WOC #22 John Kessel, USA Volleyball, Lines Teach You How, but the Game Teaches You Why

Neurosurgeons say if they practiced the way they did 18 months ago, they'd be sued for malpractice. Heart surgeons believe if they practiced the way they did 5 years ago, they'd be sued for malpractice. Yet, in youth sport coaching we still practice the way we did when we were kids.

John Kessel believes we should all be sued for malpractice because we have not evolved the game to meet the times. Do you agree?

Listen in on this thought provoking, information packed podcast as John shares an amazing amount of knowledge and has myriad quotable quotes in a short hour long podcast. Get your notebook out for this one!

Bio Since 1985 John has been working for the National Governing Body of the sport, USA Volleyball (USAV), now as Director of Sport Development. He currently serves as the staff liaison for Disabled Programs, USA Deaflympic Teams, Starlings USA, National Parks and Recreation Assoc., the YMCA and over 30 other Affiliated Organizations working with USAV. He is Secretary of the NORCECA Technical and Coaches Commission, and Director of Development for World ParaVolley. He was Team Leader for the 2000 USA Olympic Beach Volleyball Teams in Sydney, which brought home one gold medal, and for the 2004 USA Paralympic Women's Sitting Volleyball Team in Athens, which came home with the bronze medal. In 1995, Volleyball Magazine's special Centennial issue named him one of the 50 most important people in the sport in the past 100 years. In 2013 the American Volleyball Coaches Association inducted him as their 60th member of the AVCA Coaches Hall of Fame. John has been coaching since 1971 at the collegiate level or above, including Women's U.S. Open titles in 1986 & 1987. A sought after international lecturer, he has conducted seminars in all 50 states, and in over 50 nations, including China, Denmark, Bolivia, Thailand, Qatar, United Arab Emerits, Cook Islands, Barbados, France, Germany, Egypt, England, Italy, Argentina, Lithuania, Japan, Iceland, Puerto Rico, Western Samoa, American Samoa, Canada, Guatemala, Venezuela, Greece, Israel, Australia, Jamaica, New Zealand, Holland, England, Belize, Trinidad Tobago, Ireland, Tonga, Belgium, Haiti, Vanuatu, Costa Rica, Fiji, Poland, Nicaragua, British Virgin Islands, Vietnam, and El Salvador. He is also a busy author, with over half a dozen USAV books, including the IMPACT coaching manual, the Jr. Olympic Volleyball Program Guide, and most recently Minivolley 4 Youth, the Youth Coloring Book, and countless articles. His blog called "Growing the Game Together" is the second most popular blog of the hundreds found on the US Olympic Committee's Team USA website and he promotes the "Grassroots" Button on the USAV website with material, videos, posters, and information for clubs, schools, coaches, parents, players, and officials. He has received many other awards, including USA Volleyball's Honorable Mention in 1978 and 1986, the Harry Wilson Distinguished International Service in 2004, the George Fisher Leader in Volleyball in 2006 and in 2007 was named a Sport Ethics Fellow by the Institute for International Sport.

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Show Notes 2:45 "That which you teach, you learn" Why we should have more peer mentoring in sport 10:45 The game trains the brain – Kids need to play more 18:25 Did your parents hire a "bike riding coach"? How'd you learn to ride a bike? 21:00 If a surgeon practiced they way she did 5 years ago, she'd be sued… 27:00 For this to work, Coaches have to show their own failure, vulnerability, willingness to learn 35:00 To get in the best physical shape to play volleyball, you should play volleyball… 38:00 Every time these hands touch the ball, they are going in the end zone. That's how I play. 46:00 Do we practice to look good in practice or do we practice to perform in games? 53:00 Don't, Try, and But are words coaches should eliminate from their vocabulary 59:00 If you are always working on the personal "re", you will be happy and succeed

Get in Touch Twitter: @johnkesselUSAV Email: john.kessel@usav.org "The Backwards Bicycle": Smarter Every Day Ep 133 Richard Schmidt's Book: Motor Learning and Performance, From Principles to Practice Damian Farrow's Book: Developing Sport Expertise

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