Posted on 02 July 2012 by Chuck Rey
It’s funny, last night I was watching the USA Mens Team take on Italy in the World League (and congrats to the USA Men for earning a spot in the finals), and was listening to Kevin Barnett talk about Head Coach Alan Knipe not having his line-up set for the Olympics. New-comer Paul Lotman is battling it out with veteran and 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist, Riley Salmon, on the outside. Why I find this amusing is while Kevin Barnett was disappointed the USA Mens Team roster wasn’t set and that “winning the World League was more important”, the USA Women’s Team played a “2nd string” line-up throughout half of the World Grand Prix.
You think Alan Knipe has an interesting dilemma on the Mens Team, how about Hugh McCutcheon on the Women’s Team? Megan Hodge was named World Grand Prix MVP and Best Scorer, but she probably will not start on the Olympic Team. Jordan Larson and Logan Tom will likely start ahead of her (oh yeah, and that leaper, Destinee Hooker, will play opposite). The main reason, the game comes down to serving and passing. Jordan and Logan will start over Megan because of passing. In addition, both players are smarter, more effective hitters than Megan. Continue Reading
Posted on 21 June 2012 by Chuck Rey
This past Sunday, I was in a volleyball conundrum. The USA Men and the USA Women played at the same time. Ironically in very different time zones as the men played France in France and the women played Brazil in Brazil. Both coming out victorious, 3 sets to 1 set, on the opponent’s home court. I spent part of my Sunday flipping screens on my computer to watch them both. Continue Reading
Posted on 10 June 2010 by Chuck Rey
Dean Smith, famed University of North Carolina basketball coach, created the concept of a cauldron. The cauldron is a system in which a player is graded in practices and matches. Points are awarded for a player’s performances in drills and the number of times his team wins in scrimmages. Anson Dorrance, the great University of North Carolina Women’s Soccer Coach, talks about it in his book Training Soccer Champions. Many elite USA Volleyball Coaches recommend this book and it is where volleyball grasped the idea of creating a volleyball cauldron. Continue Reading
Posted on 28 July 2009 by Chuck Rey
After settling in to my new abode in Charlotte (my cousin’s house), another stroke of good fortune came my way learning that there is satellite TV here! Awesome! So not only did I have the great opportunity to watch Chicago Cubs’ Alfonso Soriano smack a game winning grand slam in the 13th inning last night, but I also watched the USA play the Continue Reading
Posted on 17 July 2009 by Chuck Rey
Marv Dunphy wrote a great article in the January 2009 Coaching Volleyball Magazine on how the U.S. Men’s Olympic Team won the Gold Medal. Much overall praise goes Head Coach Hugh McCutcheon’s vision and system.
Following are coaching points of interest by Marv Dunphy: Continue Reading
Posted on 23 June 2009 by Chuck Rey
TV Schedule of the USA Volleyball Gold Medal team (not all the same players from that team) in World League competition on ESPN. Continue Reading
Posted on 09 June 2009 by Chuck Rey
[flashvideo file=http://coachrey.com/volleyball-blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/usa_men_attack2_high.flv image=http://coachrey.com/volleyball-blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/ryan-millar.jpg /]
Posted on 09 June 2009 by Chuck Rey
[flashvideo file=http://coachrey.com/volleyball-blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/usa_men_attack1_high.flv image=http://coachrey.com/volleyball-blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/reid-priddy-attack.jpg /]
Posted on 27 May 2009 by Chuck Rey
The original purpose of the volleyball libero was to provide a more exciting game overall through better passing and defense. The thought was that tall players have more difficulty with ball control and smaller players are quicker, more agile, and can play better court defense. The irony is that I have overheard coaches say Continue Reading
Posted on 27 May 2009 by Chuck Rey
Last night, at the USAV Open Nationals here in Minneapolis, Team Paul Mitchell defeated Team BC 3 – 0 in the finals to win the Men’s Championship. This is a three-peat for Team Paul Mitchell. On the women’s side, the University of Washington defeated USA’s A2 Blue Team, 3 – 0. Proving that a good team with chemistry, a team system, and a Continue Reading
Posted on 20 April 2009 by Chuck Rey
The FIVB has a great collection of video clips from the 2008 Olympics.
It includes a compilation of team rotations and skills and the best players by skill. The videos do take some time to download, but they are pretty impressive once open. Check them out sometime: Continue Reading
It’s funny, last night I was watching the USA Mens Team take on Italy in the World League (and congrats to the USA Men for earning a spot in the finals), and was listening to Kevin Barnett talk about Head Coach Alan Knipe not having his line-up set for the Olympics. New-comer Paul Lotman is battling it out with veteran and 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist, Riley Salmon, on the outside. Why I find this amusing is while Kevin Barnett was disappointed the USA Mens Team roster wasn’t set and that “winning the World League was more important”, the USA Women’s Team played a “2nd string” line-up throughout half of the World Grand Prix.
