Ep 15 Beginning a Coaching Career with Rob Reifsteck and LJ Brothers

10/29/24 • 64 min

Bump, Set, Mic...The TNT Volleyball Podcast

In Episode 15, Chuck invites Brian and TNT 15U Platinum Head Coach Rob Reifsteck and 15U National Head Coach LJ Brothers to his home to discuss volleyball from their perspectives as younger male coaches. They discuss their beginnings in volleyball, how they got started coaching teenage girls. We hear their thoughts about the upcoming club season and goals for their 15U teams. They discuss the differences in coaching boys vs. girls, and how they go about translating knowledge they gained as players to the next generation of players now that they are coaches themselves. We also discuss the challenges that young coaches face from social media to interacting with parents that may have children older than the coaches themselves.

In segment one, we are introduced to Rob and LJ, hear about their careers as school teachers and their family influence that led them to coaching. They tell us about their background in the sport, and talk about some of their coaching experiences with various age groups. We finish the segment discussing their friendly rivalry as they evaluate players to form their club teams.

For segment two, Rob and LJ give their thoughts on differences in the boys' vs. girls' game with regard to technique. The talk about challenges they have faced as younger coaches, and how more experienced coaches have helped them along their coaching journey. This segment also includes discussion among the group about guidelines for appropriate communication from a club perspective, especially younger male coaches. We hear about how Rob and LJ interact with their players and parents, and how they, as younger coaches, go about translating knowledge they gained as players to those they now coach.

Segment three features some questions from our friends at Volleyball Moms for the group to respond to and ends with an updated on current TNT happenings, inlcuiding the ongoing tryout process, status of Bunker 2.0, and other programs TNT has planned including the upcoming Russ Rose clinic in November for players and coaches.

Timeline:

0:30 Meet Rob and LJ

6:43 How Rob, LJ and Brian found their way to TNT

15:24 How to coah 15U players versus High School players

27:15 Difference between coaching boys and girls techniques

30:44 Challenges of being a young coach when dealing with parents and players

37:37 Biggest need from club to support young coaches

41:30 Safeguards when communicating with players and social media pitfalls to avoid

51:00 Volleyball Moms questions of the episode

Timeline:

0:30 Meet Rob and LJ

6:43 How Rob, LJ and Brian found their way to TNT

15:24 How to coah 15U players versus High School players

27:15 Difference between coaching boys and girls techniques

30:44 Challenges of being a young coach when dealing with parents and players

37:37 Biggest need from club to support young coaches

41:30 Safeguards when communicating with players and social media pitfalls to avoid

51:00 Volleyball Moms questions of the episode

Previous Episode

Ep 14 Volleyball Statistics for Dummies - with Sam Moyerman

In Episode 14, Chuck and Brian met up with TNT 14U National Coach Sam Moyerman to discuss the value of statistics in volleyball and suggestions for proper use of them within the concept of a team.

Given that there are many different opinions about stats, Sam presents a lot of valuable information about which are most important and how they should be valued by coaches, players, and parents. The need to balance the coach's “eye-test” with what statistics say was an interesting aspect of the discussion, too.

In segment one, we meet Sam, hear some about his coaching background, and he shares his thoughts about the benefits of stats as part of his coaching, those which relate most to each position, and team stats he feels are most important.

For segment two, the guys continue the discussion of the importance of using stats to help make decisions, plan practices, instruct players, and the value of them for parents, too.

Segment three features discussion about the stats that are correlated to winning vs. losing, including some potential surprises, tools available for recording and analyzing stats, and the episode ends with some stat-related questions from our friends at volleyball moms before a brief wrap-up.

Timeline:

1:17 Meet Coach Sam

4:00 Sam’s coaching philosophy, reflections on some past coaching experiences, and discussion of goals for 14 National for the coming season

10:00 Benefits of using stats ... what to focus on stats-wise as a coach, using the stats as well as the eye-test to make informed judgements, and those most important to a team and for each individual position

18:30 The role of stats in determining a team’s approach to serving

22:22 Using statistical data to help plan more effective practices

26:13 Sharing stats with players and how to use them to help explain coaching decisions and set goals for player and team improvement

30:25 Benefits for parents being aware of the objective nature of statistics and understanding them so that they can support their player off the court and engage in positive discussions about player performance vs. negative ones

35:48 Stats that are the most important in terms of college recruiting

39:38 Thoughts on coaches who are reluctant to use statistics as part of their process, relying solely on the eye-test instead and the dangers of doing so

43:20 How the importance of some stats changes at various age levels

47:30 How stats are perhaps underutilized in certain situations

50:00 Significant numbers and thresholds that correlate to winning in relation to certain stats

53:35 Stats that surprisingly do not have as much correlation to winning as one might think

61:00 Tools that are available for those interested in collecting and using stats

67:00 Stat-related questions from Volleyball Moms

75:47 Wrap-Up

Next Episode

Ep 16 Advice from a Legend with Russ Rose

In Episode 16, TNT is pleased and honored to be able to present a volleyball dicussion with legendary Penn State Coach Russ Rose from a recent chat with TNT Director of Operations Leon Kasperski. The chat occurred in advance of Coach Rose's 11/10/24 visit to TNT to conduct both coach and player clinics.

This special episode features numerous clips taken from that chat, each one followed by a discussion between Chuck and Brian about the topics just mentioned.

In segment one, Russ shares his thoughts about club philosophy, skill acquisition at the younger age groups, and overall player development. Leon and Russ also talk about putting teams together for success as well as Russ's approach to communicating with the players and parents.

Segment two includes additional talk about club culture along with player expectations, selection, and development. Russ shares his thoughts on roster formation for winning teams. The discussion then focuses on reasons for TNT's growth and the club's approach to the coming season. Leon and Russ talk about TNT's goal of trying to develop players, while also providing a great experience. Finally, the group discusses the value of learning life lessons while participing in youth sports.

In segment three, Russ gives his thoughts on volleyball statistics that corellate to winning. Russ gives advice on the approach that clubs such as TNT should be taking to continue to build and be successful against some of the nation's premier programs. The segment ends with the Russ' thoughts on the importance of having players that are willing to work in order to be successful. The episode ends with a brief update on upcoming events at TNT.

Timeline:

2:43 Clip 1 (Club Philosophy, Skill Acquisition, and Overall Player Development)

16:23 Clip 2 (How to Put Successful Teams Together, Russ's Approach to Communicating with Players and Parents)

25:47 Clip 3 (More on Successful Club Culture, Player Expectations, Selection, and Development along with Roster Formation for Winning Teams)

45:35 Clip 4 (Reasons for TNT's growth, our approach to the coming season while trying to balance player development with the best experience, and the life lessons that experiences in sports can provide)

61:27 Clip 5 (Problems Clubs Can Experience, Stats that Corellate Most to Winning, How to Be Most Successful Against Top Competition, Players Working Hard vs. Players Hardly Working)

78:14 Final Thoughts and Upcoming Events at TNT