Talking Volleyball (Steve Hammond, B.J. LeRoy)

Tim Toy joins us to talk about a journey through adversity that has led to a life of giving through the We Serve First Foundation. We talk about the gifts his late wife Ellen brought to him, the game and her athletes and the legacy left behind through the foundation. Join us, learn more and consider what it means to you.

Nick Toth, Assistant Coach at Kings High School joins us to talk about their championship run and his coaching journey. We learn about how to keep the coaching fire burning and how coaches learn from each other and support their teams. There's a lot more to Nick's journey, so check out our conversation.

Daryl Adams joins us to talk about his coaching journey and working in diverse and economically challenged communities. Culture differences that coaches might miss can make a big difference when working to build trust with athletes and other coaches. 

BJ and I have had camps over the past couple of weeks. We had some interesting challenges and thought we would compare notes on what we learned and maybe what we’d change.

David Roper, Head Coach at Colleton Prep Academy in South Carolina joins us to discuss ideas for newer coaches working with existing teams. We cover coaching with Covid, ideas for warmups, scouting and more.

Heidi Anderson, PE Expert and Esteemed Volleyball Coach joins us to share her perspectives on teaching the sport. We talk about coaching duties including the admin tasks and how you might deal with them. We notice how prepared or unprepared athletes are for tryouts. And then there is the third rail topic of blocked and random practice. Check it out.

Coach Ray Vance joins us. Ray talks about his evolution from PE class to volleyball coach. His range from club to secondary to all college levels gives him great perspective on the game. What are some ways to use statistics and performance data to help players improve? Which ones matter for your team? How to grow the game at the grassroots level? We cover that and more.

Mark and BJ spend some time helping me out with ideas for how to set up a camp for 6-12 grades. There are lots of unknowns (staffing, number of kids, court availability). So, we’ll be looking to be flexible and agile. We also discuss developing programs at small schools. Have a listen to three coaches sharing ideas.

Do you coach younger or beginner players? Are you new to coaching altogether? Jen Schutte joins us to talk about her journey and insights about coaching young players. We’ll discuss how she makes the game fun and productive for her young athletes. I know I’m stealing a few ideas from our session for my team. If you are an experienced coach or a parent, aunt, uncle or friend new to coaching, there is a lot to learn about helping grow the sport with these young athletes.

In this episode, Ray Lewis joins us. Ray has a unique volleyball journey in progress. Ray’s experiences include an NAIA Championship, winning the SIAC Conference Championship in his first year and starting two D1 Mens’ programs. He is one busy coach. So join us to learn more.

This week we have Diane Williams as our guest. Diane brings a different point of view. As a sports journalist, her journey through that craft and its intersection with basketball and

volleyball generates interesting stories and encounters. Diane shares tales of a young female journalist in the 70’s and 80’s and how intertwined her path was and is with many influential volleyball players and coaches. Settle in for a great hour of storytelling.

We’ve had a few “breaking news” items with a few of our recent guests. In our session today, we talk with Deitre Collins-Parker. From last person chosen for her high school team, to college standout, to Olympian, to a college and club coaching career, and now…well, you’ll need to listen to hear about her move to the Pro Volleyball Federation. Enjoy!

In this episode, we talk with Jim Keane and Dan Mickle about the Big Club experience. We recorded this as Girls’ Tryouts were in progress in much of the country and coaches, players and parents were stressing about their upcoming seasons. Let’s hear what they’ve experienced.

Mark Kirlin joins us. Mark brings a wealth of high school and club coaching experience to this session. We will talk about what valuable lessons we have learned as coaches and what we would have told our younger selves about coaching. We hope it helps you. So, join us

This week we catch up with Dr. Cecile Reynaud. Cecile has had quite a coaching journey. Starting right out of college, she led the Florida State Seminoles for 26 seasons notching 635 victories in that time. Cecile has been heavily involved in coaching education with USA Volleyball and has influenced many coaches around the world. But we’ve buried the lead here. Cecile has recently come out of retirement. As Vice President of Volleyball Operations, she is helping launch the Pro Volleyball Federation here in the USA. We talk about that, some of her volleyball journey and the future of volleyball. Settle in for a fun hour!

Michael Gomez joins us for volleyball, sports and life from another perspective. After a 20 year jaunt in the corporate world at Bose and Sony Electronics, Michael shifted his focus. He discovered photography at Sony and spent his free time shooting anyone willing to be photographed. That led him to explore everything from weddings to portraits to family photos. But there’s another dynamic, his volleyball life from high school to college and the pros. BJ met Michael where his volleyball and photography passions meet…on the sand and on the court. We’ll talk about that and Michael’s upcoming work at the Paris Olympics. It’s a fascinating look at passion and work life.

This is an extra treat for the holidays at a different hour for us. John Kessel joined us to talk all things volleyball and his latest labor of love, Puma Hills Mountain Retreat. You’ll be interested in all the work that John does and he has a request for us all to find ways to grow the game in our own way. We worked out the logistics to get John with us and had a great conversation with Cody’s dad. 

Coach Mike Murphy of Prentice High School in Northern Wisconsin joins us to talk about small town programs. We talk about his volleyball history, how he developed his coaching skills and his path to developing a fun and successful program with high levels of player and coach trust. Take a listen…

Our intended guest, Dr. Oana Coman had some technical challenges, so BJ and I talk about how we use our day jobs to inform our coaching. We also talk about tools we use and how we challenge our thinking about coaching on a continuing basis. We talk about figuring out “what matters” for our situations and maybe yours as well. Have a listen…

Coach Craig Friedrichsen joins BJ and me to talk about competition with and among our least experienced players. Craig is coaching a 10’s team this year and we cover a broad range of coaching ideas to help young players grow and have fun. We share ideas and stories of things that work and some that don’t. Maybe we will spark some new thinking for you. Have a listen.

Our guest this week is Karen Jarvis from Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada. Karen has coached both boys and girls in age groups from 12 to 18 in a community environment. We’ll talk about that in the session. Join us to learn about teaching kids about life with ball.

Mike Murphy, Head Coach of Prentice High School joins us to talk about how to deal with player injuries during a highly competitive season. We talk about other times when plans change and teams innovate. Have a listen.

Neal Emminger of Intensity Volleyball Club (IVC) in Atlanta joins us. Neal will share his experiences in club, high school and college ball. We will discuss getting started and growing the Beach game and delve into coaching and parenting college level volleyball athletes.

Dan Mickle, head women’s coach at York College (DIII) and lead coach of the USA Volleyball ParaBeach program joins us to talk about tryouts. Dan’s experience in performance psychology and mental skills training gives him a unique perspective. We talk about some of the challenges of tryouts at college, high school and club levels. What opportunities are we missing when we cut an athlete? How might we help them with ongoing roles in the support of the sport? How can better communication make the process better for all? See if you can find something to help with your program.

This week we talk with Pete Wung, Ph.D. about volleyball coaches who have other pursuits in their life and apply all they have learned to the craft and science of coaching. You’ll need to be a little patient because the technical crew (me) made a few errors at the beginning of the conversation. But it’s all good and we hope you’ll learn as much as we did.

Sara Lippitt of Dig and Swing Podcast and CAP III certified coach, joins us to talk about youth volleyball. We talk about “tough” coaches, coaching younger players versus high school players. What are ways we can help them have fun and stay with the sport? How do we fight the biases of how you were coached? What do we do if players and parents expect what we consider “toxic” coaching? Check it out.

Toby Manzanares, Head Coach at Rio Rancho High in Albuquerque, New Mexico joins BJ and me to talk about high school programs. Toby recently won his 500th career match. He will be honored on 12/16/22 at the AVCA Convention in Omaha. Toby has a lot to share, so join us for a great conversation.

We’ve been away from the podcast for a while and I’m catching up with converting our live streams to podcasts. This episode features BJ and me talking about high school programs. BJ had accepted a new head coaching and I was at the beginning of our boys’ playoffs here in Arizona. We talk about our programs, goals, sportsmanship and more. 

Dan Mickle rejoins us to discuss performance psychology and how to help good players become great players. Dan also discusses his work in paralympic beach and college indoor coaching.

As we begin uploading our back catalog, Dave McGee, Head Coach of the Hollins University Women’s Program joins us. Dave and BJ share some reflections on Carl McGowan, charting, learning from mistakes, coaching philosophies, strategy and more. Dave shares some really useful ideas about eye work and focus and how to improve his team’s performance.

More breaking news in this episode. Accomplished player, coach and author of Coach Your Brains Out and host of the podcast of the same name, Billy Allen’s volleyball life is fascinating. An AVP Tour regular since 2004, Billy finds ways to grow the game for himself and those he coaches. And Billy also writes. In addition to his “Coach Your Brains Out” guide, he has authored The Inner Knight about training and competing and other fictional works including his “Blood” trilogy, with the latest installment in progress. Billy has some great news about his next  challenge, so take a listen.

Jim Keane of Saint Anselm College joins us to talk about his ideas for on-court communications. We cover geographical differences and his suggestions on how to get the most from communication without overloading your athletes.

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Our guest and co-host were both a bit under the weather. So we slogged through and had a good discussion about how to help our high school players overcome some of the challenges they face with passing and other skills.

In this episode, Lauren Haight joins us to talk high school and club volleyball in lovely Michigan and beyond. The conversation covered developing a volleyball IQ camp for kids, how we might build trust with players and parents, how coaches behave and more. Have a listen.

Today’s podcast is a long one. Loren Anderson joins us to talk about motor learning, the Contraints-Led Approach to Coaching and some of the science behind how we can coach. Science evolves as we experiment and learn, so if you’re curious, you might enjoy our close to 2 hours with Loren.

Loren Anderson joins us today to talk about his experience at the Paralympic Sitting Team Training Center. The shift in perspective will change how you think about learning. Take a listen. It will change how you help your players learn the game.

Sue Gozansky, author of the Volleyball Coach’s Survival Guide and USAV Cadre Member joins us to talk about learning as coaches in our coaching journey. Sue talks about her coaching history, her latest coaching work, being an assistant after being a head coach for 40 years or so and other fun topics. Check it out!

We are on our own this week. We talk about coaches, over-coaching and some of our blind spots, How might you teach exercises like speedball more effectively. What about summer camps and how to conduct them? In the last half, we challenge the “there is no I in team” mindset. Is is always team before the individual? Or maybe we should focus on bringing mentally and physically healthy players into the team? We’ll explore that a bit. It’s a challenging discussion, so stop by and check it out.

David Cordes joined us in November of 2021 to talk about a number of topics. We were pretty new at this and took a little while to get things sorted out…and you’ll hear some of that. Most of the conversation focused on the role volleyball can play in the life of our young athletes. They come to the team as individuals and we help them become good teammates while respecting their individuality. David is a wonderful guy, so listen to his perspective.

Beth Van Fleet joins us this week. Beth is the head coach of the Georgia State University “Sandy Panthers” who completed a successful 2023 campaign with their second consecutive NCAA National Championship appearance. She currently serves as the Chair of the AVCA All-America Committee and as the beach representative on the AVCA Board of Directors. Beth is an accomplished beach and indoor player, having earned Bronze and Silver medals on the NORCECA Beach Volleyball circuit.

We talk about coaching and building a beach program, some of the mental aspects of the game and how to help our athletes develop as people and competitors.

Come join us for a great conversation.

This is our second episode using NotebookLM to help us explore a topic. Researchers like Rob Gray at Arizona State University and many others are exploring how we learn to move. Their science can be a little intimidating and we have used Google's NotebookLM tool to digest some of Rob's podcasts and generate this short discussion of the topics of Ecological Dynamics and the Constraints-led Approach (CLA) to learning. Hopefully this introduction is helpful in starting your own journey to understand this approach and use it in your coaching.

In this episode, we explore reasons that coaches use punishment and consequences in their coaching. We are joined by Heidi Anderson, John Kessel, David Cordes and Loren Anderson, who share their thoughts, experiences and learnings.

Coach Craig Friedrichsen joins us for a second visit. Last time we talked about competition with and among our least experienced players. Craig shares a revelation from his recent work helping his U10 players hit the ball harder. We also cover some of his learning from other podcasts and videos and his recent addition of journaling for his team. Maybe we will spark some new thinking for you. Have a listen.

Today, we are talking with Connor Swigart. Connor talks with us about his motivations to start coaching. His Liberty Hurricanes High School Girls are a high performing program in Eastern Pennsylvania. Connor talks ecological dynamics and his curiosity about learning more about this approach to coaching. We talk about expanding range, error amplification and how we might play with constraints and how to help players improve their ability to score.

This week BJ and I are on our own. We talk about ways to grow the sport and share some ideas on getting more kids into playing. Maybe our conversation will spark some ideas for you. So, come join the conversation.

After a week off, BJ and I give you a distraction from the constant Super Bowl fare. BJ is scanning the VCT (Volleyball Coaches and Trainers) Facebook topics of the week for some discussion. If you were active this week and want to hear us chat about your topic, stop by. Better yet, join in the chat with your ideas.   

1. 00:00:00 Introduction 
2. 00:03:52 Turkey Tragedy 
3. 00:08:55 History of the Game 
4. 00:20:15 Players' Emotions 
5. 00:36:20 What coaches do to make players nervous 
6. 00:45:01 Nightmare Parents 
7. 00:55:05 Talkative Players 
8. 01:03:09 Can't make practice

Carmelo Dela Fuente joins us to talk about the basics of Data Volley. We'll also talk through some thinking about statistics and how to use them to help your players grow. This one has some demonstrations online, so if you are interested, you may want to have a look at the YouTube livestream recording later on.

Rod Wilde of Wilde4Volleyball.com joins us from Madison, Wisconsin this week. After our episode with Tom Sorensen, Rod and BJ connected for our second Pepperdine guest in a row. Rod has a long history in the sport. He was a member of the Waves’ NCAA Championship team and 8 years later won the title again as coach of the Waves. He was the first rookie coach to win an NCAA title after taking over from legend Marv Dunphy. We’ll talk with Rod about those times and other stories, including working with paralympic athletes. Enjoy the conversation!

Our “Beach Legends” series continues. In this episode, Adam Johnson joins us to talk about his volleyball journey. We start with a little history. Adam shares how he started playing at the Laguna Beach Volleyball Club and about the value of being a multi-sport athlete. He talks about the AVP grind, missing the sport and playing some 4-man. Then we move on to the synergies between beach and indoor, how he teaches, and where he, and the sport, are headed these days. So, listen in for a great discussion.

In this conversation, Jay Hosack of George Mason joins us shortly after hosting the NCAA Men’s Championships. BJ has worked with Jay in USAV CAP programs and knows he’s an expert at getting his players to achieve their best. We’ll talk about that and other topics, so have a listen. 

We've been away for a while and we are still thinking about what's next. In the meantime, we're still playing with tech ideas to help with learning and communication.

That leads us to this podcast that we'll call the first episode of season 2. We're using NotebookLM, a personal language model from Google (beta) to listen to our Season 1, Episode 22 discussion on punishment and coaching.

We were joined by Heidi Anderson, John Kessel, Loren Anderson and David Cordes to explore this topic.

I had NotebookLM "listen" to the podcast and use its podcast capability to prepare a review of the discussion and gather takeaways. The two AI hosts discuss what they heard and present it here.

A little scary and a little amazing at the same time. I hope you find it interesting.

This week we talk with former Olympian and current club coach Tom Sorensen. BJ and Tom share their Wisconsin roots and talk about Tom’s experiences, from high school to Pepperdine to the National team. We discuss coaching lessons from Marv Dunphy, John Wooden and Tom himself. You’ll be taping an X on your floor this week after listening to this one. Join us for a fun conversation.