Super Helper Isabella turns the tables and interviews Coach Chijo with the questions volleyball players have always wanted answered.

From tryout tips and tournament warm-ups to choosing captains and understanding why coaches make substitutions, Coach Chijo shares honest insights from more than 30 years of coaching.

This is Part 1 of a special two-part interview series.

What do coaches really look for during tryouts?

Why do coaches substitute players?

How are team captains actually chosen?

In this special episode, Isabella turns the tables and interviews Coach Chijo with the questions every volleyball player has always wanted answered.

Coach Chijo shares honest coaching insights, practical tryout advice, tournament warm-up routines, leadership lessons, and explains the thought process behind coaching decisions that players don't always get to hear.

In this episode you'll learn:

• What coaches notice first at tryouts
• Simple ways to stand out without being the best athlete
• Mistakes that can hurt your tryout
• Tournament warm-up routines that prepare you to compete
• How Coach Chijo selects team captains
• Why coaches substitute players during matches
• How confidence and attitude influence coaching decisions

This is Part 1 of a two-part interview with Isabella.

Part 2 releases next Tuesday.

Watch on YouTube or listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Just GO!

What happens when you spend an entire day learning from one of volleyball's greatest minds?

In this solo episode, I share the biggest coaching and teaching lessons I learned after spending 24 hours with legendary volleyball educator John Kessel.

Some of these ideas challenged almost everything I've believed about coaching, private lessons, drills, and player development. I found myself questioning many of the methods I've used for years.

We dive into why so many players are practicing for practice instead of practicing for performance, why reading is the most important skill in volleyball, and how small changes can completely transform the way athletes learn.

Whether you're a coach, player, or parent, this episode will change the way you think about volleyball training.

In this episode we discuss:

• Why "practice for performance" changes everything
• The biggest problem with traditional hitting lines
• Why reading is volleyball's most important skill
• Why pass-set-hit teaches every position better
• Are private lessons actually helping?
• How to make every drill more game-like
• False confidence in training
• Coaching the person, not just the player
• Three words every coach should stop using
• The lessons I'll immediately be changing in my own coaching

If this episode makes you rethink your own coaching, share it with another coach who loves learning.

Why Volleyball Festival Feels Like Family | Bryan Kelly

What makes Volleyball Festival so much more than just another volleyball tournament?

Coach Chijo sits down with Bryan Kelly, President of Volleyball Festival, during Volleyball Festival in Phoenix to learn why thousands of players and families return year after year.

Bryan shares the story behind the tournament's family culture, the traditions that have been passed down for more than four decades, and why creating lifelong memories matters just as much as winning matches. From personalized player touches and the famous Player Party to gift exchanges and the legacy of Volleyball Festival founders Dave and Bernice Epperson, Bryan explains what makes Festival unlike any other tournament.

Super Helper Isabella also joins the conversation to ask questions from a player's perspective about what she sees that makes Volleyball Festival so special.

Whether you're a player, coach, or parent, this episode is a reminder that volleyball is about much more than wins and losses.

In this episode:

• Why Volleyball Festival feels like family

• The traditions that make Festival unique

• Creating lifelong memories through volleyball

• Why every player deserves to feel special

• The importance of sportsmanship and community

• Coach Chijo's free clinics at Volleyball Festival

• Super Helper, Isabella's perspective as a player

Watch on YouTube or listen wherever you get your podcasts.