Volleyball’d - A Parent’s Podcast

We wanted to get into a volleyball feel good story for this episode!  Cam Ennis had one of those volleyball careers that plays like a Hallmark movie.  Recruited early (back when the rules were insane) and injured early as well, Cam Ennis rehabbed her way back into a college opportunity that took her from San Antonio, TX to three major programs across America.  Her career came to a close with an opportunity that every aspiring college player dreams about.  Enjoy Cam Ennis!

https://pittsburghpanthers.com/sports/womens-volleyball/roster/cam-ennis/12224

https://www.instagram.com/camenniss/

We are reaching the end of national qualifying season and now things are getting really weird around the gyms for many of the programs around the country.  As a family that is playing at two different programs, we discussed "gym hopping season" and how players and families are looking for their next opportunity.  It's about to get crazy around these parts again!

Did you happen to be one of those volleyball families that made the trip to MEQ (St. Louis) or the first weekend of Northern Lights (Minneapolis)?  YOU ARE NOW STRONGER THAN YOU KNOW.

The most miserable travel experience of our parent volleyball lives occurred to both ends of the traveling Medinas.  We used this podcast to recap the insanity that many of us went through as we attempted to escape from both of these cities and return to our regularly scheduled lives.  If you know, you know.

Today we covered how we are all neck-deep in qualifying season.  We discussed the pressure for parents to try and make sure their kids get on the radar for college recruitment and what our experience has been as the coaches have begun showing up to the courts for our older daughter's team.

We also brought up how for the second time, the police showed up to our court in Orlando.  

Are you into qualifier season?  Are you running all around the country and trying to get your kid to eat?  Have you ever wondered how the sneaky parents pull it off?  In this episode we cover what we have seen work (and not work at all) when it comes to handling the convention center, the hotel and the hotel room as we travel the country in 2026.  Enjoy!

We are dealing with a harsh reality.  We are missing the first day of a local volleyball tournament because we are trapped by weather that most of Atlanta, GA is not having to deal with.  So today we decided to review some harsh realities of volleyball and talk about whether or not there was merit to what parents have said about the sport.  Stay warm, get ready, because we don't have anywhere we can go for the next 24 hours!

This is the tech nerd episode of Volleyball'd, and you are welcome.  The Medinas have recorded or live streamed over 200 matches during the past two seasons.  This is the episode where we get into everything you wanted to know about recording or live streaming but might have been afraid to ask.  Sometimes there's even too much information out there.  Be brave, you can do it, we will help you.

Welcome to 2026!  It's a new season and we started the year off with one of the most successful coaches in the country.  

Paulo Coco is the reigning Coach of The Year with League One Volleyball as the head coach of LOVB Atlanta.  His international competition resume is incredible:

• Assistant Coach of the Brazilian Women's National Team
• Winner of Two Gold Medals (Beijing 2008, London 2012) and a Silver Medal in Tokyo Olympic Games.
• Winner of Five Brazilian Superliga Titles and the 2023-24 Brazilian Cup.
• Winner of Three Silver Medals and Two Bronze Medals at The FIVB World Championships.

Coach Coco joined us to talk about the importance of player mentality, being part of the growth of professional women's volleyball in the United States, and his love for the game that keeps him constantly teaching.  Hope you enjoy this one as we start off the 2026 season!

https://www.lovb.com/teams/lovb-atlanta-volleyball

It's a holiday miracle!  Actually, it is just a podcast the day before Christmas.  Is Die Hard a Christmas movie? You're right!

We were joined by Kellan Flynn - Libero/Defensive Specialist from The University of Alaska Fairbanks after a historic season for the program.  You may recall a previous podcast where we interviewed her mother about her recruiting journey that took her from Atlanta, GA to Fairbanks, AK. (Link Below)

She's a great young woman and she shared her experience with the big move up north, adjusting to college volleyball and academics, and making friends for life.  Enjoy!

https://alaskananooks.com/sports/womens-volleyball/roster/kellan-flynn/3916

Chapter 4

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/volleyballd-chapter-4/id1843458331?i=1000732075023

We caught up with Carlos Luna, the owner and director of Luna Volleyball Academy.  He's a former professional volleyball player who played in 10 countries around the world during his career.  Carlos is also a former Olympian, taking part in the 2008 games in Beijing.  Just as important to him, he's also a volleyball parent.

• "Elite athletes have to have a short memory"
• "The athlete needs time to recover not just physically but mentally"

Carlos discussed with us the parent's role in supporting our players and helping them deal with the pressure of the upcoming club season.  He has an online event coming up on January 3rd geared towards parents who would like to be coached on how to handle the challenges of a club season.

January 3rd event @ 10am Central:

https://lunaonlinevolleyballacademy.com/fundamentals-under-pressure-live-training/

https://lunaonlinevolleyballacademy.com/

https://www.instagram.com/lunavolleyball/

It's the holiday season so we decided to cover what the parents keep talking about at the volleyball facility... "what are you getting your player for Christmas?"

Yes, they are complicated and picky and tend to destroy everything we buy them no matter the quality or cost.  But we decided to talk about the trends on social media and the ideas that we've tried and what other parents have done with their players.

Also, pay attention to how many times Alison acts like Carlos' suggestion is a lame gift before she brings up her own amazing gift.

Happy Holidays y'all!

As parents around the country are getting used to their new clubs/teams for the 2026 season, we discussed the Pros and Cons of "playing up".  As we have heard and experienced the good situations and the horror stories over what playing with an older team might mean for your child's season.  And we have walls now.

Have you ever heard of Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome?  It's also called POTS!  We tell the story of how we discovered that one of our athletes deals with this syndrome and what we have done to deal with it during the highly demanding club volleyball season.  This IS the hydration episode.  Also, Alison almost lost a finger one time.

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/16560-postural-orthostatic-tachycardia-syndrome-pots

We headed to the beach, sorta.  We caught up with Georgia Beach Volleyball Director & Master Coach - Taylor Snipes - and discussed her vision for the beach game and how indoor players benefit from the experience of training in the sand.  We got into how the game is growing and what college coaches are looking for when it comes to finding the right player and the right personality fit for their beach programs.  

https://georgiabeachvolleyball.com

Instagram: @gabeachvb

Chapter 7 features Mark Prater - Indoor Officials Chair for SRVA and College Volleyball Referee.  Mark can be seen working the biggest matches across the nation every week, including the SEC and ACC conferences.  We discussed his background and just how rule changes come about at the college and club levels... including the four rule changes coming to USAV matches for the 2025-2026 season.  Setters and Liberos celebrate this one.

We sat down with AJ Jones, known to the volleyball world as "AJ, the person you want to stop by your court".  AJ is a professional photographer and videographer who works with young athletes to document their careers and also provide marketable moments.  She talks about how she went from disposable cameras to shooting professional teams and everything in between.  And the role social media plays for young athletes.

wyldphotofilm.com

Instagram: @wyldfilm

We got a chance to interview Mackenzie Tichenor, former University of Florida volleyball star and now working in the family business.  What business you may ask?  VOLLEYBALL.  She's the head of social media, public relations and marketing for The Nike Big South National Qualifier.  She tells the story of how her family founded the tournament and how it's grown from small beginnings to a massive national event.

And yes, we asked about parking.

We caught up with A5 and National Championship winning coach Erin Flynn, whose daughter experienced the entire recruiting process and found herself a home in collegiate volleyball.  All the ups and downs of the recruiting process are part of this one!

We talk with NASM Certified Personal Trainer Thomas Jenei (CPT, PES, CES, PN 1 Nutrition Certified) on his work with young athletes and the coaching and education he provides to help them reach their health and fitness goals.  He's the current GOAT, he holds all of the belts.  We also talk about the dangers of the volleyball tournament smoothie stand.

Follow Thomas Jenei on Instagram @tjenei22

In this chapter of Volleyball'd we cover tournament scheduling, lost and found shoes and jerseys that constantly have holes in the elbows.  It's a big one yo.

The parents of Volleyball'd introduce themselves and stuff happens from there.  It's really quite stirring and intense.