If you haven’t already checked out John Dunning, Russ Rose, and Terry Liskevych’s new website, The Art of Coaching Volleyball, it is a great resource for all levels of volleyball coaches. I appreciate the insight of Terry’s defensive strategy, I spent time picking up great tips from John Dunning through an hour long setting video tutorial, and listening to Russ Rose always provides interesting perspective and candor.

I hope the website continues it’s approach to providing great volleyball content to better our sport.

Winthrop’s new Head Coach, Julie Torbett, played at Penn State under Russ Rose and the open communication leads to great opportunities like New Year’s in Italy with Russ Rose.  Unfortunately, the opportunity does not include a free trip to Italy with Russ Rose (and please keep in mind, I am not get paid for any advertisements or promotions on this website), but a pipeline to insight and knowledge of the 5 time NCAA Champion Coach.  I am hoping to catch some of the spillage when the statistics pot boils over, but you can learn from Coach Rose, firsthand in Italy this coming New Year’s.  Sounds like an opportunity of a lifetime.

PARTICIPATE IN THE COACHING EXPERIENCE OF A LIFETIME

• Come and meet coaches from around the nation and from other countries
• Share in a unique cultural exchange with Italian coaches
• Receive expert coaching tips and instruction from the nation’s best volleyball coaches
• Experience once-in-a-lifetime overseas experiences
• Visit famous tourist sites (included)
• All breakfasts and dinners are included!
• Enjoy a fantastic New Year’s Eve in Italy

HIGHLIGHTS

• Share strategy and techniques with Russ Rose and Staff
• Interact with high school, club, junior college, NCAA, and other coaches from around the globe
• On Court sessions with Italian National Team Program Coaches
• Comprehensive coach training
• High school and club coaches will get an in-depth look at the collegiate and international game
• Develop the CHAMPIONSHIP MENTALITY with Russ Rose
• Practice plan, skill breakdown and intensity

There will be a LIMITED number of spots available. Spots may fill prior to deadlines.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT/ COACHES ROUNDTABLE

• Go behind the scenes and interact in a roundtable discussion & share ideas with 4-time NCAA championship coach Russ Rose
• Young, aspiring coaches can network, learn from the best and learn what it takes to succeed
• In depth training on the transition from high school/club to college to USA to Pro
• Identify strategies for recruiting , practice planning,  pickingt he right players, and building your program
• Networking opportunities to improve recruiting
• Scouting and how to prepare for an opponent
• Maximize your teams potential. Running the right system to benefit the strengths of your team.

SOCIAL COMPONENT
This is your opportunity spend time off the court with Russ Rose, Italian Junior National Team Coaches, NCAA and other college and club coaches in relaxed fun and social settings designed to fit your schedule. Spend as much time as you want training, vacationing, sightseeing, or creating your own adventure. Coaches will be free to pick and choose the sessions that they attend hence giving you more time to see italy or vacation. Private New Years eve party with champagne toast featuring Russ Rose and friends.

TENTATIVE AGENDA*

• December 26: Leave USA for Rome (FCO)
• December 27: Rome for 3 nights
• December 30: Bologna for 3 nights, Big Event for New Years, Day Trip to Florence on the way
• January 2: Full day of sightseeing in Venice
• January 3: Leave Venice (VCE) and arrive to USA same day

* subject to change as trip is refined

COACHING PACKAGE

• $2,295 ($1995 if booked by May 31)
  First come, first serve. Book early to reserve your spot and take advantage of the early bird price!

• Single supplement (for single room)
  $40/night OR $280 extra/tour

• Deposit:$250 pp / $500 per couple

• Bring a Friend: (Non clinic attendees ): $1495/person
  Non-Refundable deposit of $250 due 8/31/11

Note: All breakfasts and dinners are included. (Lunch on own)

ADD-ONS ($120 extra per day)

• Early Arrival: on 12/26/11 to Rome
• Late Departure: on 1/4/12 or 1/5/12

Clubs that would like to send multiple coaches from the same program,
please contact us for group discounts or would like to bring a team to play,
please contact us as there will be a player/team camp running concurrently.

WHAT’S INCLUDED

• On court coaching development
• Coaches Roundtable with Russ Rose and Friends
• Many social activities in a relaxed & casual setting
• Training tips and strategies from USA and international coaches
• Sightseeing in the coolest country in Europe
• Cultural exchange opportunities
• Breakfast and dinners included (lunch on own)
• Table wine served with dinners

Bring it Promotions

• Experience and expertise in running European, South American, Asian, and other International Tours

• BIP has an excellent track record of working with international volleyball programs

• Awesome sightseeing and unique

Register HERE

Russ Rose was in Montreux, Switzerland to watch the USA Women’s Team. It must have been interesting for him to be a spectator to his former Penn State players.

Team USA took fourth place, losing to China in the bronze medal match.  Karch Kiraly was acting head coach of the squad as Hugh McCutcheon must have been recruiting for his Minnesota team (I’m just kidding, Hugh deserves a break too).  But the team, overall, is coming together as players continue to fight for their roles as they learn to play as a team.  I’m sure Hugh will have them ready for the 2012 Olympics in London.

What I found interesting were Russ’ blog posts.  It was pretty much a recap of the tournament and I don’t think Russ is going to become a blogger anytime soon, “The final day and final blog come with a great deal of anticipation for the teams in the finals and a welcome reprieve from the author.”  But I did find his final paragraph insightful:

My final thoughts on the event were that the game is always in a state of change and there remains various ways to play the game from both a technical and tactical platform. Some teams rely on precision to combat an apparent physical disadvantage at the net and others fall back on their natural talents to overpower the opponent. The jump spin serve has transitioned to more of a jump floater and the international protocol of a 30 minute warm-up shows that we may be over preparing on game night in the college game. Teams at all levels succeed because of their personnel in addition to their ability to play together.

The jump floater is becoming more prevalent in the women’s game (the men still dominate with the jump top spin serve) and I couldn’t agree more with the college game over preparing on game night.  Collegiate warm-ups seem to be more of a choreographed dance recital that can last longer than the actual match.

Here are the final sets of USA vs China (5th set of pool play) and USA vs Cuba (to get into the Gold medal match):

The Net Live is “the best podcast in the entire volleyball world”.  For all I know, it is the only volleyball podcast, but the content seriously is the best for USA Volleyball, updates on US Players overseas, NCAA Men’s and Women’s volleyball and the happenings of the beach volleyball saga in the United States.  Hosted by Kevin Barnett, former USA National Team player and now broadcaster (you might have heard him call the 2008 Olympic matches), and Chris “Geeter” McGee, the voice of the ex-AVP Tour fills in for Reid Priddy while Reid plays in Russia.  The show air  live every Monday at 10:00am (Pacific Time) or you can download their podcast on iTunes.

The Net Live often has special guests.  Recently, I listened to Michigan Head Coach, Mark Rosen, Texas Head Coach, Jerritt Elliott, and Texas senior Julianne Faucette.  They had Penn State’s Russ Rose was on the show just after winning his 4th consecutive National Championship.   The Net Live recently made a big splash at the AVCA Convention hosting a live show.  Hugh McCutcheon was on the podcast for a while, followed up by Illinois Head Coach, Kevin Hambly.

Al B Hanneman was on the show announcing the NVL, National Volleyball League, next phase of beach volleyball in the US.  I could go on about the people on the show…

Just listen.  It’s good.  Find them here: http://thevolleyballnetwork.com/portal/the-net-live/

At the AVCA Convention, I listened to a presentation by Russ Rose and Terry Liskevych titled: What We have Learned in 75+ Years of Coaching. Besides it being quite comical, Russ and Terry provided some great insight into how the sport has changed from side-out scoring to rally score and how the sport will continue to develop.

Both Russ and Terry gave great praise to the late Jim Coleman who was a mentor to them both.  As a way of giving back to the sport, they have collaborated with a number of great coaches to give a clinic in which all proceeds are donated to a volleyball scholarship fund.  The coaches that will be in attendance include: Russ Rose, Terry Liskevych, Jerry Angle, Rick Butler, John Cook, Mick Haley, Ruth Nelson, Bill Neville, Bill Walton, and special guest speaker Doug Beal.  What an amazing event.

The clinic will be held at Aurora University on May 14 – 15, 2011.  To register and for more information visit the JimColemanClinic.com website

Future clinics of this nature will be held across the country.  A follow-up clinic is already scheduled in Portland, Oregon on May 21 – 22.  To learn more about this clinic and to see when and where similar clinics will be schedule, visit: The Art of Coaching Volleyball – www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com

This past week in Kansas City at the AVCA Convention and Final Four was thoroughly enjoyable.  It was 24 hours of volleyball.  Blissful.

Even though volleyball is one of the most popular sports in the world, we, in the United States, are fortunate it has not blown-up yet (it will).  It provides us the accessibility for legends to roam amongst us mere mortals.  I had the opportunity to chat with Karch Kiraly while watching Misty May Treanor played a sand coed 4 vs 4 tournament with convention attendees.  How awesome is that?  I’m certain Michael Jordan isn’t attending any basketball conferences nor is Kobe Bryant playing any pick-up games with convention attendees.  We are lucky.

Furthermore, we are fortunate to have the greatest coaches in the game wanting to help us all to be better coaches.  There were incredible educational sessions where we learned from Hugh McCutcheon, Carl McGown, Terry Liskevych, Russ Rose, John Kessel, Terry Pettit, Bill Neville, Mick Haley, John Dunning, Beth Launiere, Anne Kordes, and many more

On top of all this fun, there were great Final Four matches played and I was fortunate to also speak to all the first time attendees of the convention.  What a great honor for me.

If you are a volleyball enthusiast, this is a highly recommended event.  There is so much volleyball going on.  It makes me realize how lucky I am to be doing what I love.

As many of you know, I had the privilege to spend time with Head Coach Mike Hebert while at Minnesota.  People still ask what I learned most from my experience…and I have a journey full of ideas.  Much of what I learned was through listening, watching, small talk, and brainstorming.   The times I appreciate most were those brainstorming sessions – bouncing ideas around.  I recall a time talking about what makes an ordinary person extraordinary and coming up with a list of things great players do.  This list was ranked and separated into levels.  The levels were used to recognize the number of items on that list an extraordinary player accomplishes during their volleyball career.

After mulling over that exercise for the past couple years and my experience with players and my coaching, I have learned that there are similar developmental phases between players and coaches which I call “Me We They”.  As players and coaches mature over the seasons, they grow from a ME mentality into a WE mentality and hopefully progress to a THEY mentality.  Typically younger and less experienced players or coaches spend time in the ME phase while the most experienced players and veteran coaches may advance into the THEY phase.

The ME phase is simply a player or coach working on, thinking about, and developing themselves.  “It’s all about ME!”  Their mind, thought processes, movements, court awareness, etc. are concentrated and solely focused on the specific skill they are performing.  When a new player learns the footwork approach, they are mentally processing (and even audibly announcing) their footwork – “left, right, together”.  As a coach and even a teammate, it seems as if this player has blinders and ear-muffs on as they concentrate on new motor skills.

Coaches also undergo this ME phase of coaching.  New coaches dive into knowledge and education about coaching by reading books, watching videos, attending seminars, asking questions (I’m sure Mike Hebert was tired of me many days ).  New coaches are formulating skill explanations, skill demonstration, word choices and keywords for clarification and direction, specific movements for their players, etc.  New coaches will determine how practices will be structured, the best offensive and defensive systems for their teams, and how am I to get these kids fed?!?!

It is through experience and repetition where players and coaches do not have to think about their skill,  how practice will be structured, and how movements will be presented.  This is when the ME processes become habitual.  Habits are positive and negative, but ultimately should allow a player or coach to graduate to WE.

After a player or coach is comfortable with themselves, both mentally and physically, they can move on to WE – the team.  The WE phase is learning about and understanding each individual that makes up the the team.  It is knowing the strengths and weaknesses, the ability to motivate a particular player or even that players favorite movie.  The WE phase builds the core of the team and is responsible for developing the chemistry, a style of play, motivation and even a team mission.  The WE phase is most prominent in setters because they are the “middle chain in the link”.  A setter does not have the luxury of time, especially between points, to think about “explode off my right foot from setter target to reach that errant pass”.   The movements and thought processes have to be automatic.  “What are my hitter strengths, weaknesses, what play set needs to be run in this rotation…now make the appropriate set call…whistle…!?!?” A setter has to think about WE, the team.

Coaches are similar in the WE phase.  In this phase, coaches learn, develop, and lead the team through thought processes, structure, and assigning roles (among many many other coaching duties).  Examples include: How does a head coach empower and direct the assistant coaches, managers, strength trainers, nutritionist, etc.?  What information do outside hitters need to be successful?  What are the strengths of our passing rotations? How do I best work the line-up so our libero is in optimal location?  The list goes on and on.  I believe coaches spend a majority of their time in the WE phase.

Again, at Minnesota, a statement that Lindsey Berg said during one of those brainstorming sessions, has stuck with me, “…I spend hours and hours watching opponent video”.  Lindsey is completely confident in ME and as completely confident in her team, WE.  What I believe sets her apart is her knowledge and dedication of THEY.  She spends an extraordinary amount of time studying the opponent.  She understand the opponent as much as her own team.  She knows the opponent strengths and weaknesses and knows what it will take from her and how to direct her teammates to exploit the opponent.  The THEY phase is about the opponent and knowing everything there is to know about them.  Lindsey is fully developed in the ME WE and THEY phase, making her a complete player, and is one of the best.

Great coaches also fall into the THEY category.  I recall University of Florida Head Coach Mary Wise at an AVCA Convention Educational Seminar discussing the strengths and weaknesses of the Florida line-ups.  She specifically discussed the match-ups of the NCAA Tournament match of Florida versus Penn State.  She believed that the University of Florida would match-up very well to Penn State in all rotations EXCEPT if Penn State started in rotation 4.  A sarcastic, yet disgruntled Coach Wise exclaimed, “Guess which line-up Coach Russ Rose started his team in – Rotation 4!”.  Russ Rose is an expert in the ME WE and THEY phases.

As discussed with Mike Hebert during our brainstorming session of extraordinary players and the levels created, many collegiate players are proficient in “Level 1″ and many items of “Level 2″, some dabble in “Level 3″, and some will touch a few items in “Level 4″ and “Level 5″.  It is the extraordinary players that consistently achieve the most skills and mental processes in all Levels 1 – 5.

Me We They is a contiguous thought process and a tool that helps me to coach players.  When I understand the phase a player is in, I understand how to best guide them.  When I understand the phase I am coaching in, I can better guide myself through a particular situation.

This is it…the Most Wonderful Time of the Volleyball Year. The NCAA VolleyMadness is in full swing, the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight are this weekend. Certain matches of the Sweet Sixteen will be viewable online and the Elite Eight matches will be shown on ESPNU (NCAA Volleyball Championship Schedule).  The following week is when volleyball mayhem really begins.  The AVCA Convention kicks off on Wednesday, December 16th in Tampa, FL.  The who’s who of the volleyball world will congregate for the weekend to watch the Final Four matches, to teach and preach their expertise, and to pass along the great stories of their year.

When I attended my first AVCA Convention in Sacramento a couple years ago, the first person I saw as I walked into the hotel was Doug Beal, USA Volleyball CEO.  This year I am certain Doug Beal will be in attendance and I look forward to listening to educational sessions by Hugh McCrutcheon, Karch Kiraly, Cecile Reynaud, Marv Dunphy, Bill Neville, Beth Launiere, Terry Pettit, Russ Rose, and Terry Liskevych to name a few.   Some of these will be classroom sessions.  Others will be on court presentations.  I watched Karch perform his actual pre-practice/warm-up when he was playing sand.  He did it with a 25 lb. sandbag at 45 years old.  He’s a stud

I am certainly hoping that Mike Hebert and his Minnesota Golden Gophers Volleyball Team are traveling to Tampa as a team…meaning they won their region and will play in the Final Four.   He has a young squad and lost his number one outside hitter, but the team looks to be peaking at the right time.  Go Gophers!

I hope to provide some great insight to the AVCA Convention upon my return.  I’m certain it will be a great 4 days in Tampa.  Bring on the sun too! 

I have heard that Russ Rose breaks down all the mistakes of matches (win or lose) to review with his players. Is this one of his competitive advantages?