Talking Volleyball – Détails, épisodes et analyse

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.

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 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.

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 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. 

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!

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!

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.

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

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.