GTG Blog Updates

Check out the latest postings on the 2^nd most viewed blog of all the thousands hosted by the US Olympic Committee’s Team USA website, joining coaches and players from over 100 different nations in learning about the science of the game, and eclectic observations from USAV’s John Kessel. Set an RSS feed to

Coaching by Fear Wed Apr 25, 2012 There is a famous segment in one of my favorite movies of all time – Monty Python and the Holy Grail – where the “team” of knights, led by Coach, I mean, King Arthur encounter a little white rabbit. They had been expecting a horrible beast by all accounts, and… Read More

The Evolution of Pepper Wed Feb 29, 2012 This second in a series of sharing the evolution of popular drills – into grills or even games, takes on perhaps the most hallowed of traditions… “pepper.”You may not even know why players call it this term, you just carry on this tradition of calling it and doing it its…Read More

Jim Coleman Impact & Immediate Feedback Sun Feb 26, 2012 On October 22, 2012, Jim Coleman would be turning 80 years old. His passing a over a decade ago, in August of 2001, meant heaven picked up one of the best volleyball minds in the world to ever walk into a gym. At our USA Volleyball offices, all our historical material is in a large library area…Read More

Specialization is for Insects Wed Feb 15, 2012 A long talk last week with a writer from Volleyball Magazine, got me contemplating some principles that are important on the topic of “specialization” The first thought that came to mind, is the title of this blog – taken from this quote: A human being should be able to change a…Read More

The Evolution of the Butterfly Drill Mon Feb 6, 2012 Been thinking about one of the drills that most volleyball coaches and players, with a little bit of experience, known around the world – “Butterfly” More to the point I guess I have been reflecting on how the motor learning principles of increasing contacts per hour and…Read More

What Can a Player Control? Fri Feb 3, 2012 This week my son Cody is playing in his first ever college matches for Princeton. He has been touching base lately about his concerns about playing at this next level, which will be played against California teams like UCSD (who Princeton has not defeated in over 11 years) Long Beach and Cal…Read More

The Randomness of the Bigger Game Wed Feb 1, 2012 This guest blog is by Eric Hodgson, chair of the USA Volleyball's Grassroot's Commission and full time Director of Outreach for the Arizona Region of USA Volleyball. For more on his position, click http://www.azregionvolleyball.org/Outreach/index.html Note: If going to the doctor…Read More

Coaching the Human Animal Fri Jan 2, 2012An advance heads up to start this blog, it is going to cost you the price of buying a movie, which you likely have not seen and which has become one of my favorite movies ever – documentary really – as it teaches huge lessons to all those wanting to be a better coach, teacher, or…Read More

I Love to Watch you Play Sat Nov 19, 2011 As my last child winds her way through that last year of high school, somehow juggling five AP classes, two varsity sports with captains practices and road trips, peer counseling, friendships that have endured 3/4th her life on this remarkable planet….I keep thinking on how much I am going…Read More

Great by Choice / Thinking, Fast & Slow Wed Nov 02 2011 OK, One down, two books to go…. I blogged about the one down The Rare Find last week. http://usavolleyball.org/blogs/growing-the-game-together-blog/posts/3344-the-rare-find The two to go?.... Well, I’m now reading Nobel prize winner Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking Fast and…Read More

The Rare Find Wed Oct 26 2011 I just finished one of those books that I feel all readers of this Growing the Game Together blog should also take the time to read. Then re-read. Long ago, then US Olympic team coach Terry Liskevych, told me of a study on talent, done with the National Football League general managers at that…Read More

STOP Teaching Setting Fri Oct 21 2011 - After the dialogue from my blog called “Stop Teaching Passing” - I felt as this junior season starts up that it is important to give all you teachers of the game a few more titles to chew on. What in gosh sakes am I saying here, when I spent last season teaching my kids a 6-3…Read More

Random Observations on Coaches... Mon Oct 17 2011 I have observed thousands of coaches presenting skill and drill ideas to others – both players and coaches – in the last 40 years of my coaching career, and have come to some observations to consider. Coaches on the court like to hear themselves talk. And talk. And talk. Some…Read More

To My Amazing Daughter - Performance IS Variable Fri Sep 30 2011 - Last night was one of those powerful times where parenting and sports collide. I am going to get a bit personal here, as the impact moment happened to my daughter’s team and my daughter, who I am also writing to in this specific blog. A bit of background, so my readers who do not know of my…Read More

Inclusion Through Sitting Volleyball Thu Aug 25 2011 Many readers know of my passion for the disabled side of our sport – from Paralympic to Special Olympics. Some recent news is that the World Games for the Special Olympics will be in Los Angeles in 2015 so start planning, and I will be serving on the Jury at the 2012 London…Read More

Guest Blog - Winning the Lottery Wed Jun 15 2011 -- Sometimes I get an email that just seems a waste to let remain in my email folder, but instead be shared. This story by Dennis Belaire, who is busy growing as a coach by giving back to USA Volleyball through work with our USAV Sports United Grant for the 6 NORCECA nations and a lot of YMCA…Read More

International Guest Blog - Power Cup … Tue Jun 14 2011 This special international edition guest blog comes to us from Lauri Aatos Hakala. As a collegiate men’s player at BYU under the great Carl McGown, he was a great student of the game. Now he is naturally moving into being an equally skilled coach, and, after several years playing…Read More

Bionic Warriors and Heroes Mon May 16 2011 This week begins one of the more special annual events held at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, the Wounded Warrior Games. No time for Tuesday Tips for the Coaches of Chaos, sorry. This event is just mega-important to the volleyball family. That said, this Thursday is a…Read More

Promoting Volleyball Promoting volleyball is a duty of every coach and player. Luckily, we have a great lifetime sport to share with others. There are lots of material on the USAV website, including the handout on "Why USAV is the Right Choice," and the "Volleyball Basics Guide." Articles like "How to Stage a…Read More

STOP Teaching Passing! No matter where I go in the world to teach, the traditional coaches mantra of “Can’t pass, can’t hit” is one of the first statements I hear in any language. Then, when we introduce our sport to new players of any age, the first skill taught is almost always “the…Read More