Alvey Learns Lessons And Coaching Techniques During Trip To Europe

Aug. 2, 2011

HOUSTON - In a summer that was filled with overseas travel, University of Houston head volleyball coach Molly Alvey recently had a chance to reflect on her travels to London and Croatia in July with the A2 Junior National Team.

During her two-week trip, Alvey, along with coaches Santiago Restrepo of Oklahoma and Brook Coulter of Georgia, and her team trained with the USA Junior National Team in London. The team played against the Great Britain National Team, who will compete at the 2012 London Olympic games, splitting matches during training camp.

Following the training camp, the A2 Junior National Team traveled to the European Global Challenge in Pula, Croatia. The A2 National Team was one of six teams from the US that competed in the tournament as well as teams from Slovenia, Romania, Italy, Montenegro, Croatia and the Czech Republic.

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Talk about your experience in London and Croatia this summer.
"This was a completely different experience than the trip to China. The kids on this trip were 17-19 years old, some of them haven't been to college, and it's a really different mentality. I don't know if skill level necessarily was different because we had some amazing players on the team. We had four days to train with the Great Britain National Team and that was pretty amazing because they get the automatic bid into the Olympics for being the host country in 2012. We beat them the first match but in the second match we ended up losing even though the scores were really close, most of them were two-point games. The team had that time period where we actually practiced, we had training time and then played so that really helped us."

"Once we got to Croatia it was all play, we were immediately in the tournament playing two matches a day. In the round robin format we played in, the tournament hosts had it set up where only USA teams would play international teams, so no international teams played each other and no USA teams played each other. The only possibility was in the championship. So this team got exponentially better as we went along. The way it was set up for us with having the training in Great Britain and playing the tougher side of the bracket, we got considerably better as we went along and had to play those teams again."

What was it like to play against the level of talent that you saw from the Great Britain National Team?
"It was interesting to see a national team train, from the make-up of their squad to being in the gym with them. We trained at the same time so we could kind of watch them and see what they're doing and that part was interesting to see. Obviously in the volleyball world, Great Britain isn't an international name but just to be in their facility and train with them was pretty fun."

"From a match standpoint, the amazing part is we were a team that had just come together and at that moment in time these kids didn't know each other. They were incredibly young, inexperienced, some of them are going to some top 10 programs in the country but they had no time to train. So we were forced to play against a team who has made a point of, just in talking to their coach, making their team come back for the summer to train. They had been training for several months so to see our kids and their volleyball intellect come together in such a short amount of time was pretty impressive. From a coaching standpoint you have to give very limited yet valuable information so that they can process and learn without being overwhelmed."

What was it like to play the other international team in Croatia?
"It was great. It's funny because physically we were hands down the best team in the gym, but the ball control and the serving is so much better on the international level. The foreign kids in general are more trained to be volleyball players, where as in the states we're very position specific trained. So a middle blocker on a foreign team would be just as good in the back row as some of the outside players. Their serving was unbelievable, so for our kids to be able to see that type of serving and ball control, even though they were on average probably a foot shorter than us was a big learning experience. It really came down to eliminating errors. So as they started to learn how to handle the serving and learned that they have to hit the ball inbounds no matter what, it led to less and less errors. It was good for them to see that quality of volleyball even though physically it wasn't even a competition. It showed them that volleyball is truly a skill sport."

Why was it important for you to participate in this trip and the one to Beijing from a coaching standpoint?
"From a coaching standpoint you have to look at the staff that was in Beijing. There were four top-25 staff members present in Oklahoma, Cincinnati, Purdue and North Carolina. Just to be around volleyball minds, sharing ideas, learning from one another, that's invaluable. There aren't a lot of times that you get to be in a setting where we're only doing volleyball and we have that opportunity to talk amongst each other as colleagues and share ideas. Especially when it's not in regards to your team. Since it's not your team and it's players from different parts of the country, it's easier to talk volleyball because you're not giving up secrets about your team."

"China is also one of the premiere volleyball countries in the world, so to be able to play against some of those professional teams and universities and to be able to watch those coaches train, it's amazing. And to go back to the point of the international game, it comes down to skill and not just physical ability. It's fun to watch extremely skilled players and to see our US kids build confidence and learn what the game of volleyball is about on that high level. The European trip was similar in that it was a learning venue. More countries were there so we got to see the differences from country to country. It was also a great recruiting opportunity. There are tons of young kids playing over there and some that could definitely help the Houston program. A lot of these kids are fresh and still involved within their clubs so if they have a great experience on this trip and they get to know who the coaches at Houston are, then all they bring back is positive feedback about Houston and how great we're doing. It's another way to spread our name. It hits from all aspects as far as a learning tool for me and then getting our name out there through recruiting. I hope enlightens our kids and staff to know what opportunities they have available to them."

What did you learn that you plan to incorporate in your training this season?
"There were actually a couple of things. I saw one of the Chinese coaches working with his libero and I thought the way he was teaching was pretty interesting. It's something I want to try doing in the gym. We may do a couple of different things blocking wise, with the defensive clientele that we have this year. But I think more than anything a lot of the talk and feedback that we had on the trip are things we're doing now, so it's encouraging to know we're on the right path and doing the right things. Being on this trip, however, you heard information put in a different way that sparks new ideas of how to train the same things. As a coach it's nice to keep educating yourself and refreshing yourself so things don't get stale."

What do you think it says about you and the program that you were able to participate in this opportunity?
"To just to be invited is a big deal. It's not just a free for all in these trips. It was preached over and over that we were there representing the USA and not our schools or ourselves as individuals. The USA isn't going to go out and just take anybody to represent them. Just the fact that they wanted me to be a part of the trip and invited me to be there is pretty important and that says a lot to the things we're doing at Houston. I've just been here a year so we're doing enough good things that people across the country are recognizing that. It puts us on the map a little bit more."

What were some of the similarities and differences between the way volleyball is played in the US and opposed to Europe or China?
"In China we had more college aged kids that were used to running their college system. The younger kids aren't necessarily used to their systems yet, they're playing within their clubs and high schools and all over. So the adjustment from kids that are great in their system are not necessarily really great when it comes to just playing volleyball. The younger kids were able to adjust a little bit better. From collegiate volleyball to international volleyball it isn't all about power and strength. It really is all about excellent serving, excellent passing and then just playing smart volleyball. Smart volleyball also includes making shots and eliminating errors. In the US we get so used to just wanting to hammer the ball and it's a totally different style. So the skill level was probably the biggest difference. We have so many kids playing in the US that we limit what everybody does by position, where as if we could train a little bit more multi-dimensional instead of holding them into particular positions we'd be a lot better off in the long run."

From a tourist standpoint, what was it like to be able to participate in these opportunities this summer?
"It was amazing. Those trips were set up somewhat similarly where the first part was all volleyball, similar to a training camp. Then during the second half we had a little bit more free time to be able to go out and see the sights.

"China is probably the most foreign place to the US that you could ever imagine and it was interesting to be able to absorb the culture and see different people. The interesting thing is we almost become the spectacle and it's hard to imagine an example equivalent to us that. A lot of the Chinese people have never even seen Americans, so it was amazing for them to see us."

"The European part was awesome because the location was just perfect for us as tourists. The players were able to go to the beach and get into town easily. The free time was somewhat constrained but there was plenty of time to get out and experience the culture, which is why I love to travel. The trip organizers also do a good job of allowing the kids the responsibility to take care of themselves. Both places were amazing and I definitely got to feel like I was somewhat ingrained in the culture."

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