The Golden Era of Volleyball Coach Education
in International Sport Coaching JournalClick name to view affiliation
In 35 years of coaching men’s and women’s collegiate volleyball in the United States, Mike Hebert earned a career record of 952-392 and led teams to the Division 1 Final Four on five occasions. He was named American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) National Coach of the Year in 1985 and is a member of both the AVCA and University of Minnesota halls of fame. He has also served as a member of the coaching staff for the USA Women’s National Volleyball Team at numerous international events, and is the author of Thinking Volleyball (2014). Address author correspondence to Mike Hebert at heber012@gmail.com.
Editor’s Introduction I am pleased to share with ISCJ readers the following Insights article written by Mike Hebert. Coach Hebert is a legendary high-performance volleyball coach in the United States. In 2006 he was inducted into the Hall of Fame by the American Volleyball Coaches Association. In addition to coaching for 35 years in college, he has served on the coaching staff for the USA National Women’s Volleyball team at numerous high profile international competitions. Coach Hebert graciously accepted our invitation to share his insights on coaching and coach education. In this article he focuses his attention on the evolution and current status of volleyball coach education in the United States, with particular focus on the sometimes controversial approach advocated by Gold Medal Squared.
Coach Hebert’s Insights article represents an important step for ISCJ. The editorial team at ISCJ envisions ISCJ as a global meeting space for sharing stimulating dialogue on coaching and coach education. Traditionally the dialogue has been separated along ‘academic’ and ‘practical’ lines, with nowhere for academics and practitioners to meet in the gap. We believe that by publishing insightful commentaries on important coaching and coach education issues—like the one written by Coach Hebert—right alongside world-class research articles—like the ones included in each issue of ISCJ—we are helping to bridge the research-practice gap that has long plagued sport coaching. As you read Coach Hebert’s article I encourage you to reflect on the status of coaching and coach education in your own sport context. Perhaps the article will inspire you and your sport coaching colleagues to similarly share your wisdom with the global sport coaching community by submitting an Insights paper to ISCJ.
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