Former Assistant Coach John Speraw

John Speraw

Assistant Coach
USA Men's National Volleyball Team
Second Year

John Speraw (Irvine, Calif.) joined the U.S. Men’s Volleyball Team as an assistant coach in April of 2007, agreeing to help the team as long as he could remain head coach of the men’s volleyball team at the University of California at Irvine, where he had coached for five years.

A few weeks later, Speraw led the Anteaters to the 2007 NCAA Men’s Volleyball Championship, defeating IPFW in the final, 3-1. The Anteaters ended the season 29-5 overall, the most wins in school history.

As an assistant coach for the U.S. Men’s National Team, Speraw was on the floor when the team won the gold medal at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Speraw’s position became even more important when Head Coach Hugh McCutcheon had to leave the team for its first three matches after McCutcheon's father-in-law was killed and his mother-in-law was gravely injured by an attacker while sightseeing in Beijing, China. Speraw and the rest of McCutcheon’s staff helped carry the team to victories in those three matches and then five more to win the Olympic title.

Speraw also served as assistant coach as the U.S. Men won its first World League title in 2008 and qualified for the Olympic Games at the NORCECA Continental Qualifier in January of 2008.

Speraw has extensive international coaching experience. He was the head coach of the USA Junior National Team, which won a silver medal at the NORCECA Junior Men’s Continental Volleyball Championship in 2005. He served as an assistant for the Youth National Team (1998 and 2001), the World University Games Team (1997 and 1999) and the Pan American Games Team (1999).

In the fall of 2008, Speraw will enter his seventh season as the head men's volleyball coach at UC Irvine guiding the Anteaters to the postseason the last three seasons.

With UCI's national championship in 2007, Speraw joined Rod Wilde as the only ones to have won a title as a head coach, assistant coach and player. Speraw, Wilde and Bob Yoder are the only three to have accomplished the feat as a player and head coach.

Speraw, was named 2006 AVCA National Coach of the Year as well as Mountain Pacific Sports Federation and Volleyball Magazine Coach of the Year. He has been a finalist for National Coach of the Year three of the last five years.

In 2008, Speraw received a Pillar Award, which showcases outstanding achievement in ethical leadership at the12th Annual Ethics in America Awards. Speraw was also named to OC METRO Business Magazine's 18th annual list of the Hottest 25 Business People of Orange County and was tabbed No. 16 in the Daily Pilot's 2007 Top 103 Most Influential People in the Newport/Costa Mesa Area. Speraw was also one of their Most Influential People and the Sports Newsmaker of the Year in 2006.

Prior to UCI, Speraw served in various roles with the UCLA volleyball program for 12 years. He played middle blocker for the Bruins from 1990-95 and was a member of two national championship teams. He was named to the NCAA All-Tournament team in 1995 when he had 11 kills and eight blocks in the championship victory over Penn State.

Speraw became a volunteer assistant coach with the Bruins before assuming a full-time assistant's position in 1998. He graduated from UCLA in 1995 with a bachelor of science degree in microbiology and molecular genetics.

Speraw is also the co-author of the book Exercise for Your Muscle Type: The Smart Way to Get Fit.