Huge news from the NCAA this weekend… For those that don’t know, the NCAA has approved a new Division III Men’s Volleyball Championship. What does this mean? It means that many universities will now be adding men’s volleyball and those that already have programs may have more post-season opportunities instead of being beaten by tough Division I teams immediately or not even qualifying at all. It may also mean that top NIRSA schools (schools that run club programs) may begin to get officially sanctioned into Div III conferences. Not only is this huge for men’s college volleyball, it’s huge for boys high school and club programs due to more possible opportunities to boys wanting to play meaningful volleyball at the next level after high school. Read the press release after the jump.
In the world of sports, the mission is to develop young people into quality athletes and people. Thousands of studies show that kids involved in sports and other extra-curricular activities tend to have higher GPAs and are more likely to attend college. Sounds great, doesn’t it? What parent wants their kid to hang out with the wrong crowd and get into trouble? I know I don’t. But let’s be honest here, it’s also an opportunity to improve the talent pool in each prospective sport. High school football coaches live for kids who were rock stars in Pop Warner since they were 6 years old. Continue Reading
Category : General, Volleyball History, Volleyball News
I wrote an article a few months ago about the new 2009-2010 net violation rule changes in USA Volleyball that you can read here. As much as I tried to keep it neutral, it was obviously slanted towards my negative feelings for the changes and my dread for the upcoming season. Now, a few months later and a club season in the bag, I’m revisiting the topic with experience in both coaching and refereeing the new changes for a club season. I’ll handle each topic the way I did in the previous article. Continue Reading
Category : General, Volleyball News
I borrowed the title of this article from a Bon Jovi song because it’s the first thing that came to mind when I saw a video a few weeks ago. Now, I’m not one to bad mouth other coaches for their styles, and there are many styles of coaching. One such style however, is inexcusable and disgraceful and I am fully prepared to bad mouth it. The coaching style in question is the “Win at All Costs, Even the Cost of a Player’s Dignity and Safety”.
Category : Volleyball History, Volleyball News
First, if you haven’t already heard, there are several rule changes this year for USA Volleyball this year. The most significant rule change, is the change to the net violation rule. Good or bad, this change is here to stay for at least two years. In this article, I would like to use the perspective of not having coached or officiated a single match with the new rules and what I expect the positives, or the fallout to be. I was very upset several years ago when the rules changed allowing lets, rally scoring, and a libero. I felt like they were trying to ruin the game that I loved. Now, after a few years I feel that it’s helped the game and made it more exciting. This is my new experiment to see how my opinion changes based on experience with the new rules. I will write this article again in March to see how my perspective changes.
