WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.200 Hi volleyball fans and welcome back to Volley 00:00:02.200 --> 00:00:04.400 Talk, the podcast created for volleyball lovers 00:00:04.400 --> 00:00:06.799 who want to dig deep into what is going on in 00:00:06.799 --> 00:00:09.900 NCAA and international volleyball. I'm your host 00:00:09.900 --> 00:00:12.179 Sarah Pavan. I'm an Olympian, beach volleyball 00:00:12.179 --> 00:00:15.080 world champion, former Nebraska Cornhusker, and 00:00:15.080 --> 00:00:18.039 longtime pro both indoor and on the beach. And 00:00:18.039 --> 00:00:20.059 I'm Adam Schultz, former indoor player, international 00:00:20.059 --> 00:00:22.980 volleyball coach, and the show's resident stat 00:00:22.980 --> 00:00:28.460 guy. Men's VNL week one kicked off. So we are 00:00:28.460 --> 00:00:31.500 in the full throes of VNL season now, everybody. 00:00:31.859 --> 00:00:35.859 Well, let me just say I was completely shocked 00:00:35.859 --> 00:00:40.079 at how good Anderson was at passing, having not 00:00:40.079 --> 00:00:43.960 done it at all in his career. Hilarious. Okay. 00:00:44.020 --> 00:00:47.299 Thank you so much to everybody who told us what 00:00:47.299 --> 00:00:51.420 idiots we are that were shocked that Matt Anderson 00:00:51.420 --> 00:00:55.320 was playing outside. Listen. Okay, fair. We deserve 00:00:55.320 --> 00:00:57.280 to be dragged for that one. We totally deserve 00:00:57.280 --> 00:00:59.579 to be dragged for that one. But in my defense, 00:00:59.899 --> 00:01:04.680 I was playing having my own career until literally 00:01:04.680 --> 00:01:08.260 late 2024. I was not watching what Matt Anderson 00:01:08.260 --> 00:01:10.659 was doing professionally. I'm not going to lie. 00:01:10.799 --> 00:01:13.219 Only knew him through the US stuff as an opposite. 00:01:13.319 --> 00:01:16.799 So that is my only defense. I've got nothing 00:01:16.799 --> 00:01:20.099 else to say. Feel free to roast me. It's fine. 00:01:20.239 --> 00:01:23.370 I will also say. I had a shocking revelation 00:01:23.370 --> 00:01:28.049 this week. Our daughter is starting to walk and 00:01:28.049 --> 00:01:31.189 both of us gave her USA volleyball feedback. 00:01:31.290 --> 00:01:34.230 We told her to be more up and down because she 00:01:34.230 --> 00:01:37.090 was head forward and rushing and a little top 00:01:37.090 --> 00:01:40.450 heavy. So that feedback is universal. It can 00:01:40.450 --> 00:01:43.629 be used absolutely anywhere. And now I know why 00:01:43.629 --> 00:01:46.069 they're doing it. Credit. You can use it for 00:01:46.069 --> 00:01:51.760 anything. So they're onto something. Week one 00:01:51.760 --> 00:01:55.340 was a little spicy, lots of five setters, and 00:01:55.340 --> 00:01:58.079 we're excited to talk about a few teams in particular. 00:01:58.340 --> 00:02:14.659 So let's get started. It is so hard. We've talked 00:02:14.659 --> 00:02:17.099 about this. The hardest position to make money 00:02:17.099 --> 00:02:24.199 is libero. So American liberos, it's really hard, 00:02:24.219 --> 00:02:28.560 A, to get a contract, B, to like make good money 00:02:28.560 --> 00:02:32.340 playing overseas. All of these libero signings 00:02:32.340 --> 00:02:34.620 I'm seeing are foreigners. They're like taking 00:02:34.620 --> 00:02:37.319 away the opportunity from their domestic liberos 00:02:37.319 --> 00:02:39.759 because like you go to any country in the world, 00:02:39.819 --> 00:02:43.319 pretty much the liberos are like citizens. Homegrown. 00:02:43.599 --> 00:02:47.400 Homegrown. You have a select few. Who go elsewhere. 00:02:47.620 --> 00:02:49.819 All these liberos that love is bringing in are 00:02:49.819 --> 00:02:53.360 foreign. So I think it just sucks for the American 00:02:53.360 --> 00:02:55.319 liberos. Cause like, that's a tough position 00:02:55.319 --> 00:02:58.400 to like make it anyway. That's what I was talking 00:02:58.400 --> 00:03:01.060 to somebody about online this week for love. 00:03:01.439 --> 00:03:06.000 Annie Schumacher is coming back. She, I haven't 00:03:06.000 --> 00:03:08.719 gotten the update, but I'm sure she's either 00:03:08.719 --> 00:03:11.900 given birth or is about to. So she'll have a 00:03:11.900 --> 00:03:16.729 solid six months to get back in shape. Sammy 00:03:16.729 --> 00:03:21.250 Francis is coming back to love. And Sabrina Starks. 00:03:21.610 --> 00:03:25.169 Sabrina Starks played for Pitt and was part of 00:03:25.169 --> 00:03:27.810 two of their final four appearances. They are 00:03:27.810 --> 00:03:32.229 coming to love. Then we've got Wang Mengjie. 00:03:33.430 --> 00:03:36.289 Excuse my Mandarin. That pronunciation was probably 00:03:36.289 --> 00:03:40.229 terrible. Former Chinese national team libero. 00:03:40.409 --> 00:03:43.449 We've got Thok Boom from Canada coming over. 00:03:44.240 --> 00:03:49.000 We've got a Thai left side, Kokram and Alexandra 00:03:49.000 --> 00:03:54.919 Szyszkowska. You get the idea. My, you know, 00:03:54.939 --> 00:03:56.639 there's some languages that I really struggle 00:03:56.639 --> 00:03:59.159 with. Polish being one of them. Polish is tough. 00:03:59.500 --> 00:04:03.759 And all the consonants. Those are the noteworthy 00:04:03.759 --> 00:04:07.780 international national team athletes coming back. 00:04:08.039 --> 00:04:11.069 We do have other ones. We've got... A selection 00:04:11.069 --> 00:04:12.710 of others. I'm not going to go through them all, 00:04:12.770 --> 00:04:16.689 but Paolo Coco is moving from Atlanta to Miami 00:04:16.689 --> 00:04:20.089 to be the head coach. A little bit of an upgrade. 00:04:21.269 --> 00:04:23.589 Location geography wise. Doesn't everybody want 00:04:23.589 --> 00:04:25.689 to be in Miami? I mean, it's not my first pick, 00:04:25.769 --> 00:04:30.610 but maybe you do. Those are the noteworthy ones 00:04:30.610 --> 00:04:32.930 that I came across this week. There's a lot more, 00:04:33.069 --> 00:04:36.170 but the names I highlighted were the ones that 00:04:36.170 --> 00:04:38.449 I felt like the majority of people would know. 00:04:39.230 --> 00:04:45.209 And on the MLV side, we've got Pure Kongvat going 00:04:45.209 --> 00:04:49.329 to Dallas. She is a Thai player. We've got Maddie 00:04:49.329 --> 00:04:53.949 Bug, who's going to Grand Rapids. Peyton Caffrey, 00:04:54.129 --> 00:04:57.250 who's been playing in Brazil, is going to Minnesota. 00:04:57.850 --> 00:05:01.569 So Minnesota is continuing to up their ante here. 00:05:01.870 --> 00:05:03.990 They're going to be good. You know what other 00:05:03.990 --> 00:05:06.660 team is making big moves? I wouldn't. put it 00:05:06.660 --> 00:05:10.680 at the same level right now as Minnesota or Omaha, 00:05:10.800 --> 00:05:14.459 but Columbus. Good for them. They have been making 00:05:14.459 --> 00:05:17.879 moves. They are really trying to reinforce and 00:05:17.879 --> 00:05:21.279 strengthen that roster. Well, they were much 00:05:21.279 --> 00:05:23.060 better this year than they were the year before, 00:05:23.120 --> 00:05:26.379 even though their record wasn't. They still finished 00:05:26.379 --> 00:05:29.800 like last. I understand that, but you have to 00:05:29.800 --> 00:05:32.560 admit they started the season strong. They were. 00:05:33.240 --> 00:05:35.839 much better from a volleyball perspective than 00:05:35.839 --> 00:05:38.759 they were before so clearly somebody there is 00:05:38.759 --> 00:05:41.980 invested in trying to make them better so I'm 00:05:41.980 --> 00:05:43.759 all for that and I'm glad to see they're making 00:05:43.759 --> 00:05:46.500 some roster changes and hopefully they work those 00:05:46.500 --> 00:05:50.220 are the highlights of who has signed in the two 00:05:50.220 --> 00:05:56.199 domestic leagues in the U .S. from the USA national 00:05:56.199 --> 00:05:58.980 team perspective the week two roster came out 00:05:58.980 --> 00:06:03.509 there's been lots of talk you know from last 00:06:03.509 --> 00:06:06.149 week and online and comments and this and that. 00:06:06.470 --> 00:06:09.870 The only changes they made were in the middle. 00:06:09.910 --> 00:06:13.870 They're bringing Red Key and Ogbagu. Makes sense. 00:06:14.009 --> 00:06:16.550 And they're adding Jordan Poulter. So they are 00:06:16.550 --> 00:06:19.490 having three setters, but literally everything 00:06:19.490 --> 00:06:22.970 else is the same. I'm a little surprised by that. 00:06:23.050 --> 00:06:27.089 That must mean that they are running with this 00:06:27.089 --> 00:06:29.209 roster. Like for all intents and purposes, this 00:06:29.209 --> 00:06:33.910 must be what they believe. they can do the best 00:06:33.910 --> 00:06:38.910 with barring players who are injured, who aren't 00:06:38.910 --> 00:06:40.750 traveling. Clearly they've done their talent 00:06:40.750 --> 00:06:43.350 identification. You would think that if they 00:06:43.350 --> 00:06:44.910 were going to make any other switches, they would 00:06:44.910 --> 00:06:47.209 make them in week two because you have to. Well, 00:06:47.310 --> 00:06:50.550 somebody tell me, is Kendall Kip injured? Like 00:06:50.550 --> 00:06:52.829 is Steph Samity really better than Kendall Kip? 00:06:52.870 --> 00:06:54.449 I don't know. We don't know. We haven't seen 00:06:54.449 --> 00:06:57.329 her play. You know, is Sarah Franklin injured? 00:06:57.550 --> 00:06:59.949 I don't know. Is Kara Halleck injured? Yeah, 00:06:59.949 --> 00:07:02.269 there's some question marks there. Be curious 00:07:02.269 --> 00:07:05.389 to know who actually can't travel and how much 00:07:05.389 --> 00:07:08.430 of these decisions are limited based on who's 00:07:08.430 --> 00:07:10.029 available. Well, I guess cameo minors aren't 00:07:10.029 --> 00:07:12.389 going to get a chance. No, she's not. Anyway, 00:07:12.550 --> 00:07:15.569 yeah, I'm just really confused. At least they're 00:07:15.569 --> 00:07:17.689 upgrading in the middle. We'll see how they do 00:07:17.689 --> 00:07:21.269 this week. All right, let's get into the meat 00:07:21.269 --> 00:07:25.129 of the episode with men's V &L. Week one had 00:07:25.129 --> 00:07:28.199 a whole bunch of storylines. We'll give a little 00:07:28.199 --> 00:07:30.220 highlight, a little recap, and then talk about 00:07:30.220 --> 00:07:32.819 some of the games that we watched. First, let's 00:07:32.819 --> 00:07:36.000 look at, you know, who teams brought and what 00:07:36.000 --> 00:07:38.240 the expectations were. Looking at the rosters, 00:07:38.259 --> 00:07:41.939 I think pretty much everybody except for Italy, 00:07:42.100 --> 00:07:45.540 Poland, and the Cuba roster left me scratching 00:07:45.540 --> 00:07:48.639 my head. But everybody else had pretty competitive 00:07:48.639 --> 00:07:51.790 rosters. Besides missing a player here or there, 00:07:51.930 --> 00:07:54.370 like, for example, France left Lagoff at home. 00:07:54.490 --> 00:07:56.389 You know, some of the other rosters that I'm 00:07:56.389 --> 00:07:58.589 not quite so familiar with, Iran, Germany, like, 00:07:58.649 --> 00:08:00.730 it looked like they had most of their main players 00:08:00.730 --> 00:08:02.829 there. Like, Grozer wasn't there for Germany. 00:08:02.970 --> 00:08:05.910 Yeah. But, like, he was on the bench for a while 00:08:05.910 --> 00:08:08.980 last season. Expecting a full field and competitive. 00:08:09.139 --> 00:08:11.560 Now I will say Italy's roster had an average 00:08:11.560 --> 00:08:15.779 age of less than 24 and Poland's was just around 00:08:15.779 --> 00:08:18.860 25. So those two teams in particular were very 00:08:18.860 --> 00:08:21.920 young and left lots of very good players off. 00:08:22.399 --> 00:08:26.459 Results wise, Brazil and Japan are the only undefeated 00:08:26.459 --> 00:08:29.740 teams after week one. Same as the women. Yeah. 00:08:29.779 --> 00:08:35.679 USA is in third, which not sure I expected that. 00:08:36.679 --> 00:08:39.299 I didn't expect third. I thought they would be, 00:08:39.360 --> 00:08:41.580 I thought they would do well. And I thought that, 00:08:41.580 --> 00:08:44.720 you know, they had a legit shot to make final 00:08:44.720 --> 00:08:47.679 eight this year, but they got off to a very good 00:08:47.679 --> 00:08:52.700 start in a pretty tough group. And we will dive 00:08:52.700 --> 00:08:55.820 into the specifics of that later. Lots of five 00:08:55.820 --> 00:09:00.399 setters, lots of weird standings with teams winning 00:09:00.399 --> 00:09:03.679 or losing matches. and having better records, 00:09:03.740 --> 00:09:06.519 but going to five a lot, so not having as many 00:09:06.519 --> 00:09:09.100 points. Very interesting week one. For instance, 00:09:09.159 --> 00:09:12.960 Canada lost three games in five sets, finished 00:09:12.960 --> 00:09:16.379 third in their pool in terms of points, where 00:09:16.379 --> 00:09:20.100 Slovenia won three matches in five, and they're 00:09:20.100 --> 00:09:22.240 below teams with a better quote -unquote record. 00:09:22.460 --> 00:09:25.940 So really interesting. And two teams that have 00:09:25.940 --> 00:09:29.720 not got a win yet in Cuba and Argentina. Cuba, 00:09:29.720 --> 00:09:31.879 given the roster, that doesn't surprise me, but 00:09:31.879 --> 00:09:34.899 I'm surprised Argentina. Cuba needed to win that 00:09:34.899 --> 00:09:37.779 China match, though. They're going to be cruising 00:09:37.779 --> 00:09:39.840 potentially for relegation. That's going to hurt 00:09:39.840 --> 00:09:44.679 them. Yeah, definitely. Any other surprises for 00:09:44.679 --> 00:09:47.860 you or storylines from week one that caught your 00:09:47.860 --> 00:09:54.059 attention? I am surprised that France only got 00:09:54.059 --> 00:09:59.430 one win. They are plummeting in the ranks. They, 00:09:59.430 --> 00:10:03.809 I wouldn't even say they looked bad. Because 00:10:03.809 --> 00:10:06.830 I don't think bad, they didn't look bad by any 00:10:06.830 --> 00:10:11.610 means. So I spent some time thinking about this 00:10:11.610 --> 00:10:15.710 because I was also shocked at the results that 00:10:15.710 --> 00:10:18.690 they posted in week one. Do you remember last 00:10:18.690 --> 00:10:22.090 episode in VNL? We talked about them looking 00:10:22.090 --> 00:10:27.519 a little laissez -faire in some matches. Kind 00:10:27.519 --> 00:10:29.639 of having the impression that they assumed they 00:10:29.639 --> 00:10:32.919 would be able to just turn it on and win when 00:10:32.919 --> 00:10:34.299 they needed to. Did you get that impression watching 00:10:34.299 --> 00:10:39.460 them? It wasn't quite like that, but they also 00:10:39.460 --> 00:10:44.399 didn't look incredibly sharp. It was, you know, 00:10:44.399 --> 00:10:47.919 one error here, one error there. Errors by committee, 00:10:48.019 --> 00:10:50.240 quite frankly. I didn't think anybody played 00:10:50.240 --> 00:10:55.129 really, really well, but it just lacked... The 00:10:55.129 --> 00:10:57.250 intensity that I've seen from them when they're 00:10:57.250 --> 00:10:59.909 playing really well. Yeah, I don't know if I 00:10:59.909 --> 00:11:03.370 got a laissez -faire attitude from them. They 00:11:03.370 --> 00:11:08.190 definitely tried to save Brizard for as long 00:11:08.190 --> 00:11:10.009 as they could. And then it's like, oh, dang. 00:11:10.169 --> 00:11:15.750 Okay. Time to put him in. But they played a couple 00:11:15.750 --> 00:11:17.409 of young middles. As you said, Le Goff didn't 00:11:17.409 --> 00:11:23.549 go. So Guy and the 18 -year -old were playing. 00:11:24.080 --> 00:11:26.919 A lot. There's that Boye, I think, did pretty 00:11:26.919 --> 00:11:31.779 well. Honestly, Klevno was not as good as he 00:11:31.779 --> 00:11:34.440 was in week one last year. And you know why? 00:11:34.639 --> 00:11:37.980 He can't do the slime balls. I love Klevno. You 00:11:37.980 --> 00:11:41.259 guys know that. But like, honestly, these new 00:11:41.259 --> 00:11:45.360 rules are really changing the game for a lot 00:11:45.360 --> 00:11:49.480 of players who were excelling in the last couple 00:11:49.480 --> 00:11:51.720 seasons. I was going to ask you about that because 00:11:51.720 --> 00:11:54.830 I think. If you ask me to pick a slimy team, 00:11:55.090 --> 00:11:59.029 volley overs, one -handed nonsense. Well, Brissard 00:11:59.029 --> 00:12:02.850 runs a lightning fast offense. France's left 00:12:02.850 --> 00:12:06.289 sides are greasy in the best of ways. No, we've 00:12:06.289 --> 00:12:07.850 talked about this before. We talked about this 00:12:07.850 --> 00:12:11.730 last year. They run a really fast offense, and 00:12:11.730 --> 00:12:14.450 their players are really good at manipulating 00:12:14.450 --> 00:12:17.740 the ball. The score points. Yeah, I was also 00:12:17.740 --> 00:12:21.600 thinking of do the rule changes affect France 00:12:21.600 --> 00:12:25.299 maybe a little more than some of the other teams? 00:12:25.419 --> 00:12:27.860 Because they're not, France's left sides aren't 00:12:27.860 --> 00:12:31.879 big. No, and there's no other, I mean, off the 00:12:31.879 --> 00:12:33.600 top of my head, I can't think of another explanation 00:12:33.600 --> 00:12:37.360 as to why they would be plummeting so quickly. 00:12:38.519 --> 00:12:42.139 Other than they are now forced to play a cleaner 00:12:42.139 --> 00:12:44.960 style of volleyball, which they haven't had to 00:12:44.960 --> 00:12:48.320 do. So that will be an interesting storyline. 00:12:48.580 --> 00:12:52.120 Will they claw back? Yeah. Can they find a rhythm? 00:12:52.279 --> 00:12:54.080 Are they going to have to slow their offense 00:12:54.080 --> 00:12:56.460 down to the left side? What does that look like 00:12:56.460 --> 00:12:58.360 then if Klevno and Heno and the rest of the left 00:12:58.360 --> 00:13:00.379 sides are hitting against a more solid block? 00:13:00.620 --> 00:13:02.720 But Canada blocked really well against them. 00:13:02.840 --> 00:13:07.029 Yes. That's the thing. The thing about a fast 00:13:07.029 --> 00:13:09.789 offense is if you can use it to get one -on -ones, 00:13:09.809 --> 00:13:14.769 it's really, really good. But if teams have you 00:13:14.769 --> 00:13:18.269 dialed in, hitting a really fast ball against 00:13:18.269 --> 00:13:22.330 a well -formed block is very difficult. Agreed. 00:13:22.509 --> 00:13:24.970 So that's something I definitely want to watch 00:13:24.970 --> 00:13:28.970 as we continue. Now, we watched mostly the Ottawa 00:13:28.970 --> 00:13:32.190 pool. Canada was playing, so I wanted to see 00:13:32.190 --> 00:13:33.789 how they looked along with the U .S., but they 00:13:33.789 --> 00:13:37.169 also had Italy and France in that pool. I watched 00:13:37.169 --> 00:13:39.809 a bit of the China pool. Yeah, you got a little 00:13:39.809 --> 00:13:42.350 bit more of that. I watched more of the Canada 00:13:42.350 --> 00:13:44.710 pool. We got a whole bunch of questions about 00:13:44.710 --> 00:13:47.889 Canada and the U .S. Give me your overall impression 00:13:47.889 --> 00:13:53.830 of watching Canada, your thoughts, and after 00:13:53.830 --> 00:13:56.289 your initial impressions, we'll talk about the 00:13:56.289 --> 00:13:58.830 reason we think they're losing so many matches 00:13:58.830 --> 00:14:01.649 in five. Well, that was the first thing. They're 00:14:01.649 --> 00:14:05.190 pushing teams to five and losing. Every match 00:14:05.190 --> 00:14:07.950 they go to five. The reverse sweep against the 00:14:07.950 --> 00:14:10.669 U .S., come on. There was no reason for that 00:14:10.669 --> 00:14:13.730 to happen. Same against France. Like, I don't 00:14:13.730 --> 00:14:16.909 know. I think they're looking better. They're 00:14:16.909 --> 00:14:19.909 a stronger team than they were last year. I think 00:14:19.909 --> 00:14:23.830 Chinsky's playing really well. I think Demyanyenko 00:14:23.830 --> 00:14:27.490 is virtually unstoppable when he gets the ball. 00:14:29.549 --> 00:14:31.190 Howe played really well. Even Howe. Like, their 00:14:31.190 --> 00:14:34.129 middles and right side are doing really well. 00:14:34.769 --> 00:14:40.289 The Lepke -Marr combo are also good. I honestly 00:14:40.289 --> 00:14:43.769 think, like, if you're losing in five that consistently, 00:14:43.990 --> 00:14:48.590 I feel like it's a mentality thing. And I think 00:14:48.590 --> 00:14:51.090 we spoke about this a little bit. I think their 00:14:51.090 --> 00:14:54.529 coach, Dan Lewis, kind of messes things up for 00:14:54.529 --> 00:14:57.210 them frequently. I think he's done a really good 00:14:57.210 --> 00:15:02.519 job. It rubs off on the team and not in a good 00:15:02.519 --> 00:15:07.879 way. I had the same instinct. And I was wondering 00:15:07.879 --> 00:15:09.840 if it was because I'm actually Canadian and I 00:15:09.840 --> 00:15:12.919 felt a little embarrassed watching him. It was 00:15:12.919 --> 00:15:15.940 cringy for sure. But then you see the classiness 00:15:15.940 --> 00:15:18.159 of some of the other coaches when they are asked 00:15:18.159 --> 00:15:20.879 questions. And even if their team is losing, 00:15:21.100 --> 00:15:23.620 they show up to the interview. They're able to 00:15:23.620 --> 00:15:26.600 give credit. to the other team and be objective 00:15:26.600 --> 00:15:28.580 and offer some tidbits of what their team has 00:15:28.580 --> 00:15:33.159 to work on. He's like too busy to even come talk 00:15:33.159 --> 00:15:37.580 to the people in between and just. If Bernardo 00:15:37.580 --> 00:15:41.720 and Karch and Gerbich can come and do interviews 00:15:41.720 --> 00:15:44.740 in between sets two and three, you can get out 00:15:44.740 --> 00:15:46.659 there and do it. I get sometimes there's things, 00:15:46.700 --> 00:15:48.679 but like I didn't see him do one. The thing for 00:15:48.679 --> 00:15:50.879 me is I agree with you. I don't think I've seen 00:15:50.879 --> 00:15:53.379 Canada play this well. in a long time they are 00:15:53.379 --> 00:15:56.399 good and they start on time they're ready to 00:15:56.399 --> 00:15:58.919 go they're competitive they're the game plans 00:15:58.919 --> 00:16:01.860 are clearly in place so i'm impressed from a 00:16:01.860 --> 00:16:04.919 volleyball standpoint but the word i think that 00:16:04.919 --> 00:16:08.059 comes to mind for me when i watch those things 00:16:08.059 --> 00:16:11.440 is immature he was he's a hot -headed player 00:16:11.440 --> 00:16:15.899 and i don't think he has shifted to being in 00:16:15.899 --> 00:16:19.679 that mindset of i'm a coach now part of that 00:16:19.679 --> 00:16:22.940 is Bringing a presence is bringing a calmness 00:16:22.940 --> 00:16:26.000 is understanding that it's more than just your 00:16:26.000 --> 00:16:28.320 team in that moment, that there is TV, that there 00:16:28.320 --> 00:16:31.240 are like, it's all part of that package. No, 00:16:31.320 --> 00:16:33.320 like you can get fired up as a coach. Don't get 00:16:33.320 --> 00:16:36.100 me wrong. But like, what are you doing running 00:16:36.100 --> 00:16:39.820 around the court and then like swearing and like 00:16:39.820 --> 00:16:41.820 jumping in the air? Like you're on the court, 00:16:41.879 --> 00:16:44.879 you're not on the court. So I'm then yelling 00:16:44.879 --> 00:16:48.159 at the rat, like, stop it. He just, he has a 00:16:48.159 --> 00:16:51.960 bit more. maturing from the player to coach role, 00:16:52.179 --> 00:16:55.100 I think. But he's also being outcoached at the 00:16:55.100 --> 00:16:56.879 end of matches. Like, so for example, in the 00:16:56.879 --> 00:17:01.139 US game, Demyanko scored at will that whole match. 00:17:01.299 --> 00:17:04.400 And then in the fifth set, the US got two or 00:17:04.400 --> 00:17:07.420 three really good slowdowns on him and turned 00:17:07.420 --> 00:17:10.180 for points. Now, you can't tell me that's by 00:17:10.180 --> 00:17:12.259 accident. You get it once maybe, but multiple 00:17:12.259 --> 00:17:16.519 times. They made adjustments. And I think... 00:17:16.779 --> 00:17:18.279 And I don't know what his staff is like, but 00:17:18.279 --> 00:17:20.559 if you're that fired up and in the moment, you're 00:17:20.559 --> 00:17:23.059 not always paying attention. The assistants look 00:17:23.059 --> 00:17:25.799 young. Yes. And I know one of them personally, 00:17:25.819 --> 00:17:29.400 like they're young. There is maybe a growing 00:17:29.400 --> 00:17:31.859 as a staff as well to understand some of the 00:17:31.859 --> 00:17:34.339 changes because clearly the game plans at the 00:17:34.339 --> 00:17:37.759 beginning are good, but the in -game adjustments 00:17:37.759 --> 00:17:40.079 and he gives good technical feedback in match, 00:17:40.180 --> 00:17:43.160 specifically passing and defense wise, but we'll 00:17:43.160 --> 00:17:46.420 see offensively if they can. continue to make 00:17:46.420 --> 00:17:49.180 adjustments when teams change their defense and 00:17:49.180 --> 00:17:52.900 just like yeah your attitude starts at the top 00:17:52.900 --> 00:17:56.660 and I think the fact that we're seeing them crumble 00:17:56.660 --> 00:17:59.799 in fifth sets like as you said teams are making 00:17:59.799 --> 00:18:04.460 adjustments but also like when you see your coach 00:18:04.460 --> 00:18:07.299 complaining to the ref saying that this is this 00:18:07.299 --> 00:18:10.259 oh you didn't call this it's a subjective call 00:18:10.259 --> 00:18:13.400 blah blah that as a player You hear that and 00:18:13.400 --> 00:18:15.059 then all of a sudden it's like, yeah, you're 00:18:15.059 --> 00:18:17.279 right. We're being hard done by. We're being 00:18:17.279 --> 00:18:20.839 hard done by. Like, no. Put your head down and 00:18:20.839 --> 00:18:23.980 work. There was one other incident that I saw 00:18:23.980 --> 00:18:26.180 that I also think kind of adds to that culture. 00:18:26.859 --> 00:18:30.000 There was a moment in the fifth set against France 00:18:30.000 --> 00:18:33.220 where Marr was in the front row and he rotated 00:18:33.220 --> 00:18:35.960 back and I think they were point for point to 00:18:35.960 --> 00:18:38.000 try and finish that set off. It was match point 00:18:38.000 --> 00:18:40.869 for France, I believe. And he was going back 00:18:40.869 --> 00:18:45.009 to serve. And you could see him go and ask for 00:18:45.009 --> 00:18:48.289 a sub from what I could see. He ended up serving. 00:18:48.450 --> 00:18:51.369 A good ball. He served a really good ball. But 00:18:51.369 --> 00:18:54.150 that mentality of, hey, take me off the floor. 00:18:54.210 --> 00:18:58.450 Dude, I get it. How many players out there are 00:18:58.450 --> 00:19:01.769 super excited to go back and hammer a spin serve 00:19:01.769 --> 00:19:03.869 when it's match point for the other team? It's 00:19:03.869 --> 00:19:05.829 not the best feeling in the world. I get it. 00:19:05.869 --> 00:19:08.720 But you're the leader on the team. You're the 00:19:08.720 --> 00:19:11.019 most experienced player there. And all of a sudden, 00:19:11.059 --> 00:19:14.200 you side out and you immediately walk to the 00:19:14.200 --> 00:19:17.420 sideline and take me out. What message is that 00:19:17.420 --> 00:19:21.180 sending? And so when you have those actions by 00:19:21.180 --> 00:19:24.599 your veterans and your coach, there's a little 00:19:24.599 --> 00:19:26.539 bit of a shift that needs to happen there, I 00:19:26.539 --> 00:19:28.559 think, for them to push through. Because they 00:19:28.559 --> 00:19:31.880 were good enough to win some of those matches. 00:19:32.180 --> 00:19:35.480 And they're just not doing it yet. So it's not 00:19:35.480 --> 00:19:39.240 the end of the world for Canada. They still got 00:19:39.240 --> 00:19:41.440 a decent number of points even though they lost 00:19:41.440 --> 00:19:43.819 three matches in five. I mean, they're in 13th. 00:19:43.819 --> 00:19:46.400 That's not great. No, it's not great. But if 00:19:46.400 --> 00:19:48.700 they have a good week two and they change some 00:19:48.700 --> 00:19:50.700 of those results, they're by no means out of 00:19:50.700 --> 00:19:53.240 it at this point because they did manage to get 00:19:53.240 --> 00:19:56.519 some points. So hopefully they can regroup and 00:19:56.519 --> 00:19:59.200 come back because I think missing elimination 00:19:59.200 --> 00:20:01.059 rounds would be a huge disappointment for them 00:20:01.059 --> 00:20:03.319 given the age of their roster and I think the 00:20:03.319 --> 00:20:07.359 expectations going in. Thoughts on the U .S.? 00:20:07.869 --> 00:20:11.890 I'm a fan. I'm a fan. I enjoy watching the men 00:20:11.890 --> 00:20:16.049 significantly more than the women. I think to 00:20:16.049 --> 00:20:20.150 see their development over the last year, I think 00:20:20.150 --> 00:20:22.910 a lot of players have gotten better. I'm thinking 00:20:22.910 --> 00:20:25.630 particularly like some of the younger guys. I 00:20:25.630 --> 00:20:27.970 understand why they put Matt Anderson on the 00:20:27.970 --> 00:20:32.609 outside. Okay. Haynes and Hartke played very 00:20:32.609 --> 00:20:37.180 well. Have arrived. Wow. Their middles were solid. 00:20:37.960 --> 00:20:42.940 You know, I think they looked really good. They 00:20:42.940 --> 00:20:48.400 did. Really good. My only concern is, do you 00:20:48.400 --> 00:20:51.500 have, like, their right sides need to continue 00:20:51.500 --> 00:20:53.980 being able to score. So right now, nobody has 00:20:53.980 --> 00:20:56.819 video on them. They're new. Well, you also got 00:20:56.819 --> 00:20:58.980 Garcia and Ensign that can play right side too. 00:20:59.400 --> 00:21:01.940 100%. But if there's a question mark, so I like 00:21:01.940 --> 00:21:03.779 Anderson on the left. He gives you someone who's 00:21:03.779 --> 00:21:05.980 a little more terminal. Again, I thought he passed 00:21:05.980 --> 00:21:10.119 pretty well. I like their middles. McHenry is 00:21:10.119 --> 00:21:12.240 virtually unstoppable. He goes over top of the 00:21:12.240 --> 00:21:17.160 block. He went over Demyanko into six, like a 00:21:17.160 --> 00:21:19.859 foot in front of the baseline. That's an undigable 00:21:19.859 --> 00:21:23.740 swing. And Maha set him incredibly well. Rowan, 00:21:23.740 --> 00:21:25.500 I thought, had a really good connection with 00:21:25.500 --> 00:21:28.380 him. Yeah. Again, it's going to be, can those 00:21:28.380 --> 00:21:32.180 right sides score those big points when they 00:21:32.180 --> 00:21:35.359 need them? By all accounts, the showings this 00:21:35.359 --> 00:21:38.720 week from both of them, it was outstanding, quite 00:21:38.720 --> 00:21:40.759 frankly. I was a little worried when Hardkey 00:21:40.759 --> 00:21:42.920 scored his first ever point and that tongue came 00:21:42.920 --> 00:21:45.700 out. I was like, dude, not the place. Read the 00:21:45.700 --> 00:21:48.980 room. But I don't know what happened, if somebody 00:21:48.980 --> 00:21:51.460 talked to him or what, but he toned it down a 00:21:51.460 --> 00:21:55.319 little bit after that and just played and played 00:21:55.319 --> 00:21:58.460 well. That's what this is about, right? So you 00:21:58.460 --> 00:22:00.279 come in, you're a young buck, you're playing 00:22:00.279 --> 00:22:03.049 well, you're amped up. Somebody sits you down. 00:22:03.250 --> 00:22:05.809 He had a post -match interview where he gave 00:22:05.809 --> 00:22:08.630 his coaches credit. He was very humble. Like, 00:22:08.670 --> 00:22:12.069 I can't tell you, I can't speak highly enough 00:22:12.069 --> 00:22:15.210 about A, how he performed, and then B, how he 00:22:15.210 --> 00:22:18.210 acted afterwards. I think that's huge growth 00:22:18.210 --> 00:22:20.950 for him, and I'm super happy and excited for 00:22:20.950 --> 00:22:22.869 him. He could be player of the year in the NCAA 00:22:22.869 --> 00:22:25.970 next year after this experience because he was 00:22:25.970 --> 00:22:31.269 outstanding. And thanks, Ottawa, who booed. The 00:22:31.269 --> 00:22:33.750 U .S. every single time they went back to serve. 00:22:33.910 --> 00:22:37.829 So that is classy. Not sure Ottawa deserved thanks 00:22:37.829 --> 00:22:40.450 at the end of that game. Well, I think the U 00:22:40.450 --> 00:22:43.950 .S. maybe gets that in a lot of different places. 00:22:43.990 --> 00:22:50.009 So they're used to it. But overall, I think they're 00:22:50.009 --> 00:22:55.150 going to be very good. Yeah, I agree. And TJ 00:22:55.150 --> 00:22:58.680 DeFalco wasn't there. Christensen wasn't there. 00:22:58.759 --> 00:23:00.779 Like, they still have pieces that they can add. 00:23:01.579 --> 00:23:05.359 But I was pleasantly surprised with their performance. 00:23:05.980 --> 00:23:10.539 All of a sudden, that opposite position is crowded. 00:23:11.180 --> 00:23:13.960 Yeah. Very crowded. And Eric Shoji coming in 00:23:13.960 --> 00:23:16.579 as a serving sub. With a couple points. Watch 00:23:16.579 --> 00:23:19.640 out. Yeah. Honestly turned the trajectory of 00:23:19.640 --> 00:23:21.420 that set because it was neck and neck. And then 00:23:21.420 --> 00:23:23.220 I think he served like four balls. I was like, 00:23:23.259 --> 00:23:27.279 wow. He came in, served a ball. And got a dig. 00:23:27.299 --> 00:23:28.279 I was like, well, that's what he was supposed 00:23:28.279 --> 00:23:30.579 to do. Good job. I wonder when the last time 00:23:30.579 --> 00:23:34.000 he served was. I know. I was thinking that. Liberos 00:23:34.000 --> 00:23:35.559 love doing other skills other than digging and 00:23:35.559 --> 00:23:37.599 passing, so he was probably in his element. I'm 00:23:37.599 --> 00:23:39.079 really curious to see what their final roster 00:23:39.079 --> 00:23:42.200 looks like. They're going to be one of those 00:23:42.200 --> 00:23:44.559 teams that's super structured, very difficult 00:23:44.559 --> 00:23:48.079 to play against. It's just going to be, and their 00:23:48.079 --> 00:23:51.680 star players elevate to the star players of the 00:23:51.680 --> 00:23:55.099 Italy's, the Poland's, when it comes down to 00:23:55.099 --> 00:23:59.059 that. but they're very good. I was very impressed. 00:23:59.279 --> 00:24:02.619 Italy had some kids who looked like they were 00:24:02.619 --> 00:24:05.119 still 16 or 17. I'm sure they were older than 00:24:05.119 --> 00:24:08.740 that, but there were some babies there. Well, 00:24:08.779 --> 00:24:10.720 yeah, we saw some of them play Vienna last year, 00:24:10.779 --> 00:24:13.720 but yeah, you didn't have Gianelli there. You 00:24:13.720 --> 00:24:18.579 didn't have your usual suspects, but I mean, 00:24:18.599 --> 00:24:20.220 they're playing in the Italian league, so they 00:24:20.220 --> 00:24:22.380 held it down pretty well. Yeah, I was impressed. 00:24:22.579 --> 00:24:26.079 Rich Lissky, I didn't think was... great again 00:24:26.079 --> 00:24:27.900 he was subbed in and out he's not my favorite 00:24:27.900 --> 00:24:30.220 but yeah so we'll i mean we'll leave it like 00:24:30.220 --> 00:24:34.079 that but i'm just so impressed with the italian 00:24:34.079 --> 00:24:40.440 federation that they have the depth and i'm so 00:24:40.440 --> 00:24:44.140 curious how they build that composure into those 00:24:44.140 --> 00:24:47.359 young athletes to come out onto that stage and 00:24:47.359 --> 00:24:50.599 compete like they're winning a couple like dug 00:24:50.599 --> 00:24:55.059 in matches coming back after being down I was 00:24:55.059 --> 00:24:57.799 thoroughly impressed, A, with the volleyball, 00:24:57.900 --> 00:25:00.579 but B, just with the mentality and the expectation 00:25:00.579 --> 00:25:06.000 of the program. Italy, across the board, is doing 00:25:06.000 --> 00:25:10.240 it right at all levels. It's impressive. What 00:25:10.240 --> 00:25:13.259 were your thoughts on, I know you watched some 00:25:13.259 --> 00:25:16.660 Japan, you watched some Slovenia. What else did 00:25:16.660 --> 00:25:19.900 you see? I mean, I saw like a little bit of Japan, 00:25:20.019 --> 00:25:23.369 Poland, and Slovenia. I mean, Slovenia, I thought 00:25:23.369 --> 00:25:27.670 looked pretty good. Mujanovic is playing really 00:25:27.670 --> 00:25:30.150 well. I feel like he's improved. Like he was 00:25:30.150 --> 00:25:33.089 coming in off the bench last season. He, I think 00:25:33.089 --> 00:25:35.970 he's improved and he is their go -to player now. 00:25:36.109 --> 00:25:39.430 I think he's doing really, really well. Japan 00:25:39.430 --> 00:25:44.809 had a pretty solid roster across the board. And 00:25:44.809 --> 00:25:47.789 honestly, Slovenia in their match against Japan, 00:25:47.910 --> 00:25:51.549 they served really well, like created a lot of 00:25:51.549 --> 00:25:55.730 disruption and generated a lot of aces by serving 00:25:55.730 --> 00:25:58.210 across passing zones. I was pretty surprised. 00:25:58.569 --> 00:26:01.529 But I mean, ultimately, Japan won in four after 00:26:01.529 --> 00:26:06.069 giving away the first set. So, I mean, when Slovenia 00:26:06.069 --> 00:26:08.990 was in system, Japan couldn't really touch them. 00:26:09.089 --> 00:26:13.339 It was definitely a serving battle. Poland, as 00:26:13.339 --> 00:26:17.400 we said, didn't have their main players there, 00:26:17.579 --> 00:26:21.119 but still pushed teams to five. I think that 00:26:21.119 --> 00:26:26.920 pool was solid. I mean, I enjoyed watching them. 00:26:27.059 --> 00:26:30.180 Yeah, I wasn't watching like I was against with 00:26:30.180 --> 00:26:33.000 Canada being like, what are you doing? Well, 00:26:33.039 --> 00:26:36.119 we also have Serbia with more wins in week one 00:26:36.119 --> 00:26:38.539 than I think they had a whole last year. What 00:26:38.539 --> 00:26:42.000 happened? They've righted that ship this year. 00:26:42.119 --> 00:26:44.920 They finished second in that pool. Three wins 00:26:44.920 --> 00:26:48.140 already. I thought the action was really good. 00:26:48.299 --> 00:26:52.220 I didn't watch any match that I thought was somewhat 00:26:52.220 --> 00:26:55.900 of a dud. Competitive. The teams look good, ready 00:26:55.900 --> 00:26:58.640 to go. So I'm excited for week two. I think we'll 00:26:58.640 --> 00:27:01.900 have more of a clear picture. I'm assuming Poland's 00:27:01.900 --> 00:27:05.160 going to bring some of their main guys back. 00:27:05.420 --> 00:27:07.519 I have no feel for what Italy's going to do. 00:27:07.539 --> 00:27:09.380 They were good enough that maybe they don't. 00:27:09.660 --> 00:27:12.579 seeing if people are healthy. But overall, a 00:27:12.579 --> 00:27:16.240 great week one with the men's VNL, and I'm thoroughly 00:27:16.240 --> 00:27:19.140 looking forward to next week as well. All right, 00:27:19.220 --> 00:27:22.079 let's dive into our listener questions. Question 00:27:22.079 --> 00:27:25.339 one, what is your guys' thoughts on a setter 00:27:25.339 --> 00:27:27.839 setting the ball on her way down instead of at 00:27:27.839 --> 00:27:31.430 the apex of her jump? I think Kimmy Miner does 00:27:31.430 --> 00:27:33.329 this and there's one international setter who 00:27:33.329 --> 00:27:36.890 does it also. It supposedly freezes the blockers 00:27:36.890 --> 00:27:39.490 for a longer time and gives the offensive team 00:27:39.490 --> 00:27:43.750 an advantage. What do you think? Two things pop 00:27:43.750 --> 00:27:46.089 into mind when you tell me that. One is I think 00:27:46.089 --> 00:27:48.109 it would really screw up the timing of the middle 00:27:48.109 --> 00:27:50.390 because generally you're looking to connect with 00:27:50.390 --> 00:27:53.190 them at the apex of your jump. And the second 00:27:53.190 --> 00:27:56.529 thing is it would make you more inconsistent 00:27:56.529 --> 00:28:00.059 as a setter because... It's really hard to connect 00:28:00.059 --> 00:28:02.839 and release the ball at the same time on the 00:28:02.839 --> 00:28:05.279 way down as opposed to always releasing at your 00:28:05.279 --> 00:28:08.079 apex. So I think it would make you more inconsistent. 00:28:09.119 --> 00:28:12.599 I feel like it also kind of neutralizes your 00:28:12.599 --> 00:28:15.839 ability offensively to be an offensive threat 00:28:15.839 --> 00:28:18.759 as a setter because once a team dials into your 00:28:18.759 --> 00:28:23.160 timing and stuff, they could key in on you before 00:28:23.160 --> 00:28:27.640 you actually set the ball. So it kind of... neutralizes 00:28:27.640 --> 00:28:31.140 you as an offensive option thinking about it 00:28:31.140 --> 00:28:33.299 it also makes me think the back set would be 00:28:33.299 --> 00:28:35.140 more inconsistent because it's really hard it 00:28:35.140 --> 00:28:37.059 would be hard to throw your hips and release 00:28:37.059 --> 00:28:42.579 on the way down now I haven't seen anyone teach 00:28:42.579 --> 00:28:44.980 this I haven't seen and that doesn't mean it 00:28:44.980 --> 00:28:46.339 doesn't happen doesn't mean it's right or wrong 00:28:46.339 --> 00:28:48.480 I just haven't personally seen it I'm honestly 00:28:48.480 --> 00:28:51.559 wondering if this you know what this person is 00:28:51.559 --> 00:28:54.279 referring to is kind of a byproduct that has 00:28:54.279 --> 00:28:57.700 developed As a result of these setters trying 00:28:57.700 --> 00:29:00.640 to see what the blockers on the other side are 00:29:00.640 --> 00:29:03.500 doing or like waiting off the blockers on the 00:29:03.500 --> 00:29:05.819 other side. And it just happens to have that 00:29:05.819 --> 00:29:08.180 kind of timing. I would be shocked if somebody 00:29:08.180 --> 00:29:11.960 was teaching this. So my instinct is that it's 00:29:11.960 --> 00:29:17.200 these setters way of finding the blockers. Yeah. 00:29:17.420 --> 00:29:20.460 The best setters, in my opinion, when I think 00:29:20.460 --> 00:29:22.599 of like who are the top setters, they're contacting 00:29:22.599 --> 00:29:25.210 the ball at the top. I've honestly never looked 00:29:25.210 --> 00:29:27.269 at or noticed that when I've been scouting teams 00:29:27.269 --> 00:29:30.049 in terms of a setter coming down or anything 00:29:30.049 --> 00:29:32.349 like that. So, I mean, obviously this person 00:29:32.349 --> 00:29:37.569 has found two. It's rare, but my instinct is 00:29:37.569 --> 00:29:39.930 it would give you less of an advantage than it 00:29:39.930 --> 00:29:43.710 would cause you issues. Okay, question two. Why 00:29:43.710 --> 00:29:47.390 aren't African teams included in the VNL on the 00:29:47.390 --> 00:29:50.609 women's side? I know the actual reason. I think 00:29:50.609 --> 00:29:53.869 VNL is based on ranking, but... It seems like 00:29:53.869 --> 00:29:56.089 African teams get the short end of the stick. 00:29:56.230 --> 00:29:58.690 I know funding and talent level isn't the best, 00:29:58.769 --> 00:30:00.789 but if you want to grow the game, doesn't it 00:30:00.789 --> 00:30:03.630 make sense to have representation? Honestly, 00:30:03.789 --> 00:30:05.430 I feel like that's what the Olympics are for. 00:30:06.109 --> 00:30:10.650 Like in the Olympics, there needs to be at least 00:30:10.650 --> 00:30:14.890 one team per continent. And I feel like the Olympics 00:30:14.890 --> 00:30:20.869 kind of embodies that spirit of. and representation 00:30:20.869 --> 00:30:25.430 and bringing the world together as one. I personally 00:30:25.430 --> 00:30:30.190 think that VNL should be elite and should be 00:30:30.190 --> 00:30:33.430 the best of the best. That might not be a popular 00:30:33.430 --> 00:30:36.809 opinion, but yeah. Well, that's what VNL is for, 00:30:36.890 --> 00:30:40.009 right? There are other ways to qualify for different 00:30:40.009 --> 00:30:42.269 types of tournaments and things like that. If 00:30:42.269 --> 00:30:46.470 you really wanted Africa to be good and driven 00:30:46.470 --> 00:30:48.980 in the sport. You need to put money in there. 00:30:49.019 --> 00:30:50.700 You need to help them establish leagues. Then 00:30:50.700 --> 00:30:52.599 you need to allow them to play against teams 00:30:52.599 --> 00:30:54.599 from other continents to see where they need 00:30:54.599 --> 00:30:57.359 to go. In terms of skill and what the level is, 00:30:57.480 --> 00:31:00.140 you need to have some competitions that are high 00:31:00.140 --> 00:31:01.940 level. If you had an African team in there that 00:31:01.940 --> 00:31:05.059 was getting hammered by everybody, if you happen 00:31:05.059 --> 00:31:07.380 to be the team that didn't get to play them in 00:31:07.380 --> 00:31:09.519 pool play, Because you don't play everybody. 00:31:09.799 --> 00:31:13.500 Now you get a severe disadvantage points -wise. 00:31:13.779 --> 00:31:15.799 I mean, and let's say they include an African 00:31:15.799 --> 00:31:17.420 team and then they just get relegated right away. 00:31:17.579 --> 00:31:20.839 Yeah. Like, is that fun also? No. You need to 00:31:20.839 --> 00:31:23.799 help them earn a berth to grow the sport. You 00:31:23.799 --> 00:31:27.799 know, I think the FIVB does run initiatives for 00:31:27.799 --> 00:31:32.650 underfunded countries when they do submit. you 00:31:32.650 --> 00:31:36.809 know, applications, the FIVB sends coaches there. 00:31:36.950 --> 00:31:40.750 I know, especially on the beach side, they fund, 00:31:40.869 --> 00:31:44.569 I'm pretty sure travel coaching expenses, et 00:31:44.569 --> 00:31:48.170 cetera, for certain teams that apply for that 00:31:48.170 --> 00:31:50.630 financial aid. And I'm pretty sure they do the 00:31:50.630 --> 00:31:54.529 same thing for indoor. If countries apply and 00:31:54.529 --> 00:31:58.230 show a need for services, the FIVB does pay for 00:31:58.230 --> 00:32:01.450 a lot. Am I saying that that is enough to like, 00:32:01.920 --> 00:32:05.000 get them to where they need to be to be in VNL? 00:32:05.180 --> 00:32:10.519 No, but there are resources available that have 00:32:10.519 --> 00:32:13.880 been put in place to try to get something going. 00:32:14.200 --> 00:32:18.140 You want them in VNL, yes. But just putting them 00:32:18.140 --> 00:32:20.599 there is not the right solution, I don't think. 00:32:20.640 --> 00:32:24.160 You have to help them earn their way in, which 00:32:24.160 --> 00:32:26.880 is a long process, but that's the better way 00:32:26.880 --> 00:32:30.809 to grow the game. Okay, question three. So it's 00:32:30.809 --> 00:32:34.609 about the new rule for the double -handed tip, 00:32:34.730 --> 00:32:38.769 the throw. Giovanni Guidetti got a red card arguing 00:32:38.769 --> 00:32:42.809 this against Japan in the fifth set on week one 00:32:42.809 --> 00:32:45.650 of the women's game. But we're seeing this as 00:32:45.650 --> 00:32:48.690 an issue in almost every match that we're watching. 00:32:48.950 --> 00:32:53.069 Do you understand this rule? Isn't it very subjective? 00:32:53.329 --> 00:32:55.970 I think they should give up on this before the 00:32:55.970 --> 00:32:58.529 EuroLeague starts. It will be chaos. What do 00:32:58.529 --> 00:33:04.440 you think? I am 100 % all for this rule. It has 00:33:04.440 --> 00:33:07.779 gotten so sloppy in terms of what you can do 00:33:07.779 --> 00:33:10.880 with the ball, how you can change the direction. 00:33:11.240 --> 00:33:14.579 For me, it's taking away the need of a good set, 00:33:14.640 --> 00:33:17.339 a good hittable ball. I'm a huge fan of the rule. 00:33:17.440 --> 00:33:21.420 I understand where the confusion comes in, but 00:33:21.420 --> 00:33:23.940 it will get better. The refs will get more consistent. 00:33:24.079 --> 00:33:27.359 Everybody will understand. what the rules are. 00:33:27.599 --> 00:33:29.920 Essentially, it's about how long the ball is 00:33:29.920 --> 00:33:32.799 in your hand and if you're changing the direction 00:33:32.799 --> 00:33:35.039 of the ball while it's in your hand. Those are 00:33:35.039 --> 00:33:37.660 kind of the two criteria. Now, obviously, there's 00:33:37.660 --> 00:33:40.339 a sliding scale on that and some refs are here, 00:33:40.420 --> 00:33:43.460 some refs are there. The referees do video replay 00:33:43.460 --> 00:33:46.339 of all of their calls and their matches before 00:33:46.339 --> 00:33:48.900 they come into tournaments. Like, they will get 00:33:48.900 --> 00:33:51.180 the calls dialed in eventually. There's a little 00:33:51.180 --> 00:33:53.400 growing pain, but this happens in almost all 00:33:53.400 --> 00:33:55.279 sports and I think it's for the better of the 00:33:55.279 --> 00:33:57.500 game. I mean, I agree with what you're saying. 00:33:57.599 --> 00:34:02.200 I also agree with this listener's question. It 00:34:02.200 --> 00:34:06.619 is chaotic currently. The refs are on different 00:34:06.619 --> 00:34:09.820 pages. Yes, it is subjective, which makes it 00:34:09.820 --> 00:34:13.000 tricky. You can tell that the refs, you know, 00:34:13.000 --> 00:34:16.039 are not all on the same page, which is where 00:34:16.039 --> 00:34:18.659 a lot of the frustration comes from the athletes, 00:34:18.699 --> 00:34:21.039 the coaches, and even as viewers. Like, why are 00:34:21.039 --> 00:34:24.000 we stopping play? I think that this needs to 00:34:24.000 --> 00:34:26.380 be implemented because like offenses have gotten 00:34:26.380 --> 00:34:31.179 so, so fast to counteract the huge blocks, the 00:34:31.179 --> 00:34:34.340 really improved defenses. that hitters have gotten 00:34:34.340 --> 00:34:38.179 so sloppy because in order to catch up with the 00:34:38.179 --> 00:34:40.699 sets and the inconsistency that comes with lightning 00:34:40.699 --> 00:34:44.159 speed offenses, this rule is going to make either 00:34:44.159 --> 00:34:47.300 setters much more consistent or we're going to 00:34:47.300 --> 00:34:50.300 see offenses start to slow down a little bit 00:34:50.300 --> 00:34:53.099 more. I think both are going to happen because 00:34:53.099 --> 00:34:55.599 to get incredibly consistent, you need to slow 00:34:55.599 --> 00:34:57.719 things down a little bit. I think it will make 00:34:57.719 --> 00:35:01.380 the game more beautiful, for lack of a better 00:35:01.380 --> 00:35:04.380 word. I just think, yeah, there are growing pains 00:35:04.380 --> 00:35:07.460 while we figure it out. Question four. Do you 00:35:07.460 --> 00:35:09.719 think Jamie Morrison would have been a good option 00:35:09.719 --> 00:35:13.019 as a coach over Eric Sullivan? He's exposed to 00:35:13.019 --> 00:35:15.380 international volleyball and he's worked with 00:35:15.380 --> 00:35:18.300 Karch before. I think his stint as the head coach 00:35:18.300 --> 00:35:21.320 of the Dutch national team did not go well. Now, 00:35:21.400 --> 00:35:23.780 again, he's young. He's learned. It's really 00:35:23.780 --> 00:35:27.360 hard to know which coaches will connect with 00:35:27.360 --> 00:35:31.420 which athletes. The one thing I will say is. 00:35:31.800 --> 00:35:34.019 I think having that international experience 00:35:34.019 --> 00:35:37.239 and understanding how that works, having been 00:35:37.239 --> 00:35:40.719 a head coach before, I think all of that experience 00:35:40.719 --> 00:35:43.559 matters. Well, let's not forget, Eric Sullivan 00:35:43.559 --> 00:35:46.280 has international experience too. He's been an 00:35:46.280 --> 00:35:49.599 assistant on the men's team for a long time. 00:35:50.300 --> 00:35:53.079 So it's not like he's new to international volleyball. 00:35:53.929 --> 00:35:56.090 He's new to women's international volleyball. 00:35:56.409 --> 00:35:59.570 And he's new to a head coaching role. I think 00:35:59.570 --> 00:36:02.690 there is a huge, huge difference between being 00:36:02.690 --> 00:36:05.929 a head coach and an assistant coach. And the 00:36:05.929 --> 00:36:08.530 fact that he has never been a head coach even 00:36:08.530 --> 00:36:12.630 in college, I think that's very obvious. Do I 00:36:12.630 --> 00:36:14.369 think Jamie Morrison would be doing a better 00:36:14.369 --> 00:36:18.650 job? I don't know. I know when he was coaching 00:36:18.650 --> 00:36:21.929 internationally, it did not go well. And he was 00:36:21.929 --> 00:36:25.670 a scout. for Karch, at least at the beginning. 00:36:25.750 --> 00:36:28.329 I don't know how he elevated within the coaching 00:36:28.329 --> 00:36:32.429 ranks with USA. I think his understanding of 00:36:32.429 --> 00:36:34.909 the international stats game and what to look 00:36:34.909 --> 00:36:37.570 for, I think that could be an asset. It's not 00:36:37.570 --> 00:36:40.050 fair to say he would be better or not, but I 00:36:40.050 --> 00:36:42.809 do think international experience on the women's 00:36:42.809 --> 00:36:46.130 side and having been a head coach, I mean, probably 00:36:46.130 --> 00:36:49.750 should be a prerequisite for being a head coach 00:36:49.750 --> 00:36:51.650 of a national team. Having been a head coach 00:36:51.650 --> 00:36:54.429 somewhere. Yeah. Okay, question five. What is 00:36:54.429 --> 00:36:57.530 your opinion on Champlin's gameplay? What makes 00:36:57.530 --> 00:37:00.329 him effective despite his height? So I watched 00:37:00.329 --> 00:37:04.429 a lot of US men's this week. And here are the 00:37:04.429 --> 00:37:06.769 things that I noticed from him. The first thing 00:37:06.769 --> 00:37:09.650 is when he attacks, his shoulders are facing 00:37:09.650 --> 00:37:14.210 in the same place on every swing. That allows 00:37:14.210 --> 00:37:16.809 him to be a little more deceptive. He's got a 00:37:16.809 --> 00:37:19.349 really good... thumb down so he can pull that 00:37:19.349 --> 00:37:21.550 in the angle if he sees the block because his 00:37:21.550 --> 00:37:23.429 vision is good his shoulders are kind of in that 00:37:23.429 --> 00:37:26.349 five six seam he can wait and snap it down the 00:37:26.349 --> 00:37:29.630 line he's very smart but he works away from the 00:37:29.630 --> 00:37:32.050 ball to put himself in the same position and 00:37:32.050 --> 00:37:34.769 look the same all the time which is incredibly 00:37:34.769 --> 00:37:38.210 important for a smaller hitter. So offensively, 00:37:38.210 --> 00:37:41.250 that was the biggest thing I noticed. In general, 00:37:41.309 --> 00:37:43.650 he's a very technical player. His block with 00:37:43.650 --> 00:37:45.849 his left hand on the outside is good. He goes 00:37:45.849 --> 00:37:48.449 over first and then waits to see and pushes it. 00:37:48.510 --> 00:37:51.449 He just technically sound in all facets of the 00:37:51.449 --> 00:37:53.409 game. And then I really like his decision making. 00:37:53.550 --> 00:37:56.289 But from an attacking standpoint, I think that's 00:37:56.289 --> 00:37:59.559 the difference for him. All right, question six. 00:37:59.780 --> 00:38:02.719 For the men and women's game, why are right sides 00:38:02.719 --> 00:38:06.280 so important to winning games? Well, you're an 00:38:06.280 --> 00:38:09.699 oppo. You start with this one. Oh my gosh. Yes, 00:38:09.699 --> 00:38:12.780 I was an opposite. So am I the right person to 00:38:12.780 --> 00:38:15.559 answer this? Maybe I'm biased. I mean, I think 00:38:15.559 --> 00:38:19.179 this is a good question. I think the answer that 00:38:19.179 --> 00:38:23.960 pops to mind for me is the opposite sole focus 00:38:23.960 --> 00:38:27.730 is point scoring. We make fun of opposites for 00:38:27.730 --> 00:38:29.989 like not playing defense, having the easiest 00:38:29.989 --> 00:38:32.590 job out there. But when you have an outside, 00:38:32.690 --> 00:38:35.449 for example, they need to really dial in their 00:38:35.449 --> 00:38:38.449 passing. Most of the serve receive balls run 00:38:38.449 --> 00:38:41.690 through the outside hitters. And if they're not 00:38:41.690 --> 00:38:45.710 executing, nobody's hitting. Okay, so they have 00:38:45.710 --> 00:38:49.030 like a lot of responsibilities aside from just 00:38:49.030 --> 00:38:52.289 point scoring. As an opposite, you can literally 00:38:52.289 --> 00:38:56.199 just dial in. I need to score points offensively. 00:38:56.199 --> 00:38:58.619 I need to block some balls and serve some aces. 00:38:58.659 --> 00:39:02.280 That is it. They are so important because they 00:39:02.280 --> 00:39:06.920 are the outlet for those points. And most of 00:39:06.920 --> 00:39:09.900 the out of system balls or garbage balls or panic 00:39:09.900 --> 00:39:12.800 balls or whatever run through them. And it does 00:39:12.800 --> 00:39:15.619 take a very specific skill set to be able to 00:39:15.619 --> 00:39:18.460 score when everybody knows you're getting the 00:39:18.460 --> 00:39:22.030 ball. To be able to score when... Your teammates 00:39:22.030 --> 00:39:23.889 are just panicking in and out of system ball 00:39:23.889 --> 00:39:26.610 and throwing it up there. Not a lot of people 00:39:26.610 --> 00:39:29.849 are comfortable or confident kind of taking those 00:39:29.849 --> 00:39:33.150 swings and being terminal on them. They also 00:39:33.150 --> 00:39:36.110 are usually a bigger presence. So they shut down 00:39:36.110 --> 00:39:39.469 the other team's outside hitters. They are helping 00:39:39.469 --> 00:39:42.050 block the middle. They're helping block the, 00:39:42.110 --> 00:39:44.929 you know, back row balls, particularly the pipe, 00:39:45.030 --> 00:39:47.590 obviously. And they have the green light to just 00:39:47.590 --> 00:39:50.059 go for it on serve. Can you tell that I played 00:39:50.059 --> 00:39:53.739 the position? I'm just like doing a serious cell 00:39:53.739 --> 00:39:57.300 job here. Everything that you said is accurate. 00:39:57.440 --> 00:40:01.400 The one thing I will say is you don't need a 00:40:01.400 --> 00:40:03.840 great opposite if you have a left side who can 00:40:03.840 --> 00:40:06.179 do those things. Positions are relevant. That's 00:40:06.179 --> 00:40:09.800 what Adam's saying. Well, no, you need a player 00:40:09.800 --> 00:40:12.480 who can do the things that you've talked about. 00:40:12.880 --> 00:40:15.880 Historically, they have been opposites. But we 00:40:15.880 --> 00:40:18.780 are starting to see that change a little bit. 00:40:19.079 --> 00:40:22.900 Antropova moving to the left. Markova. Markova. 00:40:23.019 --> 00:40:27.019 You have some left sides who are stepping into 00:40:27.019 --> 00:40:30.539 that role. Now, like you said, it's more challenging. 00:40:30.639 --> 00:40:32.659 We saw Antropova struggle a little bit having 00:40:32.659 --> 00:40:35.360 to get her approach out when she's passing. But 00:40:35.360 --> 00:40:39.179 if you can, you need a point scorer who can score 00:40:39.179 --> 00:40:41.960 both in and out of system and be a threat from 00:40:41.960 --> 00:40:45.440 the service line. And we have said. We've said 00:40:45.440 --> 00:40:47.000 it more about the women's game than the men's 00:40:47.000 --> 00:40:49.219 because the transition is much more drastic that 00:40:49.219 --> 00:40:53.260 we're seeing. Athletes like Antropova and Markova 00:40:53.260 --> 00:40:57.239 will revolutionize the game. 100%. If the game 00:40:57.239 --> 00:40:59.239 heads this direction and there are more players 00:40:59.239 --> 00:41:01.360 that are able to play left side like they are 00:41:01.360 --> 00:41:04.539 capable of, the women's game is going to completely 00:41:04.539 --> 00:41:08.099 change. I agree with your answer, but I think 00:41:08.099 --> 00:41:10.300 you're starting to see it maybe not be quite 00:41:10.300 --> 00:41:13.130 as position specific. So you're not as important 00:41:13.130 --> 00:41:15.809 as you thought you were. Okay, question seven. 00:41:16.110 --> 00:41:18.829 Am I crazy to think that Sullivan should start 00:41:18.829 --> 00:41:21.829 adding Kari Knotts to the VNL roster? I know 00:41:21.829 --> 00:41:24.530 she's young, but that's how Vargas, Igonu, and 00:41:24.530 --> 00:41:27.489 the other greats started. Obviously, she's on 00:41:27.489 --> 00:41:29.929 their radar, but it would be nice to see how 00:41:29.929 --> 00:41:34.849 she performs internationally. I am a proponent 00:41:34.849 --> 00:41:39.760 of send her to be on the bench. Gain that experience. 00:41:39.900 --> 00:41:42.139 Put her in to serve some balls because we've 00:41:42.139 --> 00:41:44.420 talked about how the US women do not serve very 00:41:44.420 --> 00:41:46.880 aggressively. That's honestly how I got started 00:41:46.880 --> 00:41:49.480 with my senior team. Not that we can compare 00:41:49.480 --> 00:41:53.599 the Canadian women's national team early 2000s 00:41:53.599 --> 00:41:56.840 to, you know, the US women now. I'm not trying 00:41:56.840 --> 00:42:00.539 to make that comparison. But as a 16 year old 00:42:00.539 --> 00:42:04.119 kid, I traveled to what was World Grand Prix 00:42:04.119 --> 00:42:07.139 at the time. I rode the bench and I got put in 00:42:07.139 --> 00:42:10.650 to serve. in certain situations against Russia 00:42:10.650 --> 00:42:14.510 against you know Korea against Brazil it was 00:42:14.510 --> 00:42:18.489 important for me a to have a different role than 00:42:18.489 --> 00:42:21.150 I've I had had in my career up to that point 00:42:21.150 --> 00:42:27.489 being not 15 16 and also being in that environment 00:42:27.489 --> 00:42:32.010 having to come in execute a skill stay focused 00:42:32.010 --> 00:42:34.050 stay dialed in I think it was really important 00:42:34.050 --> 00:42:36.150 for my development to be put into that role and 00:42:36.150 --> 00:42:41.480 I definitely think that she should travel that's 00:42:41.480 --> 00:42:44.420 just me if you had somebody at usa volleyball 00:42:44.420 --> 00:42:49.079 who was looking out for the program past 2028 00:42:49.079 --> 00:42:52.880 like somebody who could make decisions that person 00:42:52.880 --> 00:42:54.699 would be the person to go you're taking this 00:42:54.699 --> 00:42:58.980 player make a spot i don't care what else sullivan 00:42:58.980 --> 00:43:01.440 needs to win games he needs to get his current 00:43:01.440 --> 00:43:04.340 roster going he's not thinking about Anything 00:43:04.340 --> 00:43:06.820 else? This is a long -term play for somebody 00:43:06.820 --> 00:43:08.539 who you believe will be important. Yeah, but 00:43:08.539 --> 00:43:11.000 it's not like he's emptying the bench anyway. 00:43:11.239 --> 00:43:14.599 You know what? He should, but he won't because 00:43:14.599 --> 00:43:17.860 there's too many Texas athletes that need to 00:43:17.860 --> 00:43:21.920 be brought along. We can't help ourselves. Okay, 00:43:21.960 --> 00:43:23.639 question eight. They just announced the week 00:43:23.639 --> 00:43:27.099 two roster for the American women. No Cara Bajma 00:43:27.099 --> 00:43:30.739 slash Alec. I don't understand. Last season. 00:43:31.320 --> 00:43:33.800 She reported to the Turkish league five weeks 00:43:33.800 --> 00:43:37.860 late and she had the most block, the outside 00:43:37.860 --> 00:43:39.280 hitter with the most blocks at the end of the 00:43:39.280 --> 00:43:42.780 season. How can they ignore her and keep certain 00:43:42.780 --> 00:43:46.840 athletes on the roster? The only change we've 00:43:46.840 --> 00:43:50.780 seen from the Americans in week two is their 00:43:50.780 --> 00:43:54.159 middles and they've added a third setter in Jordan 00:43:54.159 --> 00:43:56.860 Poulter. That is literally the only change they've 00:43:56.860 --> 00:43:59.099 made. What do you think their reasoning is or 00:43:59.099 --> 00:44:02.250 their logic? I'm beginning to suspect that this 00:44:02.250 --> 00:44:05.389 is what the staff believes is going to be the 00:44:05.389 --> 00:44:08.449 final roster. Because they need to start gelling. 00:44:08.530 --> 00:44:12.670 They need to start winning. I think I was expecting 00:44:12.670 --> 00:44:16.590 to see a few other faces in week two. And the 00:44:16.590 --> 00:44:21.690 fact that we're not makes me believe that this, 00:44:21.889 --> 00:44:25.170 outside of one or two players, is going to be 00:44:25.170 --> 00:44:29.250 it. I think you're going to see Franklin. Come 00:44:29.250 --> 00:44:32.510 at some point? I don't know. I think maybe I 00:44:32.510 --> 00:44:34.309 might have heard whispers that she's injured. 00:44:34.449 --> 00:44:36.929 I don't know. But I did hear Elena Scott is injured. 00:44:37.130 --> 00:44:40.190 You know, outside of those injured players, you 00:44:40.190 --> 00:44:42.610 know, again, you're looking at Plummer's injured. 00:44:42.690 --> 00:44:45.349 If Franklin is injured, you know, those are potentially 00:44:45.349 --> 00:44:49.269 two left sides. I think they're dialing in on 00:44:49.269 --> 00:44:53.929 who they think they're going to want come. Peak 00:44:53.929 --> 00:44:56.849 competition time. So I'm not expecting to see 00:44:56.849 --> 00:44:58.869 many changes from here on out unless injured 00:44:58.869 --> 00:45:01.989 players get healthy. Question nine. What happens 00:45:01.989 --> 00:45:06.530 if the host nation places last after the preliminary 00:45:06.530 --> 00:45:10.809 phase? So we did do some research into this question. 00:45:11.730 --> 00:45:17.670 And it turns out if you host the final eight. 00:45:18.670 --> 00:45:21.889 Even if you finish 18th in the preliminary round, 00:45:21.949 --> 00:45:28.630 you cannot be relegated. Now, that is not specifically 00:45:28.630 --> 00:45:35.869 stated in the rules. So what I read was the teams 00:45:35.869 --> 00:45:39.769 that make the final eight finish one to eight 00:45:39.769 --> 00:45:43.150 in the tournament, regardless of what the record 00:45:43.150 --> 00:45:46.829 is. So China, no matter where they finish, cannot 00:45:46.829 --> 00:45:50.969 finish. worse than eighth and the relegation 00:45:50.969 --> 00:45:54.289 is not based off anything other than those tournament 00:45:54.289 --> 00:45:56.210 results like it has nothing to do with your overall 00:45:56.210 --> 00:45:59.130 ranking or record it's where you finish china 00:45:59.130 --> 00:46:02.070 as far as i could tell cannot and will not be 00:46:02.070 --> 00:46:04.489 relegated so it'll be if they were to finish 00:46:04.489 --> 00:46:07.809 last the 17th place team would end up how do 00:46:07.809 --> 00:46:10.150 you feel about that i'm honestly okay with it 00:46:10.150 --> 00:46:12.590 if you're gonna put the money in to host and 00:46:12.590 --> 00:46:15.110 you're gonna show up and you want to build your 00:46:15.110 --> 00:46:18.800 program I believe everybody has the same opportunity 00:46:18.800 --> 00:46:23.079 to host these events. And if China is going to 00:46:23.079 --> 00:46:25.059 put the money in and they're building their men's 00:46:25.059 --> 00:46:26.539 program. Now, I don't think they're going to 00:46:26.539 --> 00:46:29.320 finish last. They already beat one team. So they're 00:46:29.320 --> 00:46:31.699 ahead of. I mean, there's still a lot of games 00:46:31.699 --> 00:46:34.960 to be played. There are. But regardless, I'm 00:46:34.960 --> 00:46:37.139 OK with it. This is one of the avenues to build 00:46:37.139 --> 00:46:38.800 a team and a program. We know they're putting 00:46:38.800 --> 00:46:41.519 money in. They're competitive. So just to play. 00:46:41.519 --> 00:46:44.820 Like I my initial instinct was to answer the 00:46:44.820 --> 00:46:47.369 way you did, too. But you just think it's okay 00:46:47.369 --> 00:46:50.389 for teams to buy their way into, you know, when 00:46:50.389 --> 00:46:53.150 you put it that way, I don't love it as much, 00:46:53.250 --> 00:46:57.250 but you need teams to host and you need money 00:46:57.250 --> 00:46:59.670 to come in. And, you know, we had a question 00:46:59.670 --> 00:47:02.710 about teams being in Africa. This isn't a way 00:47:02.710 --> 00:47:04.369 for them to do that. If they're serious with 00:47:04.369 --> 00:47:06.530 it, like China is putting a serious amount of 00:47:06.530 --> 00:47:08.989 money in to host a pool play to post a final. 00:47:09.170 --> 00:47:11.050 They've brought a coach in their men's team is 00:47:11.050 --> 00:47:14.050 getting better. Like by all accounts. They are 00:47:14.050 --> 00:47:17.070 working on building a legitimate team. And if 00:47:17.070 --> 00:47:20.349 this helps and it furthers the game, it's hard 00:47:20.349 --> 00:47:22.429 to argue with it from a practical standpoint. 00:47:23.429 --> 00:47:26.150 Okay, last question. This one's right in Adam's 00:47:26.150 --> 00:47:29.630 wheelhouse. How does coaching women versus men 00:47:29.630 --> 00:47:32.929 at the highest level differ slash are similar? 00:47:33.489 --> 00:47:36.230 Karch was all about culture and community with 00:47:36.230 --> 00:47:38.110 the women, whereas with the men, it seems he 00:47:38.110 --> 00:47:41.239 lets them have more fire and personality. Obviously, 00:47:41.239 --> 00:47:43.559 both have to have the skill set to compete at 00:47:43.559 --> 00:47:45.760 the highest level. What skill sets, mindsets, 00:47:45.760 --> 00:47:48.559 and physical abilities matter most when coaching 00:47:48.559 --> 00:47:52.840 women versus men? I just sprung this one on him. 00:47:52.860 --> 00:47:55.079 He had no idea it was coming. Okay, so I'm going 00:47:55.079 --> 00:47:59.320 to go to culture first. And I think Karch's culture 00:47:59.320 --> 00:48:03.019 is probably the same for the men and women in 00:48:03.019 --> 00:48:06.960 terms of his expectation around practice habits. 00:48:07.599 --> 00:48:10.360 around excellence about expectations about how 00:48:10.360 --> 00:48:12.699 you conduct yourself i'm not sure the difference 00:48:12.699 --> 00:48:15.000 in demeanor between the men and the women would 00:48:15.000 --> 00:48:17.980 be his doing i think that might just be personality 00:48:17.980 --> 00:48:21.719 that would be my first but i think that you can 00:48:21.719 --> 00:48:26.000 still have a focus on culture and community while 00:48:26.000 --> 00:48:30.739 allowing people to be fiery i totally agree with 00:48:30.739 --> 00:48:32.739 that so i don't think they're mutually exclusive 00:48:32.739 --> 00:48:35.400 i agree so i mean i'm assuming this person is 00:48:35.400 --> 00:48:38.210 talking about like destiny hooker and logan tom 00:48:38.210 --> 00:48:42.530 being excluded that that would be my instinct 00:48:42.530 --> 00:48:45.789 and you know that could have been coach related 00:48:45.789 --> 00:48:49.269 they could have looked at okay taking those two 00:48:49.269 --> 00:48:52.690 individuals like generally speaking yeah what 00:48:52.690 --> 00:48:54.670 is the difference between coaching men and women 00:48:54.670 --> 00:49:00.389 from a training standpoint you have more ability 00:49:00.389 --> 00:49:03.449 to influence the game in terms of your systematic 00:49:03.449 --> 00:49:06.170 play on the women's side because you don't have 00:49:06.170 --> 00:49:11.369 quite so many athletes who can go off and just 00:49:11.369 --> 00:49:14.349 become unstoppable. Now, we are starting to see 00:49:14.349 --> 00:49:17.269 more of that on the women's side. So having your 00:49:17.269 --> 00:49:19.710 systems dialed in, knowing what adjustments to 00:49:19.710 --> 00:49:22.110 make, and your team all being on the same page 00:49:22.110 --> 00:49:24.510 in terms of how you're going to operate and defend 00:49:24.510 --> 00:49:27.289 different situations would be the first one that 00:49:27.289 --> 00:49:30.769 comes to mind. The second one, these are huge 00:49:30.769 --> 00:49:32.730 generalizations. Like a lot of times when you 00:49:32.730 --> 00:49:35.829 get to the highest levels, athletes are athletes 00:49:35.829 --> 00:49:39.309 and it doesn't really matter. But in general, 00:49:39.329 --> 00:49:45.269 how feedback is taken is different between men 00:49:45.269 --> 00:49:49.190 and women. And not to say one is right or one 00:49:49.190 --> 00:49:52.309 is wrong, but you have to know your athletes 00:49:52.309 --> 00:49:55.860 and how they receive feedback. And whether that 00:49:55.860 --> 00:49:57.860 feedback is going to help them or hurt them or 00:49:57.860 --> 00:50:00.039 put them in the tank. In my experience, you have 00:50:00.039 --> 00:50:02.019 to know your athlete on the women's side a little 00:50:02.019 --> 00:50:04.360 bit more in terms of how they respond to feedback. 00:50:04.760 --> 00:50:07.440 And most of the time, men receive feedback in 00:50:07.440 --> 00:50:10.239 a very similar manner. That has been my experience. 00:50:10.599 --> 00:50:12.820 Would you agree with that? I would say, yeah, 00:50:12.920 --> 00:50:16.099 I agree with that because, and again, this is 00:50:16.099 --> 00:50:18.360 a huge generalization, but women's tendencies 00:50:18.360 --> 00:50:21.539 is to feel, always think that they're not good 00:50:21.539 --> 00:50:25.420 enough. And men... tend to always think they're 00:50:25.420 --> 00:50:29.500 better than they are. And again, huge generalization, 00:50:29.500 --> 00:50:32.880 but I think because women tend to think they're 00:50:32.880 --> 00:50:37.199 worse than they are or to hear the negative in 00:50:37.199 --> 00:50:40.280 feedback more than the positive, it does need 00:50:40.280 --> 00:50:42.460 to be reworked a little bit. I think for men, 00:50:42.539 --> 00:50:45.920 you can be much more honest because, not honest, 00:50:46.119 --> 00:50:49.239 but like a little less filtered or guarded in 00:50:49.239 --> 00:50:53.679 how you deliver information because a man's default 00:50:53.679 --> 00:50:57.679 typically is to have to be like brought back 00:50:57.679 --> 00:51:00.639 down to earth in my experience I think that's 00:51:00.639 --> 00:51:02.780 totally fair but anything in terms of culture 00:51:02.780 --> 00:51:05.219 preparation all of that kind of stuff I think 00:51:05.219 --> 00:51:08.639 is the same across genders at least I've seen 00:51:08.639 --> 00:51:12.159 very similar things like Bernardo coaching a 00:51:12.159 --> 00:51:13.940 women's club team and coaching the men's national 00:51:13.940 --> 00:51:16.880 team like his approach is generally the same 00:51:16.880 --> 00:51:19.239 in how he does that so I don't think those things 00:51:19.239 --> 00:51:22.789 change between genders But I think a man coaching 00:51:22.789 --> 00:51:26.710 a women versus a man coaching men, there is inherent 00:51:26.710 --> 00:51:32.570 differences. Like a man can go be rowy with men. 00:51:32.949 --> 00:51:35.909 But if he attempted that with women, that would 00:51:35.909 --> 00:51:38.809 kind of be crossing a line and inappropriate. 00:51:39.090 --> 00:51:43.630 So there's definite just, yeah, things like that 00:51:43.630 --> 00:51:47.489 I think need to be considered. True. As always, 00:51:47.550 --> 00:51:52.059 we love your questions. Keep them coming. As 00:51:52.059 --> 00:51:54.920 V &L unfolds, it's been really interesting to 00:51:54.920 --> 00:51:57.420 read comments and get the questions and stuff. 00:51:57.780 --> 00:52:01.480 We had a ton of comments on the YouTube channel 00:52:01.480 --> 00:52:05.500 this week and I laughed out loud with a lot of 00:52:05.500 --> 00:52:08.099 them. So keep those coming. I'm reading them 00:52:08.099 --> 00:52:11.119 and loving them and responding as soon as I can 00:52:11.119 --> 00:52:13.619 find them. So thank you to everybody who took 00:52:13.619 --> 00:52:15.519 the time to write in. It's greatly appreciated 00:52:15.519 --> 00:52:18.389 and enjoyed. All right, so looking forward, obviously, 00:52:18.389 --> 00:52:20.690 we have VNL coming up this week on the women's 00:52:20.690 --> 00:52:22.849 side. A couple of matches of note here. We have 00:52:22.849 --> 00:52:26.230 Thursday at 4 a .m. Eastern, Czech versus USA. 00:52:26.829 --> 00:52:30.670 Czech was outstanding in the first week of VNL, 00:52:30.769 --> 00:52:33.829 so that will be a very interesting match. Saturday 00:52:33.829 --> 00:52:37.949 at 9 a .m. Eastern, China versus Brazil. We'll 00:52:37.949 --> 00:52:40.349 see. I'm curious to see which squad China has 00:52:40.349 --> 00:52:42.489 here this week. They were very young last week 00:52:42.489 --> 00:52:46.340 and inexperienced, so we'll see. And Sunday at 00:52:46.340 --> 00:52:50.300 8 a .m. Eastern, Japan versus Italy. And again, 00:52:50.440 --> 00:52:54.219 curious to see which Italy team is there. And 00:52:54.219 --> 00:52:56.780 that game is always good between those two countries. 00:52:57.480 --> 00:52:59.599 It's a rough week for North American viewers. 00:52:59.760 --> 00:53:04.260 We got Ankara, the Philippines, and Thailand. 00:53:05.630 --> 00:53:09.510 Hence the super early morning wake -ups. So not 00:53:09.510 --> 00:53:12.949 the best week if you are hoping to watch live 00:53:12.949 --> 00:53:15.489 as a North American, but if you're in Asia and 00:53:15.489 --> 00:53:18.510 Europe, you're living your best life. So lots 00:53:18.510 --> 00:53:20.530 of replays going to be watched in this household. 00:53:21.710 --> 00:53:24.409 That concludes this week's episode of Volley 00:53:24.409 --> 00:53:26.130 Talk. There's always something shaking in the 00:53:26.130 --> 00:53:28.230 volleyball world, and we hope you enjoyed this 00:53:28.230 --> 00:53:30.650 little fix. Be sure to follow the show so you 00:53:30.650 --> 00:53:32.750 don't miss any updates, and we'd be so grateful 00:53:32.750 --> 00:53:35.530 if you would leave us a five -star review. You 00:53:35.530 --> 00:53:38.190 can also find us on Instagram at volleytalk underscore 00:53:38.190 --> 00:53:41.130 podcast. If there's a topic you'd like us to 00:53:41.130 --> 00:53:43.429 discuss, you can reach out on Instagram or at 00:53:43.429 --> 00:53:47.550 info at sarahpavin .com. Thanks so much for joining 00:53:47.550 --> 00:53:49.289 us and we'll be back next week.