← Youth Inc. with Greg Olsen
Youth Inc. with Greg Olsen
Inside the League Changing Women's Volleyball w/ Courtney Thompson & Lexi Rodriguez
00:37:58
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- [00:00]
A
Hi everyone, it's Shelby Baumgarner, your digital host and welcome back to youo Think We Got a Big one today. Greg sits down with two of the biggest names in women's volleyball, Courtney Thompson and Lexi Rodriguez. Lexi is an all American libero out of Nebraska and she's one of the most decorated defenders in women's college volleyball history. And Courtney is a two time Olympic medalist, she's a national champion at Washington and she is truly one of the most respectable, respected leaders and setters in the sport. They're joining Greg to officially kick off our year long partnership with League 1 volleyball. Bringing the top voices in girls volleyball with everything that we're building here at you think. Check out our YouTube and socials this week as we start rolling out fresh content with League one. We cannot wait for you all to see what's coming. To learn more, visit youth.inc V. Alright, let's get into it.
- [00:54]
B
Youth sports in America are at a crossroads and I'm here to help lead the conversation forward. I'm Greg Olson. Each week we're sitting down with top athletes, coaches and more to talk about what's working, what's broken and what's next. Welcome to youthink.
- [01:10]
A
Hey Greg, what's happening?
- [01:12]
B
Hey, what's up Shelby? How you doing?
- [01:13]
A
I'm doing great. Okay, so we're going to start off with something fun. We're going to build a starter pack with your $15 budget. All right, so take a look and tell me what you would do.
- [01:23]
B
All right, So I get $15. So I'm assuming this is at a game.
- [01:27]
A
Yes.
- [01:27]
B
Well I have to wear hats so a hat is a no brainer. So I'm going, I'm spending a dollar on a hat. That's easy. I don't need a. I don't need to eat or drink. I need a chair. So I'm going to spend $5 on a chair because I don't need the $7 chair with the umbrella. I need my phone cuz a lot goes down. I'm assuming that's bottom right. Is a phone right?
- [01:46]
A
Yep.
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B
But what am I at now? I'm at 12. I've spent $13. I have a hat, a chair and my phone. $3 left. I'm going to spend it on a Gatorade. I'm going to. Instead of worrying about eating and drinking water, I'm just gonna get all my calories and sugar in one drink. So I'm gonna go $1 hat, $3 Gatorade, $5 chair, $7 cell phone. Bad news from the producer's chair. That's $16, Greg. It is. Oh, that is $16. All right. All right, so I need to cut off a dollar, but I have to wear a hat because I always wear hats. I'm gonna go cheaper chair. So that takes me to 14, Reagan. All right, I'll throw in a bottle of water just for the extra doll.
- [02:29]
C
Thank you so much, Greg.
- [02:30]
A
This is a lot of fun.
- [02:30]
C
I'm excited for this episode.
- [02:32]
B
What's up, everybody? Welcome back to another episode here on youn Thinks. Super pumped for today's episode. We announced a couple weeks back our partnership with League 1 volleyball. Today, Lexi Rodriguez, one of the most accomplished volleyball players in history. We're going to talk about her time in high school, growing up, her journey through Nebraska, and now ultimately her time with League 1 volleyball. So, Lexi, thank you so much for joining us here on you think.
- [02:56]
D
Yes, I'm excited. Thanks for having me.
- [02:58]
B
Give me an idea. Give our listeners an idea. Because I have a niece that plays relatively competitive. She's a freshman in high school. Relatively competitive volleyball. I feel like of all the sports, I don't have a daughter that play. My daughter doesn't play it. But, like, listening to families that do. Am I crazy to think that, like, youth volleyball is more serious than every other sport combined?
- [03:23]
D
I don't know about every other sport out there.
- [03:25]
B
It's close.
- [03:26]
D
It's pretty competitive. And I think just with the amount of numbers that, like, participants in youth volleyball, like, there's just so many, so many clubs, so many girls that are participating. So it's. Yeah, it's a big deal.
- [03:39]
B
All right, so give us an idea of what it. Of what it looks like. So obviously there's club, there's school within those clubs. There's probably a hierarchy. So, like, give us what your journey looked like. What were you doing? What were you playing? Were you only playing volleyball? Like, give us a sense of your time growing up into high school before, obviously, the, you know, the, the stardom at Nebraska.
- [04:01]
D
Yeah, I started playing different sports. I played kind of everything. I did basketball for the longest, honestly, before volleyball. And then I did a little bit of track and field, a little bit of tennis, and then not so much the soccer, softball. Those weren't really for me, but tried everything, really. My parents put me in everything. And then volleyball and basketball were the two that really stuck. And for volleyball, I started at a young age. I was seven years old when I played on my first, like, club team. I was playing on, like, an older team that was like, 10, 10 and up, just because my club didn't really have, like, a Sevens team, I guess. So I started pretty young. I had an older sister that was four years older than me that played. So I was kind of always in the gym, always with her, practices, doing everything. And then when I was nine years old, my mom took my sister and I to a club that was about an hour and a half away from my hometown, just to a bigger club that had a little bit better training, more exposure to bigger tournaments, college coaches, stuff like that. She really wanted us. She knew we both loved volleyball, and she wanted us to be in the best position to be successful and get a scholarship and all of that. And so that's where things kind of took off. I was traveling an hour and a half there and back for four times a week for the age of nine, until I was off to college. So that was, like, the biggest thing, the biggest sacrifice for my family and just a really big commitment. But in the end, I feel like that's what got me exposed to college coaches and ended up getting a scholarship to Nebraska.
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B
Certainly safe to say it's worked out.
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D
Yes.
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B
Was there, like, a tipping point within? So, like, in the world that I'm operating, you know, in the world of, you know, football and my kids play baseball, and my daughter's gotten into some basketball and track, so I'm more familiar with. With those paths and what the. You know, what the youth experience looks like. But when. When you look back into your volleyball experience as a young. As a young girl, you know, as opposed to what a lot of the young girls are going now, like, how far do we need to go? Back when there was, like, a tipping point, when did it turn into this, like, big complex nationally where girls are traveling and there's club and we're out of town on the weekends, like, is there. Was. Is that a recent transition? Is that something that you saw when you were young? Like, give us a sense of the timing of all of this?
- [06:35]
D
Yeah, I think club volleyball has always been the travel. You're going to big tournaments, you're playing people from all across the country. And, I mean, even from the age of, like, 12, 13, I was traveling to Texas and all over the Midwest and in Florida, we were going to nationals. Like, we were doing all of that from the age of, like, 12 and 13. I think now it's. There's a lot more teams involved where. When I was younger, I think you kind of end up playing the same, like, three or four teams at these Big tournaments where now it's. There's teams from literally all across the country that are competing for those open bids and the national titles in the club level. So it's definitely grown tremendously. But I think around the age of 14, I think is when you see like the biggest amount of girls that are traveling and the most amount of teams involved in the competitions. But from like 14 on, I think there's. It's just so competitive and there's just a lot more girls than there was at my age.
- [07:42]
B
And again, just forgive my ignorance, but I'm fascinated by it because we, we do it with, when my son's in their baseball and we have some friends in town that do it with like travel, girls soccer. So like, I've experienced it first and secondhand in some other sports. But teach me, like, tell me the idea of traveling to Texas, the idea of traveling all over the country, that's to play better competition. That's to get. When you're older, that's to get in front of scouts. Like it. As the sport expands and talent now is coming out of all areas, is there still the need to travel or can this sport become more localized and regionalized because the talent in any particular area is better?
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D
I think a little bit of both. I think the talent everywhere is getting better. Where it's. You don't necessarily have to travel for the competition, but how the club volleyball scene works is there's different levels. Like there's an open division which is the highest, and then those are usually like your ones teams. And then there's like other divisions that you just fall into place, but at each level you are trying to qualify to make it to the end. Like tournament, like to make it to nationals.
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B
Got it.
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D
And so there's only a few of those tournaments throughout the year that you can get a qualification, get a bid to nationals is what they call it. So there's still going to be a need to travel and go to these bigger tournaments to qualify. But to get like the competition I think you're seeing now, most teams are staying with within their state for most of the year and only traveling outside of the state for those qualifiers. And those, those qualifiers are usually where all the college coaches are and you're going to get scouted by recruiters and
- [09:27]
B
stuff like that, which makes sense. I'll tell you what, I don't know if there's a more fun sport to watch on TV than women's volleyball.
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D
Oh, really?
- [09:36]
B
You could ask my, my family, like when it's on, when you guys, you know, when it's televised, when you guys are in like your NCAA tournament and, you know you're watching Nebraska, obviously, and the Kentucky teams and like, the team. I feel like there's a handful of universities that become like, very synonymous with women's volleyball. So talk about your journey at Nebraska. It's in my mind, as an avid fan of the sport, like, it seems to me like that is the top of the top. Give me an idea of, like, what separates a school at the level of Nebraska. Is it resources? Is it coaching, recruiting? Like, what allows one school like that to be a hotbed of recruiting talent and winning national championships compared to their peers?
- [10:16]
D
I think there's a lot of things that separate Nebraska. I think one of the big things that really does draw in a lot of high schoolers is kind of the. The fan base. And that comes from just like the history and the culture of Nebraska, which is something that can't be replicated. It's been one of those programs that sells out their arena, sells out tickets, no matter where they go, for many, many years. The sellout streak, I don't even know what it is anymore, but it's insane. And I think that just comes from the state of Nebraska. And there hasn't been any pro teams. There's no pro basketball, pro football, anything like that. So I think they really, the fans are really dedicated to the college sports, which is in just an atmosphere that you really can't replicate anywhere else.
- [11:08]
B
Whoever's idea it was to put the game in this football stadium outdoors, in front of a hundred thousand people, and seeing that, whoever came up with that idea is brilliant because.
- [11:18]
D
Or a little crazy.
- [11:20]
B
Well, I mean, I guess only crazy if it didn't work. Yes, but I mean, the environment, is that something that I'm assuming that goes on now, indefinitely? Right. That seems like an annual tradition. Now I. Here. Okay, so here's my question. Outside of Nebraska, how many programs could host a game in a state, in a football stadium and pack it?
- [11:41]
D
I don't think you can replicate a place like Nebraska. I think there's maybe one or two, like, volleyball programs that could. That could do that.
- [11:53]
B
You're not biased, though? No, I'm just kidding.
- [11:54]
D
Not biased at all.
- [11:56]
B
Let's dive into again. We. We announced with you think, a partnership with League 1 volleyball a couple weeks ago. We're super excited about it. Just learning about what the league is building, the opportunities, the platform. As someone who has played volleyball at the highest level since you were nine, give us a sense for what does League 1 volleyball do for you individually, but also what does it do just for the sport? Like, what is the effect that that's having all the way down that pipeline? That changes what this looks like for. For women playing volleyball moving forward, I'll start.
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D
For me, I think the biggest thing is I get to play professional volleyball here in America, which hasn't always been a thing. Obviously, it's one of the first leagues and one of the only leagues in America. And when I was growing up, I was under the impression that after college, I had to pack up my things and move to in Italy, a Germany, Turkey, and kind of live there for nine months out of the year to play professional volleyball and then come back and kind of train in the summer. Like, that's what a lot of my teammates and people who have played in the Olympics have had to do for the past lifetime is they go overseas for nine, 10 months, they come back, they're trained for the Olympics for, like, two months, and then they go back overseas, and it's been like a cycle that if you talk to a lot of them, it's. It's brutal. Like, they miss a lot of things. They had to sacrifice a lot with family and friends and just everything to kind of fulfill their dreams. So I think for me, that's the biggest thing, is that I'm lucky enough to be able to be here, have my family at my games, like, be close to friends, and just have a place that's almost like home here in Nebraska, that I get to play the sport I love. So that's really huge for me. And then going into just what it's doing as a whole, I think kind of giving the fans of volleyball the knowledge of what professional volleyball is. I think a lot of people think it's really similar to college, and it's really not there. It's a whole different level. And I think being able to kind of show that and highlight that on TV and having it, like, just be as big as it is is going to help the next generations kind of get prepared for how to play professional volleyball and what it's like and what are the differences and the challenges and everything like that, and it's here in America. So I think those young, young club girls that we were talking about earlier that are competing and traveling every weekend, it gives them something to look forward to and something to reach for. That seems actually like a reality for them.
- [14:37]
B
So let me ask you this. Give us an idea of the markets, give us an idea of the teams, give us an Idea how does it work? Like is league one trying to get the best American girls? Are they trying to recruit the best, you know, girls after college from all over the world to now come to America as opposed to scattering through Italy and some of the other countries. So just give us a sense of the process and then also once you're in the league, how the actual league operates.
- [15:02]
D
Right now we have six teams, we're expanding next year and hopefully onward, but we have six teams and they're trying to be one of the best leagues in the world. And so with doing that, it's a mix of American athletes, it's a mix of freshly graduated collegiate athletes, kind of like they're trying to do the best of the best of college athletes bring into this league. And then there's a lot of foreigner athletes. We have people from all over the world basically. And I mean half of my team is foreigners. We have some Germans, we have people from the Netherlands, Brazil, Argentina, and that's just on my team alone. There's representation from players all across the world, which I think over time if we can get more and more, which is their goal, it'll just make it one of the best leagues in the world, which is kind of their end goal is to compete with the leagues like Italy and Turkey, which are predominantly the best volleyball leagues in the world.
- [16:05]
B
What would you tell that nine year old young girl who's driving an hour and a half with her mom and her sister? What would your message be to all those young girls out there that are maybe just finding the sport of volleyball or just finding their way in the sport? What would you tell them?
- [16:19]
D
I would say a few things. I would obviously say like trust the process and I think going along with that, like everyone's journey is different. I've never met a single person that has had the same volleyball experience that I have. And there's so many people out there that are successful in their sport and your story can always be different and it doesn't have to look like someone else's. So I think that's the biggest thing is just trust the path that you're on and trust that it's going to work out and the work that you're putting in is going to pay off in the end.
- [16:53]
B
I'm going to get out to some of these games. I again, I love watching it on tv. I would love to watch more of it in person. Although I hear the, the gyms get very noisy. Like you hear whistles in your head for like days when the tournaments end. That's one of the pieces of feedback that, that I've gotten. But we are so excited for our partnership with League One. We are so excited to have you on and we really appreciate you taking a couple minutes here to share some, some of that here with us on you think?
- [17:18]
D
Of course. Thanks for having me. Hope you can make it to a game.
- [17:22]
B
Courtney Thompson, we are so excited to have you join our show today. You're kind of a pseudo host. You think hat League 1 volleyball hat Former player have excelled at every level. We're going to dive into all of it. But Courtney, really appreciate all the work you're doing not only for League one, but obviously now with our partnership and hear what you think.
- [17:42]
C
Thank you. I'm. I'm fired up for all of it. You know, I'm passionate about how amazing sports are at every single level and it's fun to be on this side of it and get to celebrate the pros that we have in the league and in our sport. So thank you for having me.
- [17:55]
B
Talk to me about being the host. We were joking off camera. I personally would rather be the guest. So, like, how is your hosting world now as you kind of bridge the gap with some of the stuff you're doing with League one and some of the stuff that you're doing with us at you think?
- [18:11]
C
Yeah. Well, I'm kind of a nerd, so I like, I love the inner game and it's really fun for me to get to ask people questions of like, dude, what was this like for you? What is the. The nuance of going for it but letting go in a moment. So I have a lot of fun being the host and getting to talk to some amazing people. Equally fun to have great convos with anyone. So I'm here for all of it.
- [18:31]
B
Yeah, we had a chance to talk with Lexi yesterday and she was awesome. Obviously her career and not only through Nebraska, but now obviously at League one, playing for the team based there. But just for families that might not be as familiar with League 1 volleyball. Just give our listeners, give our families a sense of what it is, what's its purpose, what's its mission statement and what's allowed it to continue to grow, you know, so quickly here in the States.
- [18:57]
C
It's a fun question. I think the essence of League1 volleyball is community and sports are this beautiful thing right now that is it's an unknown, exciting thing to come to and for multi generations, whether you're a youth player, you're a parent, watching your kid play, you're a Professional, you play in college or you just work in volleyball because you played in high school. And love is an entire ecosystem. And so we have six professional teams in the US we launched last year, so we're in our second season. We also have over 90 youth clubs that we've partnered with across the US and so it's kind of this community up model a little bit similar to like soccer in Europe, where the idea is that you grow up watching women that look like you, that come from where you came from and say, hey, this is possible for me. And there's a connection there between the youth and the pro. And what's been neat for me being on the pro side of the league is to see how cool it is for these young athletes to look and say, oh my gosh, like, that could be me one day. That's possible. But it's equally cool, I think, for the pros. And, you know, there's a duality in love that we want this to be the best place to play and coach volleyball in the world. Whether that's, you know, if you're 12 years old just getting into it, or you're a two time Olympic medalist trying to pursue your best. We want to have all the resources in the most fun, nerdiest, edgy, competitive way. And equally important of that is let's do something that's bigger than all of us and enjoy this sense of community. So we want it to be a fun place to enjoy the game of volleyball. However you're choosing to engage with it,
- [20:36]
B
talk a little bit more about that kind of like vertical integration you mentioned. It's kind of the model overseas with soccer. We're starting to see it a little bit here with club soccer in the States with, you know, the feeder teams that go towards some of the bigger professional organizations. So how do you guys organize that? Like, what is the relationship between the professional organizations of League one all the way down to more like the grassroots youth level.
- [21:01]
C
You know, it's growing and evolving and we've learned a lot in season one, but ideally we do a ton virtually so little things like a pro. We have something called love notes that any youth athlete, whether you're a love club or not, can sign up for. And they kind of get a one pager of someone in their position that's a professional saying, hey, this is what I'm working on. These are my favorite drills. This is what I wish I would have known when I was 12. We have done over 471 community activations in six different markets. So 471 times our pros have gone to a youth club or a community event just to like, I mean, you know, when you show up at a youth football practice, it's a big deal, you know, and you're human and you're, it's like, oh, that's, you can touch it, you can feel it. You know, this is a real human that has done something that I want to do. So all of those touch points are meaningful. We have watch parties for our clubs that are like outside of the pro markets so that they can celebrate and watch professional volleyball in their gym with other friends. And we send them a little kit to have some popcorn and candy, you know, just making it fun, enjoying. So we're evolving and finding a lot of ways to connect like that. But I think the meaningful part is the personal connection and then hearing these pro stories. And as you know better than me, when you're a youth athlete right now, it's a hard time to like be vulnerable and go for it and take risks and to fail. You know, it's, it's different than it used to be when we didn't have social media. And so anytime we, our pros can share their stories and be a little vulnerable, I think it's wildly meaningful.
- [22:38]
B
I think it's such a great point. I love the idea of those love clubs, by the way. I think it's so valuable, like you said, for, for young kids who, they don't know what that journey looks like, they don't know what that path to success in their mind they say, I want to be a collegiate volleyball player, I want to be now a professional volleyball player. But the opportunity to have it kind of streamlined and have that relationship between the younger youth clubs and obviously the professional organizations to pass that down, to give the wisdom, to give that it's okay if you're not the best 10 year old girls volleyball player. I wasn't either. Right. Like there, there's so much these young kids think is the path and there's so many ways that they think is the only way to get there. When in reality we all know as adults there's an unlimited amount of ways to end up getting to the ultimate goal. And I think sometimes having people that are there share their own path, share their own struggles, their own, you know, trials and tribulations, it could be, it could allow these kids to just take a deep breath and not feel like the 10 or 12 year old volleyball tournament that weekend is life and death. And it's the, if I'm going To get a scholarship. I'm never going to get it now because I double faulted, you know, like it's amazing. But that's how I have three young kids of my own. That's how they think. Like they think it is all about being the best middle school athlete. And it's a race to 12. And it's so refreshing to hear that you guys have created a system that allows you to kind of pay that forward and share some of that messaging with those younger clubs.
- [24:10]
C
Amen. And it's. I find it a hard one to teach. I mean I don't know for you, but I remember a coach telling me, my high school basketball coach, he would always say it's the journey, not the destination that counts, you know, And I was the kid in the back with my arms crossed like bullshit. You've probably never won anything, you know, so there's like, I love this scratchiness of like just really wanting it and that kind of tension and then teaching the like, yes, and let's go here and stack days and do your best and control you can. But it's a hard one to teach, no doubt.
- [24:45]
B
I think one of the coolest things that I've enjoyed know kind of through our you thing journey. I'd be curious now with you hosting and kind of bridging the gap between storytelling and obviously being an advocate and part of the development of League One and, and the different organizations is like being able to share these stories. So like just take us inside as a host now as someone who's obviously very dedicated to sharing the stories of the players, the teams, the organization, but also just the direction and the mission of the league itself. Like what, what are the stories that you guys love bringing to light? Like what stories best represent the goals and the alignment of League one? Just as the, you know, kind of the league that oversees all this.
- [25:25]
C
One of the most fun projects that we have executed is it's called whole athlete training, you know, so on this subject we want it, we want everyone to feel like again they have the resources to be edgy and competitive and also develop all of these life skills. And so we created a program around mental skills for youth athletes, for coaches and for parents. And then we have monthly themes and we interview our pro athletes on kind of the monthly theme. And these videos I gotta tell you, are probably the coolest stories that we hear because it's around, hey, when you're nervous and anxious or really excited for a match, what do you go to? What is that like for you? Have you ever Dealt with body image. You know, some of our athletes are, you know, 6, 5, 6, 6, and they're jacked. And it's like, what's that like? And what's it like to be told you're too short? And we have, like, every body type in between playing volleyball and for these young athletes to hear an Olympian say, yeah, that got real weird for me in junior high, and this is what I learned from it. And now I get to do these things. And, you know, talking about the confidence is a practice and a training, so I feel like I'm being redundant. But the stories of. Of really just the. The honesty of the pursuit of your best and that it's messy, it's not linear. What it feels like to plateau, what it feels like to have expectations and not meet them, and then what you do with that. And then there's this video that we heard from our pros around how they ask for help. So going into nationals, going into the super bowl, going into the final tournament, like, how do you ask your community to show up for you, your friends and family? And I'm just watching these, like, youth athletes watch these videos on TV in a gym, thinking, like, man, that'd be so cool to learn when I was 12. And it gives me all the feels. I'm proud of these pros for sharing, and I just think that's the meaningful stuff that goes far beyond volleyball.
- [27:26]
B
It's so powerful to know that other people have been in your shoes. Other people have had your same thoughts, your same struggles, your same hesitations. It's such a comforting world. So all of that is obviously directed towards the young athlete and the kids. How do you guys message and talk to the parents? Right. That's something here at you think that we are very conscious of. Like, you want to control the kids. A lot of times, you got to be able to get the parents, the adults, the coaches. They're the ones who ruin it all. So what is the messaging both of League one and then just through some of your storytelling and some of your work? How do we talk to the families of young volleyball players, aspiring young volleyball players, to make sure that they're doing the necessary things to support their, you know, their daughter, in this case, or son or daughter, whatever it is, but also make sure they're giving the right feedback and they're pulling the right strings, that they're not being counterproductive to their daughter's dream of, you know, one day playing League 1 professional volleyball?
- [28:27]
C
It's interesting. I support a lot of our coaches on the youth side. And usually once a week I hear a story and I'm like, there's no way that's real. There's no way a parent said that, you know, and they're like, oh, dude, we're in it. And as you know, but I think we try to come at it through the lens of performance psychology. And if you are trying to really help a young person become their best, these are the skills that we would teach from a science based experience. And then we kind of share overlay our own experience as folks that have competed at the highest level. But one example would be, you know, we've all heard control you can and let go of the rest, which is great in theory. It's really hard. And it takes discipline. And like I throw my parents under the bus. My parents are awesome. I love them. They've been very supportive. But there was a time, and I share this story just as an example, right before they announced the Rio Olympic team, it was getting close and it's, you know, it's a very tense time. They're taking 12 athletes out of 35 that have made it through the four year cycle. And you know, we have these scrimmages and my parents would come and after the game they would say things like, hey, how did you know? What did the coach say? Why aren't you playing more? What are these? All of these things that as athletes we're trying not to focus on. And I think I text my dad one morning, like a week out, and he was like. I said, hey, love you, dad. And he wrote back, great day to kick some ass. And I was like, all right, like, come on, man. I just wanted a little love, you know? And I called the family meeting and I said, hey, I know you're trying to support me. If you want to help me, be my best, there's three things you can ask me. Did I work hard, Did I have fun? Was I a great teammate? And anything outside of that. I'm competing so hard to not give one ounce of attention to off limits. And they kind of laughed. Like it was awkward. You know, they're like, I was like, I'm dead serious. I want to make this Olympic team. Help me. And so they would call and be like, hey, so how did, did you have fun? You know, how is this? And so I share those kind of stories. And then we offer that coaches and athletes, I'm sorry, parents and athletes have this conversation. What do you like to be asked after a game? What do you not like to be asked? And Parents, what is helpful, do you think? And what's your instinct? And of course we're not parenting experts, but I just think calling some of these natural things out can be really helpful.
- [30:47]
B
Last thing I have for you, and I love asking our guests this, especially those guests that are like living and breathing and really understand the systems that we have in place. I, I was telling Lexi yesterday when I spoke to her that like, I have a niece that plays pretty competitive both school and club volleyball. Both, both like indoor volleyball and beach volleyball. They live down in Florida, so they have both at her school, which I think is amazing. Some of our friends here in town are like super serious, have daughters that are super serious with, with volleyball and they're traveling and they're out of town all this time. Give me like in your mind you have the magic wand. You get to control the future landscape of, you know, we'll talk young like youth, girls volleyball here for a second, like high school and below. Give me a sense for how you see it operating now. And if you were master in charge and you could kind of reconstruct it a little bit, how would you like to see young girls experience the game of volleyball before they get to like the college, you know, real competitive level?
- [31:48]
C
Gosh, fun question. I would want athletes to play every position until they were 14 and develop all of these skills. I would argue that we don't need to travel to as many big tournaments when the kids are younger. And I would prefer a little bit less structure. So like all the new teaching methods of different constraints and less feedback from kind of the, the a coach or someone at a higher level. But like, can you imagine coming to a gym, you paid, I don't know, 15 bucks to just come compete for two hours, 90 minutes and every court the net was a different height and you got a different amount of touches and you had a different amount of people on your team. And it was like, hey, here's the game, figure it out and let's see what happens. And I think it would be fun for the kids. I think they would find freedom, I think they would become problem solvers, they would develop a lot of different skills at a higher level. And then, you know, I don't know, have them play the 14 year olds in their city. There's probably plenty of good ones and then maybe after that treat it a little bit more. We start to specialize in all of that. But I would prefer to see that. I think we over coach. I think it's overstructured and we're missing Kind of the fruit, the, the joy and also the, the freedom that comes from just playing.
- [33:09]
B
Oh, it's so true. Well, Courtney Thompson with League 1 volleyball, appreciate your work that you're doing with us here at, you think, continuing to spread the message about not only, you know, women's volleyball and not only the future of the professional game, but obviously down through the grassroots at the youth level of both volleyball and beyond. So many of these conversations, you know, that we have about volleyball or basketball that they really cross sports. You can apply a lot of these same conversations. What's going on with my two boys in travel. Baseball is probably very similar to what you're seeing with, you know, girls volleyball or girls basketball, boys basketball and whatnot. So I appreciate all that you're doing, appreciate the partnership with League one and we're going to have to have you back here for, for an update on all things League 1, all things volleyball, and appreciate you, Courtney, for being part of today's show.
- [33:58]
C
We love to. Thanks for having me, you guys.
- [33:59]
B
And if you're looking for the Courtney Thompson show, all things Youth volleyball, League 1 volleyball, go to our site, youth.ink L O V B. Check it out.
- [34:10]
A
Now it's time for the part of the show where Greg answers questions that you, the listeners, submitted. As a reminder, DM us your questions on Instagram or email us at Amauth Inc. You coach your own kids. What is one thing you do as a dad coach that you know is wrong, but you just can't stop doing
- [34:30]
B
well, this is easy. And my, my, I learned this from an early age with, with my brothers and I playing for my dad and right, wrong or indifferent, the rule in our house. And he was very clear with us and he was very direct and there was no mistake. It was, if I'm going to make an error coaching you either too hard or too easy, I have to err on the side of coaching you too hard because if I'm going to get on every other one of those parents in the bleachers and everybody other family in our program, if they ever look at our relationship and it's deemed that you're getting more opportunities or easier coaching or more excuses made than their kid, then I never will have the respect and the trust to coach their kid hard and to have high level of standard for their child or their son or daughter. So that's kind of how we approach it. And I tell my kids all the time, until you tell me, if you tell me that you're not good with this, that's fine. You're not going to hurt my feeling. My priority is to be your dad, but if I am going to be the coach, it is going to be hard on you, and you're going to have a lot of eyeballs on you, and people are going to be looking to see how I coach you. And that's just the way it goes. So, you know, do I coach them maybe unfairly more difficult and harder than the other kids? Yeah. And are their expectations probably a little bit higher than some of the other kids? Yeah. And it's probably not the right way, but it's the only way that I believe I can have the respect and the trust of the other families and that they don't just view this as a dad who's coaching just for the sake of their own child. Because I think when that becomes the narrative, it's really hard to develop the culture and the identity of a true team that we're looking for.
- [36:06]
C
Amazing.
- [36:07]
A
Do you think conditioning as a punishment is okay in youth sports? And if you do, what age do you think is appropriate?
- [36:15]
B
Yeah, I have mixed. I have mixed feelings on just true conditioning for the sake of difficulty. I think there's a difference in training and, you know, in regards to football, there is a physical output, a capacity element to playing the game. And whether it's middle school or professionally, that's just the nature of the style of game. There's a. There is an endurance component. There's a physical endurance, a mental component. There's the ability that if you're going to play in difficult environments, you have to practice being in difficult environments. That will always be the case, I personally believe. And our approach with our young kids is we are going to build endurance and conditioning and toughness through coaching football. We are not going to just line them up on the. On the line and blow the whistle until they puke. We're not going to do up, downs and rolls until they puke. We are going to practice fast. We are going to run hard and drill. We are going to run hard between water breaks. Like, we are going to build our physical and mental conditioning as we teach you the game of football. I've always been a believer. You show up to a practice and all you do in basketball is run seventeens, and all you do is run suicides, the whole practice under the guise of toughness. My first question is, are you doing that because you don't know what else to do? Right. Like, you don't know how to get your team better? So the. The immediate fallback is, oh, we're not tough enough. We're not in good enough condition. Maybe. But I also believe there's a, there's a responsibility as the coach. Well, maybe the reason you're having difficulty is you got to do a better job organizing your practice and having more purposeful drills and better intent or, you know, whatever. So I, I always try to err on the side of that. Our practices are hard. Our practices are not mindlessly difficult. Appreciate everyone listening. Catch you again next week here on you think.