Episode 54: LIVE from the AVCA Convention Podcast Center featuring Tama Miyashiro

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hey hello and welcome to the USA volleyball show the official podcast of USA volleyball my name is  Steven Munson and of course as always joined by my co-host Clarence Hughes Clarence how are you  doing today I am cold not necessarily right now but it is snowing outside first time in  Omaha Nebraska having a great time but yeah not a fan of the snow and we're not alone no we're not  we're not alone we have a special guest joining us Tama miyashiro U.S women's national team assistant  coach Tama how are you doing I'm doing great also Cole being that I grew up in Hawaii but I'm good  we're inside uh volleyball is everywhere we're even by table volleyball um a lot of coaches just  walking around trying to get better so yeah I'm hoping uh I'm used to being in gyms and stuff so  I'm trying to like keep my head on a swivel yep uh there are demonstrations going on so we might get  some balls flying at us but uh uh that's the best part about this event it'll add to the aesthetic  you know yeah yeah well yeah ouch I just got hit in the head while we're trying to record we're here at ABCA the American coaches volleyball Association Convention NCAA championships are  going on we'll talk a little bit about that maybe and and the semifinals last night but  what do you love about this event what excites you about being here at this event really cool opportunity to connect with other coaches um to do a little bit of teaching and  sharing I should say sharing more sharing and then just I don't know get into the community and  share with everyone what we've been up to what we're looking forward to then there's  these college players that are just getting after it and working hard playing hard for a national  championship and then you know they also have some high school events too so yeah it's kind  of bringing together the entire volleyball World which is super fun for us and um I mean I'm not  gonna lie I'm a little anti-social so sometimes it's a lot for me but it's really fun and yeah  um I mean I think this is the most USA volleyball people we've had yeah it is the convention it's  the biggest USA volleyball presence we've had yeah yeah so that's really I don't know it's  awesome after I think this is my third one so the third one yeah it's our first one first  one we had a long drive up here yeah very interesting drive there too but it's been a  lot to take in so definitely hear what you're saying there and you know just kind of seeing  you and Aaron do your things uh at every demo every demonstration and every talk it's a lot  especially with you saying how uh anti-social you are I couldn't tell wouldn't be able to tell there  well what's been like what's been the most memorable part uh of this for you so far correct yeah yeah um you know Aaron virtue and I we opened up the convention  um and we talked about athlete collaboration and we talked about feedback and how we can include  our athletes in that process and how important it is and uh I guess the biggest piece of feedback  that I got personally was just to share some of the things that we're working on other coaches  are also working on and so when they can see us at our level trying to work on the same thing  um I think they just found some connection there and I think that's the whole reason why we're all  here is to find ways to get better to connect and so that was really cool a coach came up to me and  and just said hey it was awesome to hear that you're also working on that and we are too so  that was uh you know you don't really know because when you're in the session they kind of just look  at you and so you don't really know and so for you know people that sit in those and they got like  just one thing out of it that's I mean that's why we we're here so it's pretty cool yeah uh  speaking of cool experiences uh last night where the semi-finals of the NCAA and the Tokyo Olympic  and paralympic coaches including yourself uh uh were recognized on court uh for your achievements  in Tokyo winning gold medals um I guess could you talk a little bit about what that meant to  just be recognized on the court last night and then especially just being recognized side by  side the women's indoor team and the women's sitting team too yeah it was awesome I think  we got the request maybe a week or a couple weeks it doesn't really matter yeah uh but  you know for us just to get to that point was such a big deal it was you know a lot of work obviously  something that we talked about as a program and you know it I mean it's a little dark but we've  we've gone through a lot of suffering and I think when you want to do really big things uh carches  shared some of that you know just that Insight of this program has done so many really good  things but we've also suffered a lot we've been really close is kind of how we describe it and so  to finally win that um that was a whole thing in itself and you know hard to describe in words and  then you come back to the States and people just love the Olympics you know their their feelings  and their emotions and like the hype around the Olympics yeah it's so big and and you know we play  abroad a lot and and to some extent they care a lot more about let's say European championships  because it's also a tough competition but yeah I really do feel like Americans love the Olympics so  so you get recognized you know here and and just considering like the last convention it was one of  those things where it's like were you just happy to have it happen and so you know there was a ton  of people and uh to be recognized for sure it's it's great and and we all came from that College  World so I don't know bring it all together it was amazing and then of course you know like I said we  have so many USA volleyball people here yeah you know we we sit in our seats and there's the beach  coordinator the beach managers who also are doing like amazing things and then the sitting team and  then we get recognized so it's uh it's pretty cool to bring all these worlds together because  that doesn't always happen so I think that was the really cool thing and um it made me pause a  little bit before we even went on the court like USA volleyball is working hard to get better but  we've done a lot of really cool things in the last couple of years and even years yeah I um  I feel like I got a little bit of a glimpse into the suffering that you that you were talking about  um with just being at the uh the dinner in Shreveport the celebration dinner that you  guys had and um I'm not I'm just not sharing any stories or any specific names but just to see you  know all those athletes go up there coaches go up there and talk and you can just see the  emotions uh and there are a lot of emotions some crying uh some inside stories being told  um but it just um I don't know it kind of took me back to to that moment in Tokyo and Jordan Larson  put that ball down and just what that meant to the program uh to win that first gold medal for  the program and you've been a part of that program for a long time too both as an athlete and a coach  um so I guess just really quickly could you just talk about the  uh what you felt um for those athletes who won Gold in Tokyo yeah it's um it's pretty  yeah it's really cool and and just to give you all some context who are listening to this after  Danielle Scott just walked by us yep to see an interview and talk about being with USA volleyball  um so yeah I think when you're there as a coach and as a player you're so focused on the task at  hand and so you're you have this hyper Focus where you put all you know you put in this time and you  want to seek that reward and you want the people around you to also and I think that was like maybe  the biggest thing I felt as a coach is I want also obviously this program but these girls to see were  they were just a year before that and uh you know two years before that at World Championships when  we didn't finish where we wanted to and so to see the team put in this work you know with  covid doing work separately you know we we come together to play volleyball to be part of this  really great team sport and yet here we are in all these different parts of the world trying to get  better ourselves to help our program get better and you you don't really know until you get tested  right so right yeah it it all just comes kind of crashing at one point and it was yeah I still  remember I don't think I'll ever forget That's That Swing you're talking about because it it  was more than just this one match against Brazil and it was just it was more than just the Olympic  Games it was a lot of work and time and and even the alumni before us who you know helped pave the  way and I'm so fortunate I know a lot of them and to see and feel how proud they were for us  um that that just made it way better and super cool and yeah do you remember the do you remember  what the energy around the team was like going into that gold medal match like any any you know  any specific nerves or was everybody just business-minded oriented just like this is  a business trip we we know we want to do what we need to do what was that energy energy like going  into that gold medal match yeah it was it was pretty cool because we were so focused on what we  were doing and of course we lost that Russia match early so we were you just kind of dial things back  in and you don't question what you've done but you try to learn from that one night hey like  that's okay we knew we were going to hit adversity we prep like prepared for that  um as best as you can you don't obviously prepare to lose right but you prepare for  things to come at you you know with covid we had all these uh delays and and um  what is it called when you have to sit up because you don't have coffee but you're by contact Tracy  yeah I try to erase it but so there was all these elements that we were fighting  um while we're there and so I think for us you know like some people bring up how there are no  fans and it was actually kind of nice because you get to ultra focus on each other and being  there and being present so uh interesting twist uh without having fans but it kind of worked so  um yeah it was we were trying to be business but try to enjoy it because we knew  it was going to be special so try to stay present and and the girls it was awesome they were just  a bunch of I don't think you're allowed to say this in podcasts but just badasses yeah yeah no  you could say it yeah so um as a coach and even someone that was prepping for a final before it  was it was cool to see the girls go about what they were doing yeah and how did they prep for  that as well like you know you mentioned a lot of unique circumstances in play here you know no fans  contact tracing all that how did the team continue to prepare for that moment like what are some  things that you know you want to kind of point out and identify yeah it's it's so fascinating right  because when you play on like high performing teams and you work with just Elite thinkers  um one we talk about taking it day by day and we talk about taking care of what's right in  front of us and staying present and then uh karch talks about having low expectations and high hopes  and you know there's a lot of people that have high expectations because  like yeah I I did all the work I should get my reward and so we we try to make it clear  that if we go in with low expectations we're going to work a little bit harder probably and we're  just ready for all that and so with that current climate I mean I remember taking that covet test  to get there I mean I'm sure you remember oh yeah it was so nerve-wracking and I'm like 20 people  all the paperwork and everything we had to have in order to like even get on the plane and I was  so nervous I forgot something yeah yeah and so if you I don't know like those of you who have taken  covet tests like imagine you swabbing your nose and being like as long as I don't have covet I can  go to the Olympics and like not really you know you're like man I went to the grocery store to get  some bread and like I don't know who I talked to yeah and so just that alone and so you just take  it like event by event and then you know we get there and we had some contact tradition tracing  issues other teams did it so we knew we like we actually started making some backup plans ahead  of time and we said hey what could go wrong or not as planned and what are we going to do about  it so that was a pretty scary like process if you think about it yeah but that was like that  was that time you know everyone had backup plans and then you go from there and you adjust and you  um you like either step up and you solve the problems or you let it kind of own you and own  your space and your uh like mindset so it was tough it was it was very unique and I think  like anyone that was trying to play sports then it's yeah that's the whole thing but um tough but  it was a pretty cool experience yeah looking ahead to this season what are you as a coach  on the national team what are you what are you focusing on what is the staff focusing on moving  up moving ahead to looking ahead to 2024 yeah so you know with a shortened kind of compressed quad  um you know you have a couple things that you just always have to think about first our girls  go and play abroad and they are playing for other coaches their playing in other countries they're  you know not seeing their family their um trying to get better in a different system of volleyball  right they're trying to play for Champions League championships so there's all these things and  that's normal for us and then you have us we're in Anaheim in our office we're on zoom we're on  volumetrics we're watching them play Live we're you know trying to keep up with all the teams and  you're just trying to keep some connection going and so what we're finding is hey there's only so  many months away from Paris and and like even if you back that up we're just we're qualifying this  year this coming year and that's our big goal and so you know how do we break that up to like not  make it so overwhelming because when you think about all of that it's so overwhelming you know  so we try to kind of you know compartmentalize uh take it day by day month by month let's get some  plans in place let's keep the connections tight and strong this would be a good support system  um and you know a lot of that is us doing a little bit of lonely work in Anaheim and then  um they're all gonna come back in May and or April and May and June and you know we  all get so excited to see each other and just kind of get after it so yeah yeah it's a lot of Tokyo talk a lot of uh just  it's an interesting point of view like you know really coming from you and your you  know coaching perspective and just you don't really think about these things though until  like you're in those situations like you know you and Steven have the you know the  the privilege of you know going and you talk about the covet test you took you talk about just  just literally one small decision just affects literally that entire experience for you and like  the nerves that are associated with that but let's let's dial it back a little bit let's you know  just let's let's shelf that and you know just talk about you know the game of volleyball as a whole  and this is something that we always you know ask all of our guests here and heads up there that hey  there's a ball you're fine it's part of the game you're good but yeah how were you introduced to  the game of volleyball everybody has that unique story that unique Journey how did that start for  you well that's a good question uh okay so I grew up in a volleyball family my mom played at  the University of Hawaii my sister played at the University of Hawaii I had a cousin that played  at the University of Hawaii but uh University of Hawaii we went to Washington but anyway  um but I grew up in this family that loves sports we always had volleyball around and so I would  kind of go to like my sister's practices I think and and just like hit the ball against the wall  by myself and then when my brother I had a brother uh not had I have a brother one year older than me  we would pepper and so you know just surrounded I played my first club team at like nine years old I  mean did we play it was just like yeah I just like my mom coached so I could hang out you know one of  those things so I started really really young and for sure family and I mean let's be honest  Hawaiians love volleyball right so it's like not super surprising no secret right yeah no secret  um so yeah definitely family and then I actually started playing soccer first okay play basketball  my mom put me in baseball was not that fun but I I survived I mean it's nice right you learn how  to throw really good so it's probably important and then a little bit of tennis I started like  maybe let's call it organized volleyball last but I liked it the most I think at some point when I  got to eighth grade I realized and like running that much so soccer I stopped playing soccer and  then I actually played basketball all throughout high school until my senior year of high school  so I was about to ask you what what happens you played like you've done it all I know right a lot  of cross training there [Music] maybe water sports or like the one that I'm like no I like the beach  but not to be athletic not that much yeah not that much if there was a so you love volleyball  but if there was a sport that you could play that you just like admire so much maybe or admire the  athleticism in that sport what would you want to be an athlete in uh so I think tennis tennis okay  really yeah I don't there's something about tennis the hard part is you gotta play with someone but  um I like watching it uh not I'm not like a super fan of anyone but I like when it's on I like  watching to see how I think what's intriguing to me is how people move yeah and like how  are they going to cover so much Court and what's their strategy and like I try to see if I could  pick up on their strategy um without knowing too much about the actual sport so I think it's  really fascinating so that would be one sport I think that I would try and like what got you into  coaching like what was that click for you when you were like I want to become a coach yeah uh okay so  when I was in well let's back it up my parents are coaches okay so I was kind of always around  um Athletics obviously but when I was in college I thought oh  you know these you know three coaches at the time at Washington these three people  humans were so impactful to me like if I could do that for someone else that would be pretty cool  and so for sure it started with them and um seeing how how much they impacted my  experience it's like oh that could be cool and then I like finished at Washington and then  um started with the national team and then all of a sudden you guys I was like wait do I want  to coach I've been around this game forever you don't you get those moments where you're like huh  you have a long time am I gonna become a coach yes am I doing this we're doing it so then okay  so I went through this like I don't know if it was like a year or a couple months but I was  like oh I think I should like join a different world yeah like go somewhere else you know yeah  and I think that's maybe just a sign of like hey you're probably hitting the end of your career  um and other things too but you know like I said I started so early so I'd been around the game  for so long and then I was finishing up playing I hurt my knee like right before I finished playing  and I was kind of doing some rehab and then you know what let me just try coaching to try it I  liked teaching people I I think just that skill of being able to teach someone something and like  them enjoy it and get better at it I was like well that's pretty fun so I tried it to say I could try  it and then I really liked it I had some coaching experiences before that were fun some weren't um  but yeah so it kind of started there I would say it was like wavering a little bit and then  um when karch asked me to come on board I think the not the selling point but the the one thing  that we talked about was that I was like a really good learner and I tried to be as a player and so  I knew okay I might not be the best right now but I'll learn fast and I'll try to be the best so  um yeah a little kind of later I would say in my playing career so what was that moment that  really hooked you or solidified things you know for you uh you know and and your coaching career  was it that moment that karch asked you to be on the team did it happen beforehand and say yes I I  can do this and I see a future in this what was that moment for you oh that's a good question  um I would say once I got to Anaheim because I was like let's you know retired right so I was  actually at home in Hawaii and so I got to Anaheim and started working with karch on some projects  and I I think it was then maybe like a couple weeks into that where it was seeing the quality  of work that we had to do the quality and the details that karch put into everything that we  you know we did for the girls or for us or for our staff I think it was all of that together  and I was like oh I won I like Challenge and this is a really challenging job I like details  and Clark is very detail-oriented and everything that we do like all these little things  matter and then volleyball so I think it was maybe a couple weeks into that I was like oh  this is awesome this is where I want to be and need to be you maybe uh touched on it a little  bit but what do you love uh uh about coaching specifically the Women's National Team program  the people for sure that the people the athletes are staff um the people that we  bring in our program and that we surround our program with are really awesome and  to be able to do um our our strength coach from last quad Jimmy Stitz we used to talk about like  hey sign us up let's do hard things with great people that's I think would sum up like what  we're trying to do and you know you can do tough things but if you have some people around you  that they care they're open to getting better you know they're they're into it they and they're like  Pleasant to be around it's just so much better and so I think um specific to our team and and what's  super cool is as a coach you get to meet like other departments like you guys like the beach  um squads and all that like it there are some really cool people around USA volleyball and uh  I think we're all just trying to get a little bit better so yeah those are yeah it's it's been great so as a as you're into more of the I guess off-season portion of things like you know right now what are  what are some things that you do I mean of course we're here at ABCA right now final four you know  living the dream you know so as some people would say what are some other things that you  do during this time you know it could be coaching focus it could be you know just kind of resetting  for yourself personally what are some of those things that you do Netflix bingings [Music] you  know Spotify rap just came out you know oh yeah yeah yeah you're right I love music uh okay so  I'm so happy you guys asked this question because people ask us all the time what we do it's like I  think sometimes they think we go on vacation and then we just come back in April is there an off  season so no yeah no we're bit oh okay not in a complaining way everyone but she's complaining  so the the awesome thing is this is a time for us to kind of one reevaluate right like well  let's just say evaluate the season let's look at areas to improve on the court off the court  uh let's individually get better so um we actually uniquely or I'm in a master's program oh cool and  Sport coaching so I I thought it'd be I'd learned a lot there and um my thought process behind it  was there's going to be some foundational coaching themes and classes and ideas that  I missed because I went straight from playing to coaching and so you obviously I have my experience  um but I thought that this could just help me be better and so our team or our staff I should  say you know their meeting with experts they're reading books they're reading articles they're  talking to other coaches we're studying video from the men's game we're talking to our men's staff uh  we're just constantly trying to push the the limit and the envelope of like how can we be better as  people as coaches and then you know ultimately help our team so that's a that's a big component  of it um keeping up with the college game is huge for us because like exactly like for example this  year we were at World Championships in most of the college season so we've got to keep up with  all the athletes that we know of already and the ones that could potentially uh come to our team  we've got to stay in touch with staff and then we've got to like keep in touch with  our own girls that are you know in Italy in Turkey in France and so you know I'll jump on  every morning and watch a few clips from all their games and just see what they're up to  um and then you know we have our open program we see you guys there too in February uh we'll  have a spring training group with college girls in March and then next you know the girls come back  yeah so we'll we'll take a little bit of time for ourselves and then just kind of get back on the  grind and you know do our best to bring a gift to the team that we're better you know for next  season so it's it's a busy time but like I say I think I think everyone always asks like are  you guys okay we're like yeah we're busy but you know no complaints it's it's all good stuff and  um trying to get better well it helps like going back to what you said about just being around  people who have the same passion for the game and the passion for coaching so sounds like you  have a really unique staff that you know you all come together and have that same Focus that same  passion and to bring that energy every day and that helps yeah yeah it's it's really cool to like  maybe it'd be easy right to coach the national team and say okay like we've done it this way  but I think we're like the first people to avoid that thinking and hey whether it's asking the  athletes or each other or karch like how can we get a little bit better whether it's bringing Sue  enquist in um other experts Peter Van you know it's it's asking those guys hey what do you see  um what are the areas that we can kind of shore up and and ultimately it's it's just because we  know those margins are so thin so I think we're we're all on the same page that way so it's pretty  pretty cool to work with those people we got another volleyball volley palooza remember that  I'm just kidding uh you so as a coach and I think you brought up a really good point earlier that  you have a a knack or an aptitude for learning you know as a coach and I think that's a really  good point to just bring up do you have any advice for you know new coaches starting out it could be  the high school Level Club level Middle School just that new coach kind of stepping into this  new space um Uncharted land of you know just you don't know what you're gonna get with your team  you don't know what you're gonna get with the program that you're you know kind of stepping  into what advice do you have for them taking that step into that new role for themselves  yeah that's a great question I think the not the but one of the things I I would first do is just  let's let's make sure like we're meeting the athletes where they're at and so if  if you have enough experience where you can get that information you know how to get it  then great and then let's make some plans let's um let's all get on the same page of how is this team  gonna run what am I gonna teach what's the systems what technique am I going to teach I'm going to  share it with the the people that need to know you know if you're working with kids you gotta  talk to their parents they gotta know like what are you intending to do with this team um show  them your plan hey I really care about athlete development I really care about them as people  and this is what I'm gonna do and then I think if you you need that help or you need resources  there's so many good places to go you know we we did all our recordings for the coach Academy and  you know we obviously coach athletes at the highest level I think we did a pretty good job  sharing stuff that you could use for younger ages um and so being like really appropriate with that  age group I think that would be like the first thing the the level and also the age uh because  like I can I can walk into a 12 year old Club team's practice and like I could be it whatever  a good coach but if I'm gonna coach him like a 20 year old like that's not gonna work ever yeah  so the first thing is like know where you are where where the athletes are and then  hey let's let's get clear on the philosophy and then go from there and share it with the  necessary people make sure they're on board and and then the skills there's just a lot of  resources for that part of it so hopefully yeah just appropriate teaching uh appropriate drills  just making sure you set up the gym the way it should be uh there's a lot of things as we all  know as coaches but yeah I would start there thank you for sharing that that's awesome um  wanted to get your thoughts on this because we're we're here at ABCA the convention the  ABCA convention but the ncaa's are also going on we had two great semi-final matches last night  um what are your thoughts on just the Collegiate game the women's Collegiate game and you know  where it's been even since when you were playing and how it's evolved and uh yeah  what excites you about the the continued growth of the women's game yeah it's it's pretty cool to see  the physicality in the game um it's what was really apparent to me is some of the different  characteristics of the four teams yeah and so I actually flew out to Austin to watch that  Regional and so I I'd seen Texas a bit uh and then a little bit less of the other teams but  it was the like cool part about volleyball is that when you get to this level you know it what it  comes down to especially in the tournament is like how quickly can I pick that lock  in this match in this set and then can I just stick with it and so what sometimes I see in  college matches and not talking necessarily about last night but in general is a team might  start to pick a lock meaning kind of attack a team expose their weaknesses find some rhythm  and they might find that but they just can't sustain it and so it's really cool to see when  teams can do that and then what are they doing to expose the other team and I think that part  of it is really fun for me because these girls are all good right yeah and so and especially  like for us we we have a pretty good pulse on um the players that are there so for when I watch it  like when I watched last night okay um how is Texas or San Diego gonna try to get each other  off the net and out of system and how are they going to defend not assistant how are how are  they going to defend in system and so those those are like the super fun parts and then the beauty  of volleyball is there's so many ways to play the game and so you see different techniques you see  different tactics and the ability to maintain that focus and execute it when you have a semi-final  on the line or a I guess Final on the line so that's impressive to me and yeah it's I  think the the future is bright for the college girls and the cool thing is when you watch them  it's like they just get after it and and for sure I'm sure some of them were nervous and you know  some of them had amazing nights last night on the court and maybe some not so much but that's like  so much of sports and so you you wanna like just appreciate that part and celebrate that because  we know that this is this feels like the biggest thing in their life right now and to hold weight  to that you know you don't want to discredit that but it's like dude you guys it's so great that  you're here and you just are trying to do your best to win so it's like I don't know I guess I  look at his kind of big picture and then tactical things are like really fascinating to me yeah how  do you feel about all of these new and upcoming opportunities to continue to play the game  professionally like here in the states and just through all these different leagues like you know  literally you look around you see four or five new organizations around and uh it's uh it's got to be  it's got to be a good feeling right just see all these opportunities out here to continue to play  the game that like people want to play until they're at opens playing 70 75 right if you  want to play this game your whole life how do you feel about all these opportunities and all this  stuff coming to to the Forefront now yeah I love I love that you're asking that because it's a it's a  pretty cool time in volleyball right and so to see all these leagues all these people that are like  really passionate about it and then the thing is they're all going about it in different ways and  so you have people that are like well what do you think about it and I'm like you know what  there are so many smarter people than me out there that are passionate about volleyball also  so like go do your thing and I guess with us on the national team to have opportunities for these  girls to stay in the country amazing right and if you're talking about from like a high performance  lens or like the most competitive league in the world yeah let's let's uh maybe combine but I  think actually if we're getting into like details is I I think some of them hope to work with each  other so that they could get after this playing in both you know or more than one I should say but  um to have passionate people spend their lives trying to give others an opportunity to play  volleyball for a longer period of time great and of course some of them are going to make  money off of it right but our girls our girls the girls are gonna make money also so um yeah  it's super cool of course you you learn as you go and we get to learn a little bit about the leagues  um here and there and and I actually got to coach in athletes unlimited the first  season yeah so that was super fun and they were figuring things out and giving people some pretty  cool opportunities to play so of course we were you know we were in a bubble in Dallas and that  was that year that they had that huge storm I know yeah Dallas gets some bad storms I'm from  Dallas uh originally so I know all about that but yeah yeah that was that was interesting for y'all  yeah there's like snow there wait no in Dallas yeah snow in Texas from Hawaii like get with it  but yeah it's it's cool like you said it's it's awesome and and we'll figure it out as we go and  you know we we want them to succeed that's the thing we want them to succeed they're going to  go about it in the different ways and like I said like there's just smarter people than I like so  go for it you know I can coach um and I'm gonna let the business people do the business stuff  yeah that's uh it's it's really cool like you said a cool time for volleyball a great time for  volleyball and uh I'm excited to see what these uh organizations can do what these leagues can  do and and providing more opportunities for for volleyball to stay here in the states yeah and  um continue to give young athletes the opportunity to watch this High Level  Volleyball too and for the athletes to be able to stay with their families or you  know have more flexibility to start families too which is awesome so I'm certainly excited  um they're gonna learn and grow and figure it out but um the the important thing is they're  here and it's gonna they're gonna do it they're gonna do something yeah yeah totally totally yeah  um Tom I guess before we let you go is there anything else you'd like to share or talk about  um anything about the convention maybe uh just a push for people who aren't here uh maybe the  to get them excited about maybe wanting to come next year yeah something like that you know the  the cool thing about the convention is there's just a couple days packed with sessions and so  you have all types of people you know coaches experts in other areas sharing their knowledge and  you it's it's kind of like a accelerated class I would say a volleyball class yeah and so you know  we're we're about to walk into karch um sharing our top six on six drills with everyone you know  we uh Aaron and I uh talks about feedback such a big part of coaching you have other national  team uh head coaches in this convention sharing the stuff that they do and then you have some  High School coaches sharing and then you have a club meeting and then you have these um exhibits  over here uh and so it's a pretty cool Vibe and then you get to watch these girls compete so it's  um it's really fun even though I like I said I'm a little anti-social but it's super fun and then  um yeah you know this volleyball Community we need to stay tight so yep yeah it's a small all  Community but a tight Community yeah and small but big too like people feel like you look we  just saw Doug Beale walk by he's right over there Daniel Scott walked by too so you never  know you're gonna run into Tama miyashiro right here at the podcast center uh you never know  who you're gonna run into and who you're gonna be able to sit next to at lunch or Curtis Ward yeah  curtising out there yeah so it's just a really cool environment our first time here and I can  just you know the energy is really cool just to see everyone here wanting to get better yeah uh  and be better for you know their individual teams and their programs yeah definitely yeah where  can uh where can people follow you on social media ooh social media my favorite thing okay  um I think well I'm on Instagram and I think it's just my name Tommy and Cheryl yep  I'm on Twitter I think it's Tom underscore mioshiro question mark something there's I  don't think there's that many Thomas because that's a unique name and so yeah I I think I do  more looking than posting but I'm trying to get better and we all know that's today's world so  um but yeah is that a hint saying you're on Tick Tock too no I'm not cool enough for tick tock  they're really not cool enough for that but yeah um we heard I think in the first session maybe  the pre-convention session with you and Aaron Aaron uh mentioned to the coaches that were in  attendance uh if they're in Anaheim to stop by and and watch a practice uh you want to talk a little  bit about that and and you know the opportunity there for anyone who's in town yeah thanks guys  okay so an open listening um our practices are open in Anaheim and if you want to come and watch  um the name of our gym is open gym Premiere just look it up we're next to Disneyland and  um there's so many usav emails on the website just hit someone up they can help direct you  um you know we're not like we don't really have secrets and if there's anything we don't want  to share we're not going to do it in front of people but our doors are always open I think  my my uh goal and vision is that our practices were packed with people because there's so much  um volleyball in that area in our country and there's always tournaments in Anaheim so if  you ever come to Anaheim to do something else uh maybe a club tournament just stop by your  gym and you get to see us work in action and you know coming up we've got some big work to do to  qualify for Paris so more than welcome um and you know we'll probably say hi to you too and  and uh ask you what you think so uh open arms and um yeah stop by cool yeah make a day of it go to  Disneyland and watch a USA practice yeah exactly can't get any better than that exactly Best Day  Ever yeah awesome Thomas thank you so much for taking the time to sit down with us and enjoy  the rest of the convention yeah thanks guys and good job thank you thank you thank you awesome we're still on we're doing the outro yeah all right oh yeah you can go Tama if you want if you need to  if you need to if you need to go ahead do another session thank you so much again for taking  the time to sit down with us you're welcome hi speaking of people you're gonna oh hello there wow speaking of people you're gonna run into greatness all the time this is amazing ah we just finished we're doing the outro right now actually[Music] I love it yeah never know you're gonna run into it at the convention all right let's wrap this thing  up for um we got no we got a packed house here got a lot of people in the podcast center listening to  um I know I'm sorry you want us to keep going but we gotta wrap it up but um yeah you can follow  us on social media you can email us if you ever want to I don't know suggest an episode uh hear  something that we haven't really talked about yet at uh the usav show at usav.org we got a lot more  conventioning to do here at ABCA we just want to thank ABCA for allowing us to come in here and  record our live-ish show here at the convention center and it's it's been a journey it's been an  amazing and it's been an amazing wow look at that it's been an amazing journey it's been a long day  that's what it's been a long week yeah very long day yeah uh but yeah thank you all for being  friends and Associates of the podcast um we've seen the growth you know every single episode  that's dropped every single person we've had on the show we feel we've seen it we feel the love  come through and we can't make this podcast happen without you guys yeah and even if you don't listen  to every single episode don't have time to listen to every single episode when they drop just open  up your phone open up your phone search the USA volleyball show And subscribe or if you're walking  by and see this pull-up Banner right here with um some random guys faces on it with a QR code  on the bottom you can literally scan that QR code And subscribe wherever you get your podcast from  there you go yeah and I think we're ready to wrap it up here you're listening to the USA volleyball  show the official podcast of USA volleyball the volleyball show Clarence Hughes and Steven 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 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