Why this site exists

I built the coaching site I wanted to find.

I'm a parent, lifelong recreational athlete, and volunteer coach. I did not grow up in elite volleyball. I grew up in community sports, where volunteer parents helped kids learn, belong, and have fun.

Volunteer parent coach
Still plays volleyball
Still learning

From player to parent coach

The whistle eventually changed hands.

I remembered what volunteer coaches had given me. When it was my turn, I wanted to give young people that same chance to enjoy learning something together.

Volunteer parents made sports possible for me.

I grew up moving from one season to the next: soccer in the fall, basketball in the winter, baseball in the spring, and recreational volleyball along the way. The adults teaching, organizing, and encouraging us were usually parents who had simply stepped forward.

Eventually, I became the parent holding the clipboard.

When I had children, I coached their soccer and volleyball teams and became a coach and mentor in other activities, including robotics. I learned how much a calm, prepared adult can shape whether a young person feels capable, included, and eager to return.

I wanted to do more than mean well.

I took youth-coaching, safety, soccer, and volleyball training because my kids and their teammates deserved thoughtful coaching. The education gave me useful principles and better technical knowledge—but much of the volleyball material assumed a club or high-school setting that volunteer coaches do not have.

The idea behind everything here

A player's first coach can shape whether they want to come back.

New coaches do not need to pretend they know everything. We can be prepared, stay curious, learn alongside our players, and make the gym a place where effort and improvement feel good. Fun and learning are not extras for new players—they are the foundation.

Learning to coach better

The training helped. The volunteer-coach gap remained.

I pursued formal education because good intentions are not enough. It made me a more thoughtful coach, but much of the available volleyball guidance is built for experienced club or high-school programs. Volunteer coaches often need a different starting point: fewer assumptions, clearer language, and plans that work with the players, time, and space they actually have.

Young people first

Youth development, empathy, mental wellness, safety, positive culture, and connection-based coaching.

Volleyball knowledge

Formal learning through USA Volleyball, NFHS, FIVB, Gold Medal Squared, The Art of Coaching Volleyball, and youth-sports programs.

Real volunteer teams

Hands-on coaching with middle-school players, mixed experience levels, limited practice time, and families learning together.

Independent by design

Coach Youth Volleyball is independently created and is not affiliated with or endorsed by any training provider or volleyball organization. Those programs are part of my continuing education; this site reflects my own effort to make practical help more accessible to volunteer coaches.

Explore independent coach-education options

For the coach who said yes

You do not have to know everything before the first whistle.

Start with the next practice, teach one useful thing, and help players leave wanting to return. We can all learn together—and have fun doing it.

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