Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA ), a Stanford University-based non-profit organization dedicated to transforming youth sports and USAV Affiliated Organization,  joined with USA Volleyball and seven other of the nation's top youth sports groups - serving five million… Read More

The Tragedy of the Commons

Tue Mar 03 16:42:00 -0500 2009

I am starting with a look back into an article that remains timely in this day and age, Garret Hardin's 1968 piece called "The Tragedy of the Commons."  Many decades ago, I graduated from Colorado College with a degree focusing on bionomics. My thesis," Towards a Resourced… Read More

To Sit or Stand During Matches?

Fri Feb 27 10:39:00 -0500 2009

This week I got an email from a coach, who asked a great question - sit or stand during match play? Bill, a coach in GEVA, and Peter, from the USOC who I collaborate a lot with on the science of volleyball, have kindly said I can use our email discussion in today's blog, so here goes: From: Bill… Read More

The Art of Strategy

Wed Feb 18 16:07:00 -0500 2009

One of the things that I find fascinating is the "volleyball canyon" regarding the mental game.  To read about more of these gaps between what the game itself contains, and what coaches train in practice, CLICK HERE to read "Volleyball Canyons to Bridge."  In this article my… Read More

Volleyball Stars to the End

Wed Feb 11 15:54:00 -0500 2009

As the volleyball family grows, so do the numbers of inspirational stories, and of tragic losses.  This past week I have received three emails regarding the passing of talented Jr. Olympic volleyball players: One an accidental suicide, another who fought valiantly to the end with cancer, and a… Read More

Ancora Imparo

Tue Feb 10 19:23:00 -0500 2009

Lately my former teammates from my Italian Pro League days in the early 1980s, have been resurfacing into my life through Facebook of all places.  Paulo Rossi, my setter, is now a coach, Massimo Raffaldi, is a doctor, and Giuseppe Gallina - whose family owned the most delicious pastry stop in… Read More

How to Make Coaches Great

Fri Feb 06 10:25:00 -0500 2009

One of the sites I frequent often is posting new videos this week, as the TED conference for 2009 is happening right now. Yesterday I was talking with Andy Pai from our Coaching Education Program department, and realized he did not know of this website, which I share at every CAP, IMPACT , Webinar,… Read More

The Magic Hockey Helmet and More

Mon Feb 02 13:02:00 -0500 2009

I spent over half an hour this morning on the phone with a parent, who had been ejected from his daughter’s 12-and-under volleyball tournament yesterday. He has a daughter who plays another sport, where referee heckling is part of the culture and he is struggling with learning the culture of… Read More

How We Make Decisions

Fri Jan 30 16:28:00 -0500 2009

Most of you reading my work over the years understand the importance I place on improving the most important skill in our sport – reading. As in reading the opponent, anticipating, judging what is going on etc. Stu Sherman took me back over 20 years ago to when his brother Craig, on his way to… Read More

John Kessel - Turning Five Medals in …

Mon Jan 26 12:28:00 -0500 2009

Greetings Volleyball Family - The tremendous success of our teams in Beijing, including the Paralympic Sitting Women's team winning a silver medal last month, now opens this chance to share ideas with everyone on growing our sport together. This weekend, the Youth & Junior Olympic Volleyball… Read More

John Kessel - USOC Seminar on Develo …

Mon Jan 26 12:27:00 -0500 2009

Starting tomorrow, a USOC Seminar I have been looking forward to for months, is finally happening. Take a look at this schedule!  For those who have taken IMPACT, the names Schmidt and Ericsson have been seen for over 20 years throughout the motor skill section of the manual.  The title… Read More

John Kessel - Growing the Game in Oklahoma

Mon Jan 26 12:26:00 -0500 2009

Today's must read is by none other than Malcom Gladwell again - an excellent new article in the New Yorker on effective teaching and "predicting" success that you can access it here on their website.  I have lots of travel these next few weeks...Washington DC and the… Read More

John Kessel - More Street Volleyball Please

Mon Jan 26 12:25:00 -0500 2009

Hanging out at this year's NCAA Volleyball Championships in chilly Omaha, Neb., one cannot help but be warmed by the wonderful hospitality of the Cornhusker Nation and Great Plains members. Wednesday night, thanks to Sue Mailhot, commissioner of this region &ndash - which leads all 40 RVAs… Read More

John Kessel - Passion, Burnout and Teaching

Mon Jan 26 12:24:00 -0500 2009

I just watched a very powerful ESPN Outside the Lines story on a very special athlete, Elena Della Donne. I strongly urge all Junior Olympic volleyball directors and coaches to watch it, as well as read the story. It has three important threads woven together – burn out, passion and being… Read More

John Kessel - A Coaching Challenge and Reality

Mon Jan 26 12:23:00 -0500 2009

Just back from Milwaukee where over 60 coaches shared two full days of a CAP course. I got up at 3 am to catch a 6 am NW flight there and spent a very interesting part of Friday with the Badger Region Board of Directors and Junior Leaders, sharing ideas on growing the game…Jenny Hahn and the… Read More

John Kessel - HP Clinic Lessons Shared

Mon Jan 26 10:57:00 -0500 2009

So we are in the fourth day of this year's USA Volleyball High Performance Coaches' Clinic and CAP I,II, III sessions here at the Olympic Training Center. Hugh McCutcheon, Tom Hogan and Peter Vint headline a group of our sport's most passionate people in presenting ideas to teach… Read More

John Kessel - The Leave a Ball Behin …

Fri Jan 16 18:11:00 -0500 2009

Today I packed up some volleyballs to send to the deserving programs of the Special Olympics in Jamaica and to coach Wiyaka Chasing Hawk, who is making volleyball happen for kids on the reservation at the Cheyenne River Project in Eagle Butte, S.D.These donated balls came from the USA Junior Olympic… Read More

John Kessel - Capitalization Rates,  …

Tue Nov 18 13:35:36 -0500 2008

One of the first things that came out of our USOC conference for me was to hear from Dr. K Anders Ericsson that Malcom Gladwell was coming out with a new book. Sure enough, I went online and ordered Outliers, due out in a week. It will go along side his other GREAT reads titled – Tipping Point… Read More