Episode 57: Tales from the Columbia Empire Volleyball Association featuring Cody March

WEBVTT

00:00:00.000 --> 00:46:16.440
[Music][Music] coming to you from the Olympic City Colorado Springs Colorado this is the  USA volleyball show and here are your hosts Clarence Hughes and Stephen Munson foreign hello everybody and welcome to the USA volleyball show the official  podcast USA volleyball I had to pause for the uh love that  have you been Stephen I feel like uh I think we just talked about it before we got on the  call but like I haven't seen you in a while yeah it has been a while yeah you've been traveling  uh we we've had these episodes of the podcast kind of backlogged from a recording at ABCA so uh  we haven't met as regular as as we usually do and we've had a bunch of stuff going on on our end and  the Marcon Communications creative in too with uh our sitting teams in town and we're preparing for  the Women's National Team open program as well so do you guys just have a uh what was it a a digital  and comms conference at the usopc Museum yep we got uh that looked pretty cool yeah we were we  met with the U.S Olympic and paralympic committee as well as several other National governing bodies  uh uh under that umbrella and just had a great conference uh  you know talking about marketing and digital media um you know talking about best practices  um getting uh getting a little preview of Paris a little bit just you know talk very very early  steps just a lot of information about you know what it's going to look like and um just getting  us up to speed on more communication to come but uh kind of got me a little bit excited I can't  believe it's it's just around the corner basically for Paris it's exciting that's good to hear so you  said it was only centered around not only censored around but kind of primarily Focus around just  that Paris uh kind of you know uh second day yeah second day was was all about Paris um we had uh  some presenters from NBC there as well talking about some of kind of their bigger overarching  plans and and their timeline moving forward that we can kind of help and get involved in  um that was the second day the first day was just uh hearing from other ngbs we heard from  equestrian uh on one of the panels and and they talked a lot about their social media  strategy and and how they've grown and stuff like that um we had uh uh yeah it was it was  I think that first day was just just a lot of like networking and getting to know a lot of the newer  faces around too um a lot of people haven't met yet so I was really excited to to get to talk to  uh some people uh that I haven't met yet we had a couple staffers from badminton uh at my table  uh so that was fun to get to know them they were from out of town too so they're they're not local  in Colorado Springs so it's good to yeah just good to meet people and network and hopefully as  we prepare for Paris just help each other out as as uh and support each other and talk about things  that are working and and learn from each other that sounds really cool it sounds like it was  like the you know the digital media version of the ABCA conference in in Oman yeah pretty much really  got a chance to kind of dig in and dive deep there I am jealous because I really want to see  the indoor events or just the events portion or version of that where you know everybody kind of  get this together and talks through that kind of things too because I mean uh you know I'm not sure  how many people are aware of this but a lot of ngbs you know like USC Volleyball and USA fencing  for example we go to the same cities for uh you know and we're in the same Convention Center a  lot of the time too and I would love to see you know their planning process and you know what  logistical things they take into consideration for their event how we can you know bounce ideas off  and help each other but yeah and it sounds good too that you know it's really good that you know  your whole the whole whole department was there right you know yeah I almost said Kyle sorry Kyle  we miss you Kyle is there oh I was there yeah representing Triathlon he was there he was at  my table both days actually so okay it was good to catch up with Kyle uh one of our old podcast  members original podcast members uh on this team so yeah it was good to catch up with him yeah but  you know what Lauren Curtis you guys are there too right yes I'm bringing you two in the conversation  now they yep they were there yeah okay that's cool that's real cool yeah I've just been coaching and  more coaching and on top of that uh you know kind of just got back from Salt Lake City versus Salt  Lake City 18 Showdown yeah talk about that how the how'd the Showdown go you know we had plenty of their Halls which is really good too so we were able to really space out the courts and  you know make our championship course really noticeable and you know stand out-ish uh so I  would say but I mean a very intimate event we had I believe just over a hundred teams at that but  um really good competition really really really good competition I mean the 18 open level was  insane I mean wow this you can tell why a lot of those uh a lot of those players are already  committed and I I heard we got a lot of good feedback from a lot of the coaches there on  the experience and you know just kind of bleeding into Sunshine classic you know Orlando coming up  and you know bigger Salt Lake City Showdown uh in April so just gonna keep it rolling and fingers  crossed for good events across the board this year yeah I think I saw one of your videos I think you  posted on an Instagram story or something a Great Rally between two of the teams that are competing  uh oh you just showed just showed in that one 15 second clip uh the competition level there  that's that's really cool oh yeah speaking of uh sunshine I'm excited for that too I will be  there I think the second week of March the the March the March thank you yeah third through  six something like that I will I will be back in Colorado Springs I gotta go to weekend one but  you got the busier weekend so best of luck to you there'll be a lot of good competition there but  um yeah it sucks we're we're missing weekends there I think that's going to be the case for a  lot of events but um I hear you'll be at opens right I will not be at open no no Curtis that  opens Curtis will be in opens yeah yeah all right now if you wanted to get you get that opens we can  try to bring you in on our budget you know just you know you didn't hear that for me sneaking a  little a little stowaway stowaway maybe I mean the I mean the more marcom help there the better  I mean this is really going to be a good good and a exciting rebuild year for open so we can  definitely talk about that if you want to you know try to tag along to you so you encourage  the contact team it and have some fun there maybe talk off screen there about what's up yeah uh completely changing gears right here really quick before we get into the episode but uh just  wanted to show this off oh what is that that is the the official USA volleyball show mug uh one  of our new merch items uh shout out to Bree uh one of our marketing coordinator here at the USA  volleyball show but yeah I think the first time we're showing the mug on on screen oh maybe we  had it on uh for Michelle's first time we're promoting it yeah yeah I think it was on the  set uh in this video for Michelle's interview as well with you and Michelle that was cool but  yeah it's a solid mug I really like it I haven't used mine yet they got coffee in it this morning  I gotta put some some tea in mine but uh yeah those are those are a really good addition to  the show it's your show is our progress that we've been making through uh wow April of 2021  all the way up until now I know I know wow not not officially available to the public  yet but maybe down the road we will have uh those available and uh possibly maybe  just some random giveaways here and there but uh no promises yet nothing planned yet  um so don't get too excited but just keep an eye out we might see them around absolutely  cool well let's jump right into the episode here we wasted enough time Clarence it's great  to great to see you again after like we mentioned a long time of being apart so excited to get this  episode up and running here first off in case you missed it uh we had U.S women's sitting national  team assistant coach Michelle Goodall on our last episode Michelle talks about the upcoming  season how important qualification is uh for the sitting teams and also we chat with her  about Beach pair of volley and how that's been growing if you're interested in learning more  about the sport about the U.S women's sitting national team about Beach paraboli tune into  that episode our latest episode uh if if you're an athlete out there who's listening who might  want to learn more about playing and how they can get involved in sitting volleyball and possibly  getting involved in joining the pipeline to the national team there contact Michelle you can check  our website at usavolleyball.org uh for those uh other contacts uh with Beach pier Valley and the  sitting volleyball teams uh you can listen to that episode on all podcast platforms or you can watch  it and see clarence's beautiful face uh on screen on our YouTube USA volleyball YouTube channel so  check that out if you haven't already but let's keep going keep rolling here with news with Hughes  immediately hits it there on that outcome right there but I appreciate it though  um the 2023 USA volleyball Mountain classic boys Junior National qualifiers coming to Denver that's  right Denver Colorado on December 1st through the 3rd at the Colorado Convention Center this  event will be a qualifier for the 2024 boys International Championship on July 26th through  excuse me June 26 through July 3rd in Dallas Texas continuing to continuing to look ahead  USA volleyball has selected Kansas City Missouri to host a 2025 girls junior national championship  for the 11 through 13 age divisions on June 21st through the 24th and the Kansas City Convention  and entertainment center excuse me there huge shout out to U.S speech national team pair  Sarah Hughes and friend of the Pod Kelly Chang for winning the volleyball World Beach Pro Tour finals  this past week in Doha Qatar as we mentioned in the previous episode Beach paravalli was submitted  to the IPC to become a paralympic sport at the LA 28 games unfortunately we got word that it was not  accepted into the LA 28 paralympic games but that does not mean the end for Beach paraboli this only  means they'll keep building on it and hope in hopes of competing at the Brisbane 32 games but  overall like Michelle mentioned in her episode Beach paravalli has been growing tremendously  and has made a lot of strides in this past in the past couple years of its just building and growing  of the sport too so just very very very excited and optimistic to see what the future holds for  the Beach pier volley program uh more on these and all other news items at usabollyball.org now on to Today's Show uh we haven't mentioned yet but this month in February we will have  three episodes back to back three straight weeks weeks of new episodes all featuring  Regional Commissioners uh USA volleyball Regional Commissioners that we got to talk to at the ABCA  convention back in December so kicking off this I was about to say this month but I guess so  kicking off this month this particularly yeah you know you know we are welcoming Cody March uh from  the Columbia Empire Volleyball Association or aka the siba region uh he is the commissioner of that  region um like I mentioned back in December we sat down with a few of our USA volleyball  Regional Commissioners at the ABCA convention we chat with them all of them about their Region's  successes you know a lot of the wins that they that they've had over the last few years  um some of the trends they're seeing with just the growth of volleyball in their specific regions  and so so much more these are very I don't know informational impactful conversations that we've  had with them if you're a club director out there if you're uh someone who's looking into volleyball  who you know hasn't had much experience in it but wants to play you know but doesn't know where  to find a club or what uh you know where to find their region uh this episode is for you if you're  a parent out there who has a kid who wants to play this episode is for you so stay tuned here he is Cody thank you so much for taking the time to sit down with us we have Cody march with uh  the Columbia Empire region here today with us and uh really I know it's a busy week for for  everybody here but uh really appreciate having on the podcast uh thanks for the invitation I  really appreciate it um I'm happy to sit down talk to you guys yeah exciting um we we love  well I guess first off uh now we're at ABCA the American volleyball coaches association  convention did I get that acronym right again yeah awesome so far so good all week uh what's  your what's your experience been like here uh you know we talked briefly before we started recording  you you like networking with the coaches and and talking especially ones you know in your region  um but yeah just kind of want to get your thoughts on your experience so far the  experiences is great I love coming to this every year it's the best professional development  opportunity for anybody in the volleyball World in my opinion whether you're a coach  just an administrator a leader whatever you may be there's always something here that you can take  out and for me going to sessions on coaching isn't really applicable because I'm not a coach but  going to sessions about diversity and inclusion culture mindset how we learn administrative stuff  building building programs that's all stuff that can be applicable to us in some way shape or form  and so what I really like doing is taking little tidbits out of those and then seeing how I can  apply those in my region and that's that's the best part of this you uh you touched on a few  already but what have been some of your favorite or stand out sessions and presentations that  you've been you know been accident one other commissions are yeah one of the best sessions  that I was in was yesterday and it was a joint session between the adca and Pavo professional  professional association of volleyball officials you know it's talking about building a coalition  was Patty in there uh I didn't I don't know if Patty was in there she's a little busy right now  yeah just a tad just the Tad right but it was all it was talking about how you know how can coaches  and officials work together to grow the game and how can coaches make themselves more aware of what  their behavior can do to impact the the retention and recruitment of officials and that was a really  cool thing and so they talked a lot about what can we do at the Grassroots level and so I was  in there with Jen arms and Dyer yeah Badger region and we actually just went up and told  them hey some of this Grassroots stuff that we're talking about here come come work with us because  we'll Implement that stuff like we're the boots on the ground so we can do that stuff right now  so let's let's talk let's work together and that was a great session I want to get back to that  um officials because I want to ask you like yeah how's the officials development in Siva but uh  really quickly want to hear about your background a little bit what your your volleyball Journey  has been um my volleyball Journey has been that I got into this completely on accident I've never coached I've never played um I when I was in college doing my undergrad at Oregon State  I was a manager for the basketball team okay and I had gotten to know our head coach our volleyball  head coach who was Terry laskavage at the time got to know him in passing a little bit and after  my senior year in basketball we got to talking and he invited me to be a manager with his team didn't  know the first thing about the sport no idea but I said why not and that led to eight years in Oregon  State's program and then in 2015 I moved to Siva became their Ops director for four years and then  in 2019 I became the executive director oh awesome again completely black student do you get out on  the court at all and play now no you don't want me anywhere near there save that for the kids yeah  yeah if you want if I'm gonna be anywhere near a court I'm going to be I'm gonna be stating it okay  analyzing okay but I'm not gonna be playing that's a bad idea yeah so kind of going into a little bit  more about you know your region um you know how many how many clubs do you have what are your  membership numbers like uh you know you have just any just general information about uh about your  your region next you just want to share yeah um this year has been a has been a bumper crop year  for us in the region uh we currently have 93 clubs that are active we just crossed 8 000 members  which I think might be the first time we've ever crossed 8 000 awesome members congratulations yeah  it's great it's it's a 28 growth year over year last year to this year and that's that's been  great um we you know we host about 30 to 35 events each year and we are a staff of three  so wow we are we are very Hands-On and we are um notice of the grindstone in the office because  that's what we like to do so you kind of mentioned like being a staff of three and  um in our other interviews with you know region Commissioners um you know they kind of touched on  the struggles during covid and you know just that 2020 unfortunate shutdown and all those  unfortunate events that happened too how did that affect your region oh man three small region yeah  so in the Pacific Northwest we were very we were very conservative with restrictions and whatnot  um and that's just that's just what it was so you know the pandemic kind of started emerging  in in March of 20 and we immediately had facilities that were shutting down  clubs that were stopping so we actually shut down the season and that's just what it was  um there wasn't a whole lot we could do and that's just that was just the reality so I was lucky that  you know my staff of three stayed intact we we were able to keep everybody on so that was really  fortunate for us and then we finally got back into it in Spring of 21 when the restrictions  kind of started lifting you could kind of start having people back in the gym no Spectators but  we were able to get players back in the gym for a really limited season in 21 so that was  that was a positive but there was 13 months of no role play you mentioned uh your record membership  numbers uh but what other wins have you have you witnessed or have you seen in your region  um I think I think the biggest win and and we kind of just touched on with kovid the biggest  win for us is that we are going to come out of the pandemic stronger than we went into it and and I I  count that as a win for us because going into the pandemic we had we had solid membership numbers  but we didn't have the membership numbers that we're seeing that were that we're seeing now so  when I look at us from a from a culture standpoint from a membership standpoint just from a from  a statistical standpoint we're better off now despite the pandemic and that for me is a huge win  sounds like there's a you know very tight-knit um volleyball Community uh you know within your  region and in general what are some what are some just good things that you've noticed uh you know  within that Community whether it's you know support or you know something that happens at  tournaments or just in general yeah I think when you talk about the community particularly in Siva  one of the best things we see in Siva is that all of our clubs are trying to create a really  inclusive environment and they're trying to make it so anybody who wants to come and play  can come and play and we have clubs who are being really intentional about creating safe  spaces for anybody from any background we have clubs that are really trying to break down those  financial barriers because we all know that you know money is an issue um yeah volleyball is an  expensive sport at times so getting getting those barriers broken down has been has been  great so we're seeing that a lot in Siva as well and that's been a that's been a great thing from  a community standpoint I think yeah uh kind of going back to the your record membership numbers um we're in a busy Convention Center got some foot traffic coming through but that's okay that's okay  um just like yeah talking about your record membership numbers what are some ways that Siva  is bringing more athletes into the game are you kind of starting at that Grassroots level clinics  anything like that what are some ways you're growing the game in your in your region yeah  we've we've really tried to start getting back into the community and trying to partner with  local organizations particularly in the Portland area to do things like free clinics for elementary  school kids and really trying to work with our clubs to help them break down those barriers that  I was mentioning before you know clubs can't do it all we can't do it all so it's got to be both  of us working and pulling on the same end of the Rope um I think another thing that has helped our  growth is just the fact that our scholarship funds have been really successful at a region level  um this year and again going back to a win this year we gave out over thirty thousand dollars in  financial aid possibly it's a need yeah that's not unique to our region necessarily but it's  the most we've ever been able to give out so being able to help support student athletes  in their quest to play Club volleyball no matter the level that's a that's a big thing for us and  that's helped the growth that's great oh well just kind of speaking more on growth what are  I guess in your perspective um what are some of the driving factors for the growth of volleyball  overall in the US uh I think it I think the number one thing is exposure yeah you know having you  know we're at the ABCA convention in the final four or Division One National Championship and  having that on ESPN on the ESPN platform I saw something the other day that said that  the semis were the second most watched volleyball event on ESPN platforms ever and I think the live  attendance was like over 16. and the live attendance was over 16 000. yeah last year  in Columbus I think it was over 20. wow I mean the just that alone I think is driving growth  significantly it's not the only Factor but it's a it's a big factor getting it getting the sport  on Primetime television getting the sport into places like you know places like these types of  Arenas we're playing in basketball Arenas we're playing in the hockey arenas and we're filling  them so that tells me right there that growth is happening and you just have to let people see it  yeah definitely exciting yeah for sure um just kind of on the same topic here um you know USA  volleyball uh you know in your region and you know just in like the the goal is always to you  know help grow the game and work together doing it and be cohesive and listen to each other and  stuff too are other things that you know we can be doing you know in the national office here  with USA volleyball like you know I I'm an event manager and help on the indoor side of things too  you know uh you know Curtis and Steven here are on the you know Markham creative side of things  and you know helping to kind of keep things going through all things social media other  things that we can be doing to you know support not only your region but the regions in general  that you know you may haven't seen or things that you have seen and you know would like to do more  of just how can we continue to you know help each other boy that's a that's a great question  um I think what I would point to first and foremost is just continuing to have the  lines of communication open and understanding where both of our strengths and weaknesses are  um you know as the regions we're very much at the Grassroots level USA volleyball you know whether  it's right or wrong USA volleyball is focused on national teams and winning medals and whatnot and  that's fine and then and somebody has to focus on that but I think we can both help each other  particularly with the Grassroots you know real real basic stuff Community Based stuff absolutely  I think that's where USA volleyball could lend a hand to the regions particularly the regions who  don't have the staff that I'm fortunate to have and who don't have the resources the boards the  committee that I'm fortunate to have that's where the game is going to grow the game's not going to  grow with you know at the older at the older ages it's going to grow at the Grassroots level so I  think if USA volleyball is committed to Growing the game which I which I truly believe you are  I would like to see more Grassroots interaction from the national office and working with the  regions to make that Grassroots interaction happen yeah kind of going off Grassroots if if there's a  parent of an athlete who uh the athlete really wants to play volleyball or get into volleyball  um specifically in your region how what are the steps they take how can they uh find a club and  all that really easy all they have to do is go to our website and we have a list of all  of our active clubs on our website right on the homepage there's a link to both girls and boys or  our contact information is on the website right on the front just give us a call and we'll Point them  in the right direction we have relationships with all of our clubs we'll Point them in the  right direction awesome what are um you mentioned like your staff uh earlier but who are some of the  um I guess influential people in the region um not not just your staff but just you know maybe  Club directors or coaches who are doing great things in your region to help grow the sport  kind of both on the girls and boys side yeah no I I think I would Point first to those individuals  that are in my administrative structure so my board my committees because they're doing a lot of  work behind the scenes that no one really notices yeah um For Better or For Worse and I would say  probably for worse I'm kind of a face just due to my position for sure my successes are not my  successes my successes are our successes and so when the board gets something done or a committee  puts on a great tournament something like that that's our success and they don't they don't get  the credit for it necessarily so you know I think that I could point to a lot of different Club  directors I could point to a lot of different individuals but I would say just in general  committees board and then I know there's also a lot of Club directors out there that are  doing a lot of good things probably too many to name here yeah for sure  kind of going uh and you know same book a little bit of a different direction slash chapter but  uh back to the whole officials conversation here too you know we know we're in official shortage  right now too and you know struggling in them getting them to events and all that stuff here too  um is Siva doing anything to just really help promote or help you know retain and really grow  the the official side of things yeah yeah we we are um we have we have really taken the breaking  down barriers mantra for officiating as well as for players because for officials to get in to the  sport there's a lot of startup costs they have to do a membership they have to do background screens  they have to buy all their equipment their shirt their pants their their you know cards  coins whatever so we're doing our best to try and provide a lot of that for them and the the biggest  thing that we have really tried to clamp down on a little bit is just making it a safer environment  for everybody officials included so we have tried to give them more Tools in their toolbox to help  make sure that we're creating the safest and most positive environment that we can create  because if it's a safe environment for the players and it's going to be a safe environment for the  officials too are you uh are you doing anything to get younger officials uh into officiating  um maybe like working with Club teams or or anything like that definitely we we've been  much more intentional this year about reaching out to local colleges reaching out to clubs and  asking them hey do you have a do you have a player that might be interested in this we've  given our officials little bag tags that they if they see a kid who's a who's a great line  judge or a great R2 or a coach who's a great R1 gold can give them a bag tag and say hey  do you want to be an official here's how you do it learn more and by the way strap this on your  bag because that means you're doing a good job yeah and I think the biggest thing for us is  we've been trying to bring visibility to the path of officiating I think a lot of people think that  when they're done playing that's it it's either or playing or coaching or that's it and that's  not the case because they can officiate they can still be involved in the game they can meet great  people and they can make a little bit of money on the side and I don't think there's enough  awareness of that right now so we're trying to bring more light to that why should a a either  an athlete who's considering you know trying out the game of volleyball or uh you know a current  volleyball player who's you know just finishing their Club career or High School career such  um get involved with either playing volleyball or being an official within your region  I I think volleyball at its core is a very social Sport and so the main reason that I would point  to no matter the age or no matter the role is you're gonna meet great people you're going to  meet friends for life I can I can speak for myself personally I've met some of the best  people I've ever known in volleyball and we all know that when when a younger kid gets into Club  volleyball they're probably not doing it because they expect a college scholarship in six or seven  years they're doing it because their friends are playing they're doing it because their classmates  are playing or they they heard good things about X Y or Z so I think for me one of the  biggest reasons to get involved is because you're going to meet people for life you're going to meet  friends for life and that's that's a huge benefit right there yeah yeah this weekend it's kind of a  testament to that too just the whole volleyball Community coaches Club directors Educators all  together in one space and you just kind of you run into people you haven't seen in a long time and  totally it's like you never left yeah totally and I think the pandemic has emphasized that even more  because when we were in the pandemic we weren't seeing each other face to face it was all Zoom  interaction and I think that's one of the things that you can attribute our growth to a little bit  too is the fact that people just want to get back to normal they just want to they just want to have  human interaction again yeah and for a long time we didn't have that so that now you're are seeing  a little bit more of because of the pandemic and because the circumstances we've been in for for a  long time yeah what's your favorite thing about being a USA volleyball Regional commissioner  or even like just being involved in volleyball like what's your favorite uh part about that oh  going off script here no no you can give a top three if there's a lot  boy that's a great question I think the favorite my favorite thing about being  involved in volleyball in general is I think I've already said it's the people yeah yeah um I I  can't play the sport so I can't say that that's my favorite part of it but just the people the  the mentorship the connections that you that you create the community that you create in volleyball  I don't know that it's Unique necessarily to you know Volleyball versus other sports but  it's really impactful here I think um I think my favorite thing about being a regional commissioner  is maybe a little bit of the same it's it's getting to work with some of the best people that  I've ever worked with um my staff is right there I'm I am blessed because I go to work every day  with my friends yeah and that's not something that that's not something that a lot of people can say  so we deal with a lot of just a lot of you know what on a daily basis in the office  it makes it a heck of a lot easier when you're doing it alongside your friends and alongside  people you're trusting alongside people who are loyal alongside people who have your back just  like you have theirs um I think that's probably my favorite part is just working with the people  that I work with and I count my staff among them I count other Commissioners among them  I count USA volleyball staff among them that that's been the best part for me yeah yeah  when you're surrounded by people who care as much as you do and are passionate as much as  you bring that same energy yeah it makes it all worth it and all the stuff you go through on  the way doesn't matter after that and I think it I'm a big I'm a big culture guy yeah and I  know culture is really a nebulous term you know culture can be defined in so many different ways  but having that culture in the region on your board in the office having the culture and the  same values that you're all Fighting For makes it a heck of a lot easier for us yeah yeah  um I think we're getting close to kind of the tail end of the interview but  um you know before we wrap things up is there anything that you know you maybe want to touch  on that we didn't cover or anything you want to let you know the viewers know about  um no I I don't think there's anything massive I think it's just you know  communication is key for us that is one of our that is one of our core values and so you know  we've we've touched on communication between like USA volleyball and the regions or within  the region or whatnot I think just continuing to work together is what's going to grow the  game and there's so many you know there's so many different organizations out there that are  doing the same things and trying to do the same things getting into the same spaces that we're in  we're all going after the same goal we all want kids to play we want we all want adults to play  so just working together collaboration Community that's going to grow the game  and that's going to what that's what's gonna make us be successful awesome thank you so much  Cody this has been great I hope our listeners I think they do uh they got a good glimpse of  what goes on in a region and what you do as a commissioner and your staff and everyone that  works with you uh in the region thanks for having me appreciate it of course awesome conversation with Cody uh he was our last our very last interview uh at the ABCA  convention we were exhausted I think we did like seven podcast interviews before that uh we were  running around at the ncaa's um but having him there and he came a little bit early too he was  at lunch and he was like I can come a little early and met us at the convention center but  just as soon as he sat down you could just feel the energy and the passion he has for  running his region uh the Siva region and um the excitement uh that he showed just talking about it  and everything they're doing and the successes that he's seeing the growth of volleyball that  he's seen over the last couple years few years uh being there in Siva but um yeah I I really  him talking about the Grassroots uh their efforts uh growing the the game from the Grassroots and up  um was really interesting and you know he talked a little bit about this the popularity  of the the sport at least you know from from the coverage that the the women's game is getting at  the Collegiate level too and how that's affecting Grassroots um and grow helping grow Grassroots so  um yeah I I from from the from the word go uh just sitting down you could just feel  how excited he was to just talk about everything that he's doing and then his  staff is doing uh at sibo oh yeah 100 agree with that and you know I personally like how  um you know he doesn't have that volleyball background and right now we even offered to  you know step on the court with him one day he said oh no that is  but I mean it really goes to show that you know you can be a regional commissioner or you can be  a very influential you know volleyball you know figure in the volleyball World whether it's  across one of our 40 regions or in our or one of our national Offices here and impact the game of  volleyball substantially so that's something you don't need to like you know necessarily have and  that's not necessarily something that's going to hold you back and he's a prime example of  somebody who genuinely cares about his region cares about the game cares about growing both  um to the best of you know his and his staff's ability and you know all of those region members  abilities too so just again really really really great conversation and you know he ever wanted  to sit down with us uh after you know after ABCA after this podcast um you know airs and and talk  about you know more more things within a game of volleyball or just life I'd be more than happy  to to have that conversation Cody was a great great person to just get to know yeah the uh  the what you're gonna hear from from the from this episode we've already heard it but from our next  two episodes with our region Commissioners uh it's just the growth of the game all around and  that includes officials the official officiating side of the game as well we had Patty Roth on a  few episodes back and and she talked a little bit about that too but just to hear what the  regions are doing specifically uh is super cool and so you'll hear a lot more about that from our  from our other conversations with our two uh the next two guests uh from from the rbas but  um yeah just it's it's it's pretty rare for us to to talk with the rbas  um to to hear directly from the Commissioners and what they're doing and again as as we as I  pitched in uh the intro if you're look if you're out there you're listening to this episode and you  you're not sure where to start and and getting involved in volleyball whether you want to  play it or whether you want to be an official whether you want to be a coach or just even a  volunteer and just help out you know with running tournaments they need help running tournaments  um uh all all across the the US and in all regions so if you're out there and you just want to get  involved maybe your your daughter your son plays and you just want to help out uh reach out to the  to your local RVA and uh or a local Club you know probably start with the RBA and just find  the clubs in your area and and find one that you want to get involved in or maybe try out uh for  one of those clubs so that's that's how you start is is finding your RBA and you can find your RBA  uh on our website usaidvolleyball.org and then from there you'll find their contact information  reach out to them and from there they will they will set you up and and find a spot for you so  um great again great information from Cody great conversation with Cody and like you said would  love to have them on again and just get more you know more in depth in some of those topics  I mean I think that wraps it up uh very  very well so I don't think there's much more for me to kind of touch base on but again thank you so  much uh to you Cody March uh of the siba region for sitting down with us especially uh you know  with your busy schedule and ABCA everybody had 40 000 things going on you know just running around  just absorbing information like a sponge and just networking and everything in between but  um uh be sure to stay tuned this month as we will be chatting with a few of our other USC Volleyball  region Commissioners as it is region commissioner month this February now I love you guys on to  upcoming events now we'll go ahead and take it away and throw it over to Stephen I totally forgot  what I said last week but I'll text you you said take you said you're you're you'd go ahead and  take it away I was like all right go ahead you got it particularly throw it back Stephen [Laughter] okay here we go here we go uh kicking things off with the USA volleyball SCBA  winner series number two February 11th in Hermosa Beach California the 2023  SSO VA is February St Pete Beach tournament February 12th and Saint Pete Beach Florida  the 2023 Boys Atlantic Northeastern National qualifier week one February 11th through the  13th in Manheim Pennsylvania I hope I pronounced that right I think I got it I think I nailed it  uh the 2023 Dennis levada Gateway boys National qualifier February 11th through the 13th in St  Louis Missouri good luck to everyone competing in those events and again we talked about it all  episode but this this one's especially we want to make sure we mention this but shout out to all the  usab region setting up and hosting those events a lot of work a lot of moving Parts go into getting  those Events off the ground so thank you so much for doing that and it couldn't be done without you  more details on all upcoming events can be found at uscvolleyball.org uh just a few indoor Club  event reminders our registration is still open for those looking for a spot to compete in a national  qualifier um this year Salt Lake City Showdown going on April 10th and April 14th through 16th  as of right now there is still no wait list but a lot of teams pending so if you are interested get  your team signed up get your team registered to complete those requirements ASAP so we can  get you in and accept it as soon as possible um also for our adults shout out to adult volleyball  registration is up and uh open for open national championships in Dallas Texas this year I'm very  I am the hello PK how are you doing today I am very excited for open this year as again just  uh another year of growth another year rebuilding and you know I'm just gonna say a few things here  you do not want to miss some of the features that we're going to be having at the tournament this  year we're really just trying to grow and make it an experience for all the adults this year we're good so uh he's just almost took off with the his leg cop between my headphone  wiring that would have been bad if my whole hey this is gonna be a video episode so the  fans will see that we'll get to meet PK for the perfect time that'd be perfect but yeah  um Good Luck to all teams traveling uh to National and Regional qualifiers uh this weekend and you  know future weekends to come sign up for opens if you haven't done that already more information on  dates divisions deadlines roster information all that can be found on usabollyball.org remember listeners you can rate and review share with friends family teammates it really helps  this podcast grow Curtis Ward our producer just sent out a message this morning we've hit over 35  000 downloads incredible and we're approaching two years uh in April uh on uh doing this podcast so  really exciting to see the podcast grow and it couldn't be done without you so thank you for  that and now you can check out our episodes on uh video episodes on the website and our YouTube  channel so check out those you get a little bit more like uh the little PK uh cameos like that so  you get a little bit more out of the episodes but uh again thank you so much for all your  support do you know a club or an athlete who has a great story that should be featured on  this podcast you can email us at theusav show at usab.org leave us feedback let us know about any  future topics that you want to hear about that you want us to talk about discuss maybe bring  an athlete on to discuss with us um let us know again you can email us at the usab show  at usab.org reminder we will have new episodes three weeks straight in February like Clarence  mentioned this is a region commissioner week RVA week uh with the podcast here  in February starting with this one so two more episodes uh the next over the next couple weeks  and until next time you are listening to the USA volleyball show the official podcast of  USA Park this has been the USA volleyball show with Clarence Hughes and Stephen Munson  produced by Curtis Ward our content producer is Lara Fawcett our marketing lead is Bree Jaycox  if you enjoyed this podcast be sure to rate and review and if you haven't already please subscribe  to the USA volleyball show on Apple podcasts Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts