The VolleyNerd Podcast

Kha Tran not only helps others to keep themselves playing harder and longer through joint health, he also has used the ideas he describes on this podcast to go from having painful, sore knees, to full, pain-free confidence. Many of the ideas Kha recommends on this pod are only now developing larger support in the volleyball community, but they should be in every “VolleyNerd’s” knowledge base. Check out this fascinating talk with Coach and Trainer Kha Tran from Athletic Truth Group and @painfreevolleyball !

This episode is a bit of a different type of podcast for us! We go in detail with Pastor and Leadership Educator, Dale Bacon, in order to find out how to make the most out of our energy as leaders. This episode is so rich with great ways to think about how we can truly be at our best when our best is needed. Speaking with Dale Bacon was absolutely insightful and I know our listeners are going to get a lot out of it!

Everyone that plays, coaches, or even watches volleyball knows the excitement of watching a stellar defensive team dig tons of balls. In this episode, TVNP Host Davis Ransom examines ideas about how to get your teams to play with relentless defensive intensity. There is so much to think about in this talk, that any VolleyNerd will hear it and leave with something to take action with in their gym.

Loaded with blocking tips, fundamentals, and key principles, this episode features Jake Penolio, former pro middle blocker, and key figure of UCSD’s current success. He starts with fundamentals and goes all the way through tactics against some of the most difficult offenses. This talk was so rich, that it should be mandatory listening for any young middle!

Michael Bonner has been all around the game of volleyball. He has been a highly successful coach, club director, referee, and more. Through his experience with some of the most successful clubs in Southern California, Coach Bonner has built up an incredible toolbox of information. He joins The VolleyNerd Podcast to discuss how having a wide range of experiences has helped take his coaching to the next level.

So often in coaching it is not the skills of the team that allow the team to win, but the strength of their will and how well the team control the state of their emotions. In this episode of The VolleyNerd Podcast we talk with Doctoral Candidate Britney Oliver Sillas-Navarro about how important emotions are to the learning process, some ways that coaches can help their teams learn to understand and manage their emotions, and ultimately how emotions can allow us all to get the most out of ourselves. She couples this with practical applications that any team can use to improve upon their emotional responses!

Serving is so, so crucial to success in volleyball. Analyzing, in detail, your own approach as a volleyball coach to serving, can really help you and your athletes. From fundamentals and tactics, to mindset and game management, this talk by TVNP host Davis Ransom discusses his manner of approaching serving with his teams and athletes, in hopes of stimulating conversation with others about what they believe about these cool, important questions.

How do you build a program from the ground up? Nabil Mardini has done it. As the head coach for L.A. Pierce College (CA) he won multiple state championships with a program that went 0-25 his first year there. Find out what he does to make his programs so successful! Not only is Mardini an experienced coach, he is also a successful businessman, and a beloved volleyball clinician. This candid talk goes into Mardini‘s philosophy and practical applications of how to build a volleyball program into a championship contender.

This super practical episode gives coaches games, drills, and ways of thinking about how to train toughness that will make any team better! Many coaches hope for tougher players, and harp on their players to become tougher, and that may work well for some athletes, but highly successful youth coach Luis Cuatok offers a different way of helping our athletes to grow both mentally and physically tougher, and it involves no yelling and screaming or failure shaming. In fact, with these methods the athletes actually like getting tougher!

Physical and mental toughness are often elusive. In this episode we go into what toughness looks like on the volleyball court and how we can start to develop it within our athletes. Luis Cuatok thinks deeply about this topic and shares a bunch of super interesting information about why toughness matters and why us coaches can do more to help our athletes become strong-willed in the best way possible.

Loren Anderson from Rise Volleyball Academy takes a different approach to club volleyball. In this episode we explore why volleyball should be viewed as a lifetime game, why adults sometimes need to allow children to learn lessons through experience (even when they know better), and why modeling and influence may be the best teachers for creating lifelong learners.

An important discussion challenging the status quo in youth volleyball. The owner of Rise Volleyball Academy discusses why we are often off-base with how we, as coaches, are handling numerous situations. This episode also had tons of awesome ideas for how to illicit and encourage athletes’ love for the game. One idea: stay out of their way and let them learn. So much more...

Loren Anderson is the Owner of Rise Volleyball Academy in Idaho and they do things differently out there! They pride themselves on evoking Joy through volleyball! This enlightening discussion makes me think about why we do things the way we do. Loren discusses the rationale and practical aspects of how Rise Volleyball Academy is so extremely successful in their unique way.

This episode focuses on UCLA Men’s Volleyball Assistant Coach John Hawks and how he helps his teams consistently compete at an extremely high level. Coach Hawks has had an amazing coaching career and on this episode of The VolleyNerd Podcast we talk about how he evaluates talent, how he has tremendous respect and rapport with the athletes he works with, how he seeks out highly motivated (often multi-sport) athletes, and so much more. A great conversation with a super-knowledgeable coach!

Dynamic, up and coming beach athlete Skylar del Sol talks with The VolleyNerd Podcast about “The Grind” of working your way up the ladder into the elite ranks of beach doubles volleyball. He drops some really cool Inside information about the challenges and joys of being a pro beach volleyball player while still “adulting”. He also shares some really great ideas for players who are trying to make their way to the top rung of beach volleyball, including how to use video, take care of your body, and how to make the best of the conditions and a lot more. Skylar shares how The Grind is tough, but it is also tremendously memorable and rewarding.

Kara Hill is a leader in the juniors volleyball recruiting space. By connecting with coaches about what they wanted she crafted a business model that is a win-win for athletes AND coaches. This talk has AWESOME info for both coaches and players about what makes a difference in the recruiting process! Kara Hill knows the ins and outs of the business and expands on how running a campaign, considering yourself a brand, and opening up options for recruits is the way to go! She shares so much wisdom and so many practical applications!

Many coaches simply hope that their team’s culture will be championship level. Other coaches are more intentional about creating the culture that is necessary for their team’s goals. In this talk with one of the countries top youth club coaches, Luis Cuatok, we take a look at how to create a really powerful, high-level culture! Based on insights from Jeff Janssen, with actionable steps, this pod is a must for anyone who is interested in team building and the complex nature of group dynamics!

The ultimate underdog, 5’5” setter Faith Smith from Gonzaga University, has such an incredible mindset that has helped her to be so successful in her sports career. We talk about how relationships, confidence, and intentional training has affected her and allowed her to maintain such a positive, person-centered, leader. This talk is so fun and you can sense her enthusiasm through the mic! Plus, we reminisce about how we won a championship together!

Great talk with Coach Alex Haapamaki from Sweden! He explains how a mentor can help athletes transfer skills from practice to the game and how to help athletes develop their own inner coach. Also we discuss why science is a great starting point, but not an end point when it comes to training in your particular environment. Such interesting views from a coach who is getting it done his own way!

Top club coach Luis Cuatok examines how to make goal setting more powerful and effective, even through the middle of the season and all the tough parts! We explore why makes his process so meaningful and how coaches can use it for themselves.

Coach Hawke has a unique viewpoint on how to motivate players that includes essentially no physical punishment whatsoever. On this episode we talk about how coaches can get more out of our players by taking more of a collaborative approach and by taking a few steps back to really determine what motivates us. This one’s a very thought provoking episode that will be sure to make any coach think about how we approach discipline, inspiration, and interpersonal dynamics.

A coach’s unique coaching style is critical to his/her success, but developing our own style and making it work can be challenging. Steve Greene has a unique, player-centered style and has been highly successful despite being an “army of one”. This insightful talk focuses on how he developed his coaching style, how he does things differently, and how more coaches can be themselves in order to be more successful.

Mental training is so key for high-performing athletes and even younger athletes to make the most out of their sport! Highly successful Coach Ariel Haas has had The ability to put into practice some of the most affective mental training techniques with his teams with a lot of improvement and growth shown from his athletes. In this show he goes through how you can start and thrive with mental training.

Legendary American volleyball coach, marketer, leader, and mentor, Terry Liskevych has done nearly everything in the sport of volleyball and he still wants to help make it better! The Founder of the Art of Coaching, Coach Liskevych joins us to talk about where volleyball should go next in order to make it into a game for fanatics. We also discuss how the United States can develop a richer, more abundant appreciation for our favorite sport!

Completing a 100 mile run just to know what it was like is just one example of how Cameron Schmidt takes on life. In this episode of the podcast we catch up with Cameron, discuss some really interesting ideas about leadership, and learn how we can apply his unique take on life to the world of volleyball.

Head Coach of Polish Pro Club Warta Zawiercie, Mark Lebedew is one of the world’s most unique thought leaders in volleyball. A contrarian by either nature or experience, Coach Lebedew discusses why challenging everything is good, why GMS and Art of Coaching are fundamentally flawed, and how examining contradictory theories can lead coaches to being even better. Basically, we examine how coaches can be better. So much good stuff!

Expert Mental Performance Coach, Cort Peters joins The VolleyNerd Podcast to discuss the complex nature of motivation and how being positive is only one (very important) rung on the motivation ladder. He uses some fun stories to express important ideas about how sports can be utilized to make ourselves better for the long-term. Should the winning team run if they win? What is the best motivator for long-term success? How can coaches help their players stay motivated? All on this pod! Check out @thevolleynerdpodcast on Instagram and TikTok for more interesting content

Owner/Founder of Flux Sports Performance, Zach Penolio joins the pod with great insight into training volleyball athletes and how to physically account for the unique demands of the game. We talk about when to start training, how to have a great warm-up, what a high-level workout looks like, the asymmetry of volleyball, developing “landing gear”, and how hitting with torque can damage our athletes if they don’t have the strength to decelerate very quickly. Such rich content for any player or coach who wants to take their game to the next level!

Rob Lisama has been an Executive Coach and a Volleyball Coach for over 20 years and has a reputation of integrity and compassion. He shares insightful concepts from the world of business leaders that can definitely help anyone be a better volleyball coach!

Four college sophomores with unique approaches to their recruiting process and school selection goals join us to discuss the differences between club and college volleyball and how they adjusted to their new environment and made their new schools their homes.

Ever since the first time she played beach volleyball she knew it was the sport for her. Growing up with the discipline of a martial artist, Charlie Ekstrom is a model of motivation. Now at Stanford, she has become one of the top female beach players in the country! She tells us her story and how motivation has affected her both as a person and as a volleyball player.

Jeff Smith has been around since the very beginning of juniors beach volleyball. On this podcast he talks about how Club Beach Volleyball came to be and how the explosive growth is shaping the game!

Cailin Onosko’s story of the ups and downs of transforming herself into a Pac-12 DS/L is so motivating! In this episode she shares how her love for improving and making the people that she loved proud contributed to her long-term success.

Coach Andrew Bennett has been a key figure in turning beach volleyball into a legitimate year-round club sport. His unique insights into where the sport is going are thought-provoking. His fun, team-focused approach to competitive volleyball has helped to turn his club into a powerhouse and move juniors volleyball as a whole closer to the college model.

South Carolina Beach Volleyball Commit Hannah Mackenhausen shares her story of how she grew to find so much joy for volleyball. She also shares the work she puts in to be great!

Oregon tech coach Ken Murczek got the job during the COVID-19 pandemic and still has yet to meet with his team in person. This unique time calls for unique measures and Coach Murczek goes into how he’s been handling all the dynamics that go into being a college head coach during a global pandemic.

In this episode, The VolleyNerd, Coach Davis Ransom talks offensive philosophy and breaks down why and how the most common offensive plays work.

Both the United States and Brazil are two of the strongest volleyball programs in the world, yet they approach many facets quite differently. In this episode Top Professional and Club Coach Rodrigo Suelotto discussed what each country can learn from the other.

Dianne DeNecochea’s experience in professional volleyball and coaching her daughter in club led to her starting a niche recruiting agency, ProactiveVolley. In this podcast she shares so much great insight about how to navigate the recruiting process!

Everyone talks about building a strong, competitive culture. Coach Kelly Drobeck has done that year in and year out with her teams. In this podcast Coach Kelly Drobeck goes into detail about how she has made her programs so successful: by making practical the themes of discipline and pride.

Currently the Head Men’s Coach at Miramar College, and with 5 State Championships with the girls at Franco’s ParkerHigh School, Coach John Landicho is the right person to talk to about how we can learn from each other to make each other better!

One Beach Lead Coach and Park University Assistant Beach Coach Justin Marshall joins the podcast to discuss how beach and indoor can benefit one another. He offers some really insightful similarities and differences between the beach and indoor games, cultures, and teaching methods.

One of the top club coaches in the country, Luis Cuatok joins the volley nerd podcast to discuss how to maximize the potential of our athletes. He starts with philosophy and then gets into practical tips for how to insure that your team is moving consistently forward.

In this podcast we do a deep dive on the movie Sideout from a VolleyNerd perspective and have fun breaking down one of Volleyball’s best movies OF ALL Time!

San Diego Mesa Head Men’s Coach David Proffitt gives us his take on why athletes choose junior college volleyball, The Cal Promise Program, and enhanced stats for winning at the JC level.

Leveling up your game is hard. College Beach Volleyball Coach Paul Araiza dives into what it takes to take your game to the next level. He talks about taking charge of your confidence by putting in the work and shares his story of the grind to becoming an AVP Pro.

Self-determination theory, the importance of a mission statement, how to manage our energy, self talk, and many more topics are discussed in this important overview of mental skills training from UCSD All-Everything, Roxanne Brunsting

Chelsea Speaks won a Bronze Medal in club as a setter then played for Fresno Pacific University for four years. She had to switch to libero in order to get on the court and she did! Check out her story of competition and fierce determination!