Matthew H.

-Club Director at Bay to Bay Volleyball Club
-6 years club coaching experience with Bay to Bay Volleyball Club
-4 years camp/clinic coaching at University of the Pacific in Stockton, CA
-2 years camp/clinic coaching at American University in Washington D.C.
-1 year as the Operations Intern with Santa Clara Women's Volleyball

I have experience coaching both male and female athletes ranging from a skill level of young beginners (7-9 years olds at American Volleyball Camps) to intercollegiate athletes (Santa Clara University and University of the Pacific). Throughout my coaching career, two of my boys club teams have finished in the top-5 of the Open division at Junior National Championships. Individually, I have coached two Junior National All-Tournament selections, four Division l athletes, and four USA Volleyball A1 youth national team members.

Certifications:
-USA Volleyball IMPACT Certified (Increased Mastery and Professional Application of Coaching Theory)
-NFHS Fundamentals of Coaching
-NFHS Concussion in Sport

-4 year member of University of the Pacific Division l Men's Volley Program (2009 - 2013)
-Voted "Most Inspirational" 4 years in a row by teammates at University of the Pacific (2009 - 2013)
-3 time Academic MPSF All-Conference Selection (2010 - 2013)
-San Jose Mercury News Player of the Year (2009)
-Cal-Hi Sports Bay Area Scholar Athlete of the Year (2009)
-Bronze medalist at the 17-Open division in (2008)
-2 time All Tournament selection at the Open division of Junior Nationals (2007 / 2008)

Prior to our first session: I will send a self-evaluation to my athlete(s) to have them to properly gauge themselves in the fundamental areas of volleyball. This evaluation provides me proper insight into where my athlete(s) want to most specifically improve their game so we can hit the ground running with a specific focus for improvement at the first session.

Video Analysis: All training sessions are recorded and later digitally sent to the player(s) for personal video analysis. This provides a great resource for refreshing the memory on certain areas of focus as well as a great comparrison of before and after several training sessions.

Warm-up: I run my athlete(s) through a DROM warm-up (Dynamic Range of Motion) which includes active stretching, footwork drills, and dynamic movements to help activate the body and mind.

Beginning of session: Using the pre-established "area of focus", I will verbally go over the fundamental attributes associated with the area of focus and always demonstrate the drills to follow to clear up confusion. Then the athlete(s) begin a series of repetition based drills to provide ample opportunity to practice the form associated with the skill.

For example, if the area of focus is setting, athlete(s) will spend time working on the fundamentals of hand placement and mechanics by going through a series of wall work drills where the athlete will repeatedly set against the wall. These beginning drills are easily replicated at home, and do not usually require a gym/volleyball net to practice. This allows ample opportunity for improvement outside of designated practice times.

Middle of session: After completing the repetition based drills, player(s) will be put into two to three "game like" training situations depending on time of session. For example, if the area of focus is transition attacking, then the player(s) will be forced to execute a block and off the net transition movement and then approach to attack a coach initiated set.

Using a simple drill as the foundation for the session, I will add variations to the same drill to create a series of game like situations. For example, instead of a coach initiated toss from the setters position, I will adjust to toss from over the hitters shoulder to recreate a "scramble play" in which the player(s) must track the ball over the shoulder to connect on an attack. This same formula is recreated with one to two more drills depending on time.

End of session: Towards the end of the session, I will bring the player(s) back to the original repetition based drill to act as a cool down and muscle memory trigger. This helps remind the player(s) of the area of focus and provides a clear image of the drills they can do on their own at home to continue to improve in between training sessions.

Post-session: I will send the video of our training session via a YouTube link to the desired email address along with any specific notes on the practice session.