Episode 56: The Woman Behind U.S. Beach ParaVolley featuring Michelle Goodall

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[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 hello and welcome to the USA volleyball show the official podcast of USA volleyball of  course my name is Stephen Munson and joined by my co-host Claire tewes Clarence how are  you doing today what do we tell people about lying you know your name is Steven Steven  Munson nah I'm just kidding I'm gonna need to etch that on my my new USA volleyball mug USA  volleyball show muck or we can introduce you some business cards with the pronunciations  of the writing yeah that's right all right throw it in there but uh I'm doing good had  a busy weekend of Club volleyball again um coaching my 17s um in our past power  um in our past power in a power and uh I've been up in Loveland uh commuting to 11 the past three  nice in a row so I'm just like that's quite the drive yeah oh yeah I'm so burnt out Loveland but  I mean my 17's did amazing I'm so proud of them we got second overall in our pool which is a good  it um yeah that's about it more volleyball that's it I was gonna ask about that yeah I saw I think  I saw a social media post or your Club did very well and oh yes uh the tournaments over  the weekend so congratulations on that that's awesome thank you thank you how's your weekend  what have you been up to oh you know just uh recovering from a cold uh this one knocked me  out man I this time of year it started like what's today we're recording this on Monday it started  not this last Friday but the Friday before that uh so a couple weeks ago but um uh finally feeling  much better and and overall symptom-free so feeling good and uh and yeah just ready to kick  the cold and and get this year started right did you get that uh that man cold that man flew yeah my wife likes to remind me about that about the man cold but uh yeah it knocked me out it knocked  me out that's insane wow but uh yeah just excited about this uh episode our second episode of of  2023 uh just to kick things off in case you missed it uh if you're interested in learning more about  name image and likeness uh that topic that Hot Topic that's uh hitting college sports right now  check out episode 55 featuring nil Network founder and nil coordinator at San Diego State Michelle  Meyer Michelle explains what nil is its effect on College athletics uh how athletes can best prepare  for best prepare themselves and and take advantage of opportunities in nil and so so much more a  great episode very interesting topic like I said Hot Topic in sports right now check it  out on all podcast platforms and you can watch it on the USA volleyball YouTube and USA volleyball  website usabollyball.org now let's bring it back to news with Hughes Round of Applause Divine great  job great job thank you thank you now on the news with Hughes um some really really good  information a really big announcement here uh the 2023 USA volleyball Mountain classic boys Junior  National qualifier is coming to Denver Colorado that is right Denver Colorado on December 1st  through the third at the Colorado Convention Center this event will be a qualifier for the  2024 boys Junior national championship on July 26th through July 3rd in Dallas Texas Stevens  Hometown great spot uh continuing to look ahead USA volleyball has selected Kansas City Missouri  to host a 2025 Girls International Championship for the 11 through 13th age group age divisions  and June 21st through the 24th at the Kansas City Convention and entertainment center more  information on these news uh releases and other new news items can be found at USA volleyball.org now on to Today's Show we have back to back Michelle featured episodes I just realized  that when I was looking at this uh run a show but back to that Michelle featured episodes  today's episode uh we're talking to Michelle Goodall Beach paravale program administrator  at USA volleyball and assistant coach on the U.S women's national team coaching staff unfortunately  I could not be there uh in person due to snow affecting the roads here in Denver but Clarence  was able to meet with Michelle and catch up in our new studio setup for the very first time I  believe uh at USA volleyball headquarter at the USA volleyball headquarters office  in Colorado Springs Colorado uh Michelle and US Women's sitting national team and the US Women's  sitting national team we're just in town also which you guys talk about uh for training camp  usopc testing and of course USC Volleyball media day as well Michelle all shares her introduction  to volleyball team goals looking ahead to Paris all things Beach parabale and so much more but  that's enough setup for this episode Clarence let's go to the conversation here's Michelle good friend how have you been that's my girlfriend how have you been I've been  great how are you I'm good hanging in there I'm here in Colorado Springs we just got done with a  training camp and a lot of elite athlete Health profiling and just living the dream I yeah I'm  doing well training camp right here in Colorado Springs yeah it was great at the Olympic compare  Olympic Training Center and we had a great time we had 12 athletes in and just knocked out a lot  of important things this week we did our media day with USA volleyball that was great that was  um they did a great job they came in um took care of a lot of interviewing a lot of Photography and  just did a really a really great job okay what was the highlight from that week so you maybe  point out one or two things ah from the week well just reconnecting we hadn't seen each other since  um world championships okay and that wasn't really our favorite way to leave because I  don't know if you know the story we got third in our expectations or our goals were first  um and so just getting back together was a highlight and just you know hugging hugging  each other when we first saw each other that was a highlight the training wasn't like the the most  important thing this week but because we're just getting back into it but that was good  but then we had an athlete a local athlete um so Zoe Rowling and so she came down with her family  I'll call her recruit you know because that's kind of a common word that we could use but  um she came down with her family and it was just really great to have them um in our gym and have  our ladies have an opportunity to meet her and hear her story and so that was it's kind of a  sweet spot yeah that's cool that's cool I'm so bummed I I missed it I didn't get a chance to  stop by at all I know we had to pack for ourselves and then we were looking we were looking at our  watches like when's Clarence coming no and then coaching got tied up with uh we had like a lot of  shift and responsibilities for the rest of my mat and that's where I'll leave it at there so do you  feel this like coaching and volleyball gets in the way of your volleyball like all the time it's just  like it's like you're like we're layered coaching I love that yeah it gets on the way volleyball  gets in the way of our volleyball there's so many elements everybody always talks but hey what do  you do I'm just like yeah my whole life is just volleyball what do you mean by that oh I like to  play you know I work full time for USA volleyball love this organization by the way and you know  coach on the side too it's just a lot it's the same yeah so we're talking about volleyball  absolutely I'm sure this isn't the first time you've been asked this too but this is something  we really like to hone in on and just really dive deeper into but how were you introduced  to the game of volleyball oh okay that's a great question um and maybe my answer is similar to a  lot of volleyball folk I grew up in the sport family dad played multiple college sports  um have two older sisters and one younger sister so I'm three or four daughters in  the family and he was like the epitome you know girl dad and like just getting us opportunities  um and my two older sisters played volleyball so I kind of followed their footsteps but we weren't  we weren't the kind of family that would like dive in when we're 10. so I think I  started in seventh grade and it was you know from then on it was just like kind of what I  did just became part of my identity I see um what position did you play did you uh  um I played middle just because you know you know how coaches do like oh she's tall let's  put her in the middle it makes sense yeah so I played middle most of my life until my third year in college then I got to play Penn and it was like glorious God bless those  medals but man it's like a circle you just like are transitioning and like doing a lot of hard  work with middle blocking and then finally not that pins have it easy but it was easier and  then I played a little bit of outside too but I appreciate it I love the right side yeah so that's  like block and transition sure yeah so do you want to talk about a little bit about your your career  in college oh sure um right out of high school I went to Cornell College which is a sister school  to Colorado College um it's a liberal arts school in Iowa and they're known for the block program  as well and so that matched with the way that I learned to to you know pick up a school that would  introduce one academic subject at a time so I went to Cornell College my sister was there we got an  opportunity to play together which was super great um I played there for two years and then  um got married and had my first baby and then moved out to Colorado and played my  junior year here in town which is like crazy yeah um and then my senior year  um I played volleyball and basketball my freshman and sophomore year but then my senior year I  had to transfer again because we were chasing you know early career paths and so I was down  at University of Southern Colorado which is now University what is it now um in the one in Pueblo  I think it's Colorado State University yes you probably correct um and I was not intending to do  athletics my senior year sitting in psychology I was really fit then the professionals would he do ball in basketball he goes you play basketball and we need we  need a center that's basically it did like a 20-minute tryout and then played basketball that's exactly so yeah so what what from from that point what kind of transitioned  you into the coaching aspect of volleyball what got you okay um ah what got me into it  um I guess just an opportunity when I was a junior in college there was an opportunity I was playing  volleyball then there was an opportunity to coach basketball at the like the local school and I had  the time and I was a full-time student then but I had the time and I took that opportunity and I  coached basketball and then I knew maybe almost like from first coaches meeting I didn't know  actually what it was doing but I knew that yeah that that sparked something this is exactly what  I want to do my educational path was to be in ah you know organizational behavior psychology and  business administration is my um my you know my major like that's the path I was going but  it really parlayed nicely into Sport and into coaching and it I've just been literally doing  it ever since that moment I don't know if I have not coached yeah so every sport like I said every  element of my life is volleyball right now and I've been coaching either volleyball or basketball  since yeah okay so you still coach basketball no I don't I haven't touched basketball in a while  um I the ladies know that every now and then they give me a ball and they're like whoops underneath  the legs yeah but they know that I've played or I'll shoot the ball yeah but um I don't I  definitely don't um coach right now yeah can you recall your first time transitioning into coaching  volleyball and that that feeling of just maybe running your first practice or having your first  team meeting or you know taking that like step into you know leading a team of athletes right  like you know are you nervous or like oh yeah well I think every coach will say this that you want  to go back and just like make apologies to all of your first teams like oh my goodness I am so sorry  that I was like that um not necessarily I mean I always will lead with my heart and everyone will  know that um I love that you know it's like that's it I just like a really caring relationship but I  I felt really under prepared in some regard um did we have even team handbooks at first no I did I  mean it's like there's some things that I you know you learn along the way on best practices and so  um yeah it was there nothing particular I think I was a little bit nervous but if I think back to it  one of my athletes that I'm still connected with from my very first  coaching experience I was probably 21 at the time and what are they they're 17 and so when  um they um connected with me they reached out and I thought they would be like 20 at the  time and this was like literally decades after because time goes differently for yourself as  it does for others when you're not connected but they're the same age as me and so it was  like I felt really comfortable in those first those first positions because we were like  peers almost you know they're just like this is the way I would do it and yeah what advice do  you have for somebody that's stepping into that coaching role or even a mentorship role right for  the first time for the first time I would just say be honest be honest with yourself be honest  um out loud be honest and just you know just like lead with your heart and you really can't  go wrong in that regard um it is important in the coaching profession in any profession honestly  it's important to to lean on those beside you that have gone before you know what is a standing  on the shoulders of giants you know so just take those experiences and really make sure that you're  you know like learning from those as well they may not be your you know individual experiences  but you can really learn and so that's that would be my my suggestion to anyone new getting into it  I think that was very well beautifully said because thank you yeah I've been asked hey  can you head coach Steve blah blah blah when I first started cooking this is yeah like in  2021 absolutely I'm just like a deer in headlight like I'm also trying to be a sponge and just like  okay this is a lot happening here that's exactly right and you have so much responsibility and like  you said you have to be honest with yourself yeah just yeah just meet the meet your play meet your  players where they're at right and then also see where you can you know grow and develop into it's  just it's a lot there's so many layers to it I mean honestly it's like you're not gonna know  everything and as long as they know that and they know that you're like you're just like so open and  honest they're going to respect you it's like I even tell our athletes now it's like the sitting  game is relatively new to me and the discipline is not quite the same as the standing game I mean  it's all volleyball but it's there's some nuances and I'll lean on them I'll say what do you think  is best here and so it's more you know Socratic instead of like me just saying this is the way  we're going to do it because that would be foolish I see they've been doing it longer than that yeah so I think that's a good note to kind of switch a little bit I'm still in conversation  with coaching still sure competition absolutely but how did you get involved with things on the  sitting side of volleyball okay um that's a good question because um that happened oh probably  in 2014 is when I was at the time also doing volleyball with a region with the Iowa region  and I was asked to be on the paralympic commission and I started connecting in that in that space  um and then I mean I had known about it but that's when I really dove in in the 2016 I was asked to  be the team leader of this national team and then in 2018 I saw the position for the resident coach  being posted and then I went from there but um long story I have a nephew that is that was an  amputee due to a cancer situation and when he was younger I reached out to um coach hammeter  and I said hey I've got an upcoming athlete for you you know those kinds of things and  um sadly my he's my nephew and he passed um in his in his battle but he's sorry he's forever my  why yeah so I just have that personal connection and just know that sport is important no matter  um where you are in your life journey and I wanted him to stay connected in sport even  though he was dealing with this you know crap this on honestly this crap as far as  um his physical body was going yeah um I'm gonna pause real quick sure you have a why that that strong or you're that passionate about sure makes getting up easy every  day to go to work because it's like you know why you're doing it yeah and you're definitely  somebody that genuinely and passionately loves what you do and I can tell that every conversation  I have I remember talking to you for a little bit at uh the national Beauty Championship yes  Fort Lauderdale just like yes which is great all-around like you're always somebody I just  love talking to but yeah on a more brighter note let's uh yeah switch gears a little bit let's do  that what's something or a couple things that people don't know about because you could be a  fun fact it could be an embarrassing fact a hobby you know more more like just your personalities  my personality side um I don't know if you've looked at the calendar but our schedule is intense  we don't have like the regular season we start in January we basically end in November and so  there's not a lot of time for hobbies but when I'm home I like to Garden I like to ride bike  um I'd spend time with family those are some things I  some people might know that I commute between Oklahoma and Iowa and my drive is 10 hours and  so I have a lot of time to listen to books and listen to podcasts so not only this podcast but  you're also insane I mean in such a good way that's exactly right so what's your commute uh  nine hours ten hours yeah on a good yeah so that's that's something that maybe people don't know that  our paralympic Chang Center is in Oklahoma in Edmond at University of Central Oklahoma and I  I would say my home is in Eastern Iowa so I yeah I do that commute on the weekends so  just on casually on the weekends casually on Thursdays and on top of just again on top of your  your wild schedule where you're probably always traveling you're literally traveling right now  in Colorado Springs right now but I mean this who can complain we're in Colorado you're right you're  absolutely right and it's snowing too so it's like the perfect time yeah but um let's talk about  back-to-back gold medals uh okay Rio and in Tokyo what do you think was the biggest attribute  um to winning those back-to-back medals the team attribute um that took that took something because  as everyone in the world knows we were had a covet period in there um and so we you're  gearing up you're gearing up you're gearing up I'm the resident head coach for the women and you know  when it comes down to it we're you know having a little countdown on our whiteboard and then all of  a sudden we get back from Crossroads and the world basically shut down and so now like are we ever  going to even get an opportunity to win a back to back or is that going to just be brushed over  we're going to move on to Paris um so I would say this team their strength and their resilience and  they're honestly they're like they're great you know it's like no we're going to keep training we  trained virtually like how like this is crazy like you're literally in your living room where we're  trying to get some reps in and we're like doing some zoom and things like that and we connected  um with our Sports psychologists via team zooms and you know even our dietitian we would do like  cooking in the kitchen everyone would go get their things and we would just do fun things  like that but I would say the the the grit and just the the tenacity just to keep going  um a lot of a lot of teams have that but this particular team and especially on the paralympic  side there's already been some sort of needing to overcome in these ladies lives so they're  they're good at it and not to say that they um not to say that that's fair they like you know  but they they really were um gritty and strong in these last in these last two quads how much  of that has carried over into this year 2023 and going into this quad heading for getting ready  for Paris for getting ready for Paris um we're I would use the word transition and Coach uses  that a lot too we're in some transition we coach women that are between like 16 and 40 and a lot  of Life happens between 16 and 40 for women for everyone but for women yeah so we've got a lot  of babies happening we've got some marriages we've got some graduations some moving on to  college some career changes so we are in a position in a period of transition right now  um we've got two new we've got three new babies in our program since Tokyo we've got  um one mama that's about to have her baby so it's like a lot a lot is going on  um but just their flexibility and their resilience and I think the fact that they  this is hard but I still am beside you and I'm stuck beside you and I'm supporting you whether  your journey looks a little different now how can we make this happen I think that is um that is  what makes this team great I see yeah um for those people who aren't really aware of what  goes into the recruiting aspect of a parasport yeah yeah absolutely um you've known that we are  kind of at the mercy of our like just having our sport like like the spotlight on us it's  like there we we really take advantage of events where we have that opportunity I think one great  example was we were like the coaching staff was like how how amazing was at ABCA when we had the  opportunity to be recognized on the floor at this massive event just to have the words Pera you know  parasport or sitting volleyball said what it does is it it like puts that out there into the world  like this is something and this is something that somebody might be able to do because  um anytime that word is shared then people know and then they may reach out to us and usually  it's through like Instagram they'll see one of our Instagrams and then they'll say Hey how do  I get involved and so then once they've reached out we uh myself and Coach um and Elliot Blake  he's our program manager we'll get on a zoom with that athlete and their family and we'll you know  kind of bring them along and then will invite them to our sitting national team development  program and where they train together maybe five times a year and then they train there until  it appears that they're ready to start like integrating into our national team program and  and that's just the journey and that journey and that space there for some is long and for some  it's very short we have an athlete that just this past weekend we announced that she's a national  team athlete now Mackenzie Franklin go gorilla she's from Minnesota two years ago she had a like  a tragic motorcycle accident was a volleyball player called you know college kid lost her leg  and she didn't even know you know found out about our program we connected and here she is on our  national team right now so yeah the journey is sometimes longer depending on their volleyball  experiences coming in but that's basically basically the way it goes I see and you touched  on on it a little bit here but um what are what are some of those classifications that oh sure  you know uh that would qualify someone for our particular program yeah no yeah classification is  exactly the word that we use um so classification um you're right every athlete in our program and  let's let's first put that out there because my Uber driver on the way over here he goes yeah  my mom would take her athletes to um Paralympics sometime and I'm like oh tell me more about that  he meant Special Olympics and so we have to like really make sure that we're educating the public  because sometimes they don't know the difference special is for some sort of like mental impairment  um Pera is for some sort of level of physical impairment so all of our athletes are challenged  in some way physically um there are two classifications this is kind of technical but  um bs1 and vs2 and it just means that you're either permanently fully disabled according to  the classification or you're a minimal disabled um most of our athletes have some sort of limb loss  um like they were you know born without a hand or they had cancer and they had to have an amputation  or an injury um had them lose you know a limb but we also have some other levels of classification  where like you've got a muscle imbalance like one like physically like one leg is like different  than the other we've got another athlete who Whitney dosti I'm not sure if you know are all  of our athletes but wit was playing professionally I'm standing over I believe it was in Turkey um  and shattered her ankle and it was so bad that um recently she's had to have right before Tokyo had  to have that ankle fused and that would classify her so there's like there's a range but it's some  level of physical impairment where having this adaptation would be helpful in your in your sport  thank you for touching base on that I mean uh you know just knowing about minimal classifications I  think that's just that's new territory for a lot of people and you know right you just educated me  on a lot of it yeah there yeah so yeah people are watching our games like oh so like number  14 so she's able-bodied and she can play um well she's a minimal and so you don't necessarily like  see all of their disabilities well we know that in in life everyone's challenged in some regard but  um you can't always see all of their disabilities but there is some level and they you know have  to go through you know doctor's visits and be classified yeah so I see yeah and with the roster  you know that you take to the Paralympics and your tournaments and different championships are there  certain um numbers compositions yeah correct yeah yeah there is um we just World pair Valley just  um let us bump up to 14. okay so now um for most events we can bring 14 athletes um within that  composition two can be minimals and right now we have three on our team um so two minimals and then  you can take um two libros if you're over 12 um athletes um two minimals and then the sport rule  is only one minimal could be on the court at a time I see yeah wow that's that's a lot to take  into just how you just plan how you plan yeah who are we taking yeah absolutely guys on top of your  normal strategy for that's right for anything you're competing in but um I do want to touch  on and I don't know if this is 100 publicized yet but um potentially bringing the sitting  teams through our open National Championship right this year in Dallas right I think I just got word  from Elliot that that's going to be a thing I'm so excited because that's one that's the tournament  I run that's right like it's just going to be an amazing experience I think this is really going  to be a growth year before it opens and then the fact that the sitting teams are coming back right  it's been a minute I'm so excited I don't even remember anyone do you remember the last time  we were at opens it's like with before covid so 2019 2019 probably um and so it's been a minute  there is one I think we're navigating that and so maybe that's why it hasn't been announced yet  um we want to be there but then there's also the super six tournament that they overlap and  that's in Finland and so we're like deciding which which route we're going to go with that um but we  really would love to get back to the open because that is another great Outreach opportunity for us  um we not only do a training camp prior to the the second wave but then we have that sitting  Division and that in that division anyway you know if you're over and I still haven't tried sitting  here you are going to absolutely you are yeah yeah you can be on team and one of those ladies will  definitely recruit you because they're that's one of the responsibilities is to bring some teams I  love that and in that event we do integrate um any able-bodied friends yeah so yeah I see so uh you  know kind of aside from the specific conversation about open sure but um what else um what are  some of your other team goals and aspirations during this new Quad heading into Paris yeah  um we we need to qualify we need to get a bed we need to get a bed um we had an opportunity  at World Championships and it just didn't go the way that we needed to go so you either  win or you learn and so we've got we've got a lot of things that were we're contemplating and we're  working through as we develop our new system we have two two opportunities this year one  is at Zone championships in May up in Edmonton and then another would be at World Cup which is  in November in Egypt and so both of those are opportunities where we can earn that bid but  you can't I mean it's important to keep that front and center but it kind of makes you Wiggy  too you know if like if that's like oh you know it's like it just puts so much pressure on you  so we are just learning and getting better every day um and taking a you know Moment  by moment practice by practice too yeah and I know your team you just mentioned that um  you just recently had a chance to qualify and you took third place and this is the time [Laughter] that is used to winning like so what you do first place or nothing right that's  right how is that fueling you in success these other two opportunities going into  um May and November well you know this sounds like coach cliche but you can sometimes learn more with  a loss I mean we we miss the opportunity um we missed the opportunity to get the bid we  missed the opportunity to do something that we've never done um they haven't won um gold at World  Championships yet um they were kind of joking well this is a color metal we don't have yet it  wasn't the one that we were thinking about coming home with but we'll add it to the collection but  um yeah so it's um it really just like kind of opens up your eyes and  staff and athletes on what we can do better what we must do better and moving forward  and I think those are good opportunities too I mean I can't wait to follow along  and just know see see when you guys are going to when we're getting that message so best of luck to you guys there but um I appreciate it I do want to switch gears  a little bit um you know I mentioned you know we got a chance to connect  um you know way back in Fort Lauderdale during National breakthrough championship and yeah it's  on the beach I saw like you know a relatively new thing uh Beach pier volley yeah insane yeah can  you just talk about for those who don't know and uh that's my hobby are you interested what are  your hobbies okay well just talk about that in the progression absolutely what beach para volleyball  is yeah you know what what the future of it looks like that sounds great um I was on the job here  um three days on the job I was hired to be the assistant coach of the women's sitting team Maybe  three days not even maybe and Bill hamider comes up to me he goes hey I know you've got  beach background what do you think about kind of overseeing this little thing that we're what  we're trying to do on Beach pier Valley um and I said oh absolutely because in my job at the Iowa  region I was the beach director and I had a lot of connections and I really was that was that was  something that would tie a lot of things together for me and I said absolutely so um took the job in  January by April I think we were sending a team to China for one of the World Championships so  really a lot of pieces like here we go like get your uniform s we're getting going yeah wow so it  was it was big and fast and we produced you know several camps and then covet hit and Dan covid  and then we were down for a year and a half with kovid um but we're back so Beach pair volley is  beach volleyball on the Adaptive side nothing is different except we run with three adopted  to athletes on our teams there's classification there too but that's being developed so it just  basically um if you classify then we can put you on a team composition um you just can't have more  than one a Athlete on a team you know it's like it's just like there's different composition  than it would be for the sitting game um but yeah it's 3v3 same size Court same size Nets  um and it's just fabulous it gives these athletes an opportunity to play standing  um also some I've got some beach athletes that aren't sitting athletes and I've got some sitting  athletes that don't want anything to do at the beach you know a lot of our leg amputees are  like that's insane why would I want to do that but um it's it's great it's a it's great this  past year I think we produced four four training camps an rde which is a recognized development  event in Gulf Shores in conjunction with the NCAA Final Four I mean Championship there not  final four but the championship um division one championships and then another massive event  down in Florida at our paralympic training site our beach para volley training site and Tavares  we were able to piggyback on the Great Central Open ABP the AVP Central open and that was great  um that was an international event for us team Australia came over and so we're walking on Roland  um we're I'm I don't even think I can fully like breathe yet because  we were supposed to know by the end of January but now I've heard through the  memorable that maybe it will be before mid February if La 28 is picking up the sport  um as a true paralympic sport that was going to be the next question I know I just like threw it  in there but yeah so where a kind of on pins and needles here waiting for that um that announcement  and really hopeful that they would you know take a chance on this emerging Sport and let us you know  have that debut right there in L.A that's making me anxious I know [Laughter] I think so too yeah  it seems like it's got a lot of momentum moving forward there so I think so too yeah so that's a  little bit about what I do on my I guess my free time that's what I do yeah the free time you don't  have that's right just produce a couple events yeah what is the future of each para volley I mean  within you know maybe everything goes right with early 28 or things don't don't go right I mean  don't go quite your word yeah I know it's like if we don't get that opportunity yeah absolutely  um as far as within our like USA volleyball is a national and governing body for beach paravale so  we'll still be supported um I don't know where like funding will land you know as soon as we  get that paralympic status more funding will come in and we'll be able to expand what we're doing  um but I don't know what kind of funding but we'll still be pursuing this we'll still be giving these  athletes these opportunities I'm still making connections with adaptive sport communities  with VA programs and things like that just to it's just one more sport you know it's like I  think these athletes deserve that and it's just it the great thing about Beach pier Valley is  you can have a group of three playing against a group of two you know so it can be just you can  integrate it it's really easy to integrate into any other um beach tournament you know basically  these athletes can have that opportunity and we're seeing that worldwide where these athletes  are getting those sorts of opportunities um and so I don't it's not going anywhere it's  just the level of you know are we keeping it in high gear or you know are we and we'll keep  it in high gear I don't know what I'm saying it's not like we're going to do anything different but  um but more funding would be great yeah so that's that's that's what we're hoping for  so what excites you the most about Beach baravali and the direction it's heading what's just been  that most it's like this is it's I mean I'm not necessarily coaching on the beach side I mean I  could but I'm I'm more of the admin yeah I'm more of the admin here and I'm like producing these  um these opportunities and connecting with these athletes but it's still the the connection and  seeing them come and try something and challenging themselves and having success there whether you  know no matter the size of the success they're having success and just really seeing their  happiness and their connections these training opportunities they really Bond they really Bond  and then they like lifelong friendships and so I think that's my favorite part about it right  now and that's just attributing to the game of volleyball absolutely club or high school it's  like you don't remember the score you don't yeah you know the tournament you had in January right  at noon you remember you know the the team outings that's right the moments and that's those special  just Everlasting things that only you know you and your team and you know those around you community  can really relate to so that's amen yeah so I mean that unfortunately brings us tour to  detail of our interview I feel like we can talk all day yeah there's a lot of volleyball but  um is there anything else that you maybe just want to speak on whether it's you know on the you know  sitting side standing side volleyball Community anything we maybe have left on the table no I I  just right now my time is devoted to the parasite so if you're listening to this and you you know  like everyone might know somebody or maybe you're an athlete who might benefit please reach out we  are always looking to grow our pipeline we don't have the advantage um that like the I mean I'm not  saying their life is easy the national standing team it's like you've got thousands and millions  of Athletes Training um to kind of filter up to their bubble up but we don't have that Advantage  so we just need to make every connection we can and so you know follow us along with this journey  um the team has social media accounts you're going to ask me what those are we're gonna  have to post that I don't know just go to USA volleyball and find us on the page and then you  can find all those links how about that when it comes to recruiting in the pipeline where or how  can somebody reach out to either you or Elliot or just yeah what is that Outreach they can reach out  to any of us our names our emails are easy it's just our first name dot last name at usav.org  um they can yeah and we'll get them going in the right direction I've had male athletes reach out  to me and then I'll put them in the mail Pipeline and that kind of thing um parents reach out to us  if they're athletes younger and they see this is this is the trajectory that they'll be going  um yeah just Reach Out call tweet at us you know hit us up on socials or whatever it is  find us yeah even on our website even on USA volleyball's website there's a  um it's not like a recruit me tab but it's something like that where you can find all of  our email addresses and connect please connect and if we're at an event doing like a drop in  like in Boston in March we're going to be at a Junior's event there doing a friendly with  Canada please come up and watch our well you know watch our teams connect say hi to us after  the game and like we'll just definitely we can build connections those ways that way too well  it sounds like you have definitely won a lot on your play too very exciting yeah you know year  ahead and you know I I myself am very excited along with all the other listeners and I've got  our podcasting even everybody we're all excited to see you know what 23 24 20 23 here we are 23.  here but Michelle thank you again for taking the time here no problem I really enjoyed it thank you  conversation y'all do good work I love listening to you we appreciate that thank you take care you know Michelle like always one of my favorite people to talk to whenever we  get a chance to cross past that event so here in the office when you know when she's in town  I just my goal is to get her and Patty Rolf in a room and just say oh yeah this is what we're  talking about see how that conversation goes they are some of the like best storytellers and just  good personalities just to be around too and I really enjoyed getting a chance to sit down in  person too yeah yes it would be cool to get them in the same room and talk to them yeah yeah but  I mean Michelle clearly as he heard she wears a tremendous amount I had spends a tremendous  amount of money on gas with that weekend commute like are you kidding me just casually 10 hours  on our weekends but I mean just to highlight from that just her her involvement and passion and love  for the game of volleyball as a whole um touch base on their story a little bit um on how she  got involved and committed on the sitting side of things it's very inspirational and I I commend her  so much for that and for and she she takes on a lot and she's definitely the right person for that  yeah just uh like you said the the energy that she puts into the programs both with the sitting  teams and the the beach paraboli program and just the you can you can see and feel the love  and passion she has for those programs and those programs wouldn't be what they are today without  Michelle so uh just love having her involved in those programs and love to see the growth of those  programs and just the awareness like she touches on in the conversation the awareness and education  of others of what sitting in beach paraboli is uh it's just awesome to have her on the show here to  talk about that that was really cool absolutely and and you know I was really educated on the  classification portion of that yeah conversation here just uh you know learning about bs1 bs2 um  obviously bs2 is uh you know less uh less of a you know impaired individual these are I believe she  she also called them minor minor classifications that have to do with that there and it's just a  lot goes into it a lot goes into just strategizing one-year recruitment to your rosters for whatever  um whatever um you know tournament competition you're competing in and it's just a lot that  applies to the strategy portion of it and I I also really love how she plugged in and you know was  you know very realistic about recruiting and yeah those those of you who uh you know may fall into  one of those different classification categories uh make sure you reach out to you know the seating  programs emails sitting dot volleyball at usav.org and there's also Michelle's email uh you know  again like she mentioned first and last name uh michelle.goodall usav.org and she'd be more than  happy to point you in the right direction it gets you set up yeah yeah the just the different ways  uh you know for recruitment into sitting in Beach pier volley it's you know different from the the  indoor standing side of the games uh different from the beach standing side of the game it's  it's the it's really about the awareness uh of of sitting volleyball getting people educated on  what it is you know differences between sitting uh or rather Paralympics versus Special Olympics  um that she talked about but you know and I think we talked about this with Greg Walker  too back in our our episode with him but just you know if you're at an event uh whether that's  volleyball related or not and you you know see someone who who might have a disability  you know might be playing sports whatever it is uh approach them and just let them know hey I'm  you know uh play play for USA volleyball on the junior side but I just saw you know the  sitting teams at a qualifier and it was just really cool and maybe they have no idea what  that is and you can point them to that email sitting.volleyball usab.org or the website just  to have them learn more about sitting and and get that introduction and who knows maybe they're on  the the city national team and you know fighting for a spot to to represent USA in the Paralympics  uh just you know really cool and you know part of that awareness too kind of goes to uh one of  the highlights over the weekend for Michelle was welcoming Zoe Rollins who for those who don't know  um is uh an athlete for Norco Club Norco here in Colorado uh wasn't an unfortunate car accident  is now paralyzed but she came to watch uh the sitting team uh train at the the U.S Olympic  and paralympic training center training and got to meet them and just an awesome video that we  have on USA volleyball's uh social media right now on on the Instagram of the whole team and  Zoe kind of in a circle pepper uh just you know passing the ball around which is super cool and  uh just huge shout out to to our women's team for welcoming Zoe and and uh spending a lot of  time with her too just to get to know her and her story yeah that stuff definitely goes a long way  and you know I I love the forward progress set the sport of not only pair of volleyball is making but  beach volleyball in general so I mean again uh big thank you Michelle for coming onto the show into  our studio actually just talk sitting and talk Beach pair of volley and talk about how you got  into coaching and you know even sharing and being vulnerable and you know he's talking about where  that sparked from I mean um it's very exciting to see the growth and awareness continue uh we  we hopefully will be getting good news uh soon on the international uh paralympic committee uh  set to hopefully he'll have that decision made by mid-February on February on whether or not  beach paravalli and 32 other sports yes 32 other sports have a lot of credit on them right uh will  be included in the LA 2028 paralympic games but until then best of luck to the US sitting  teams this upcoming season 2023 is definitely a busy year for you guys but a lot of opportunity  to qualify for the 2024 Paris Paralympics are coming up soon so uh we'll keep everybody  updated on across our social media channels um and just again fingers crossed and wishing  the best but you can definitely check out our us sitting teams Instagram they both have their own  um Instagram account State you can check them out at usav underscore sitting underscore wnt  and usav underscore sitting underscore MNT on Instagram and also to follow the sitting teams  Journeys on Twitter as well so stay updated with our programs and best luck to you all  now on to upcoming events now let's see what's coming up the Grapevine with Stephen oh my gosh  upcoming events incredible I'm the fly there incredible work on the Fly there clients uh  all right yeah now on to upcoming events we have the beach pro tour finals January 26th through  the 29th in Doha Qatar uh stay tuned to usab beach on Instagram and Twitter for updates and results  then onto the junior side of things Florida Fest boys National qualifier January 27th through the  29th in Schaumburg Illinois oh that is not correct uh because that is uh not Florida we will find that uh one second one second on the Fly here on the Fly we don't need to cut  don't worry no you're fine you're fine all right you do that and I'm gonna go into something I got  it I got it I got I got it I I thought it was Fort Lauderdale but I didn't want to say it and  then have to and have to redo that but oh my God the Florida Fest boys National qualifier January  27th through the 29th in Fort Lauderdale Florida there we go seamless so smooth the Northern Lights  girls National qualifier and 18th qualifier week one January 27th through the 29th in Minneapolis  Minnesota the Arizona desert freeze Beach National qualifier January 29th in Glendale Arizona the  Ohio Valley girls 18's National qualifier February 3rd through the 5th in Columbus Ohio  the Madsen Juniors Beach event in February 4th in Plano Texas good luck to everyone competing  in those events and shout out to all the usab regions for setting up and hosting those events  more details and on all upcoming events can be found at usabolleyball.org oh yeah very well said  nice recovery too I appreciate that thank you yeah uh but a more uh a more wow a few more  updates on the indoor Club side of things too don't forget registration is still open for  those looking to compete and the Salt Lake City Showdown qualifier uh on April 8th through 10th  and April 14th through the 16th as of right now there is no wait list but as teams getting  requirements that can change for certain divisions so get your requirements done if  you are looking for a wonderful qualifier to compete in registration is also open for our  national championships our boys International championships hosting and hosted in Salt Lake  City from June 29th through July 6th we have our girls International Championship  11s through 13s in Minneapolis registration is now open as well those dates are June 14  through the 17th we have our girls junior National Championship 14s through 17's age divisions and  Chicago Illinois registration is now open and I believe the Patriot division was a frenzy it  was down to literally the seconds on when teams on whether or not teams got into the Patriot division  or not but wow that'll be rotating throughout the year as more teams start to you know earn bids to  Nationals and such too so I mean if you're not on the wait list get on it now or forever holds your  peace because it is a frenzy for sure and as of today January 25th registration is also open for  USA volleyball open National Championship in Dallas Texas I'm so excited about that uh we  can potentially have our sitting national teams wholesome exhibitions training sessions and you  know also hosts our sitting division there too so that's very very very exciting news to potentially  hear and yeah those tournament dates are made 26th through the 31st in Stevens Hometown Dallas Texas  good luck to all teams traveling and competing in our national and Regional qualifiers soon  more information on all of those dates divisions and deadlines can be found at USA volleyball.org remember listeners you can rate and review share with friends family teammates whoever  it is it really helps our podcast grow uh when you share uh the podcast share episodes  helps us reach new listeners uh check out our video episodes as well uh they are now on our  website usabolleyball.org and the USA volleyball YouTube channel thank you for all your support  do you know a club that should be featured or a story that you'd like to like us to share you  can email us at the usab show at usab.org leave us feedback let us know about any future topics  you want to hear about reminder new episodes drop every under every other Wednesday and until next  time thank you for listening to the USA volleyball show this is the official podcast of USA 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 jacox 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