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The VolleyNerd Podcast

by Davis Ransom

A Volley-talk show for anyone who loves volleyball! We talk culture and all things volley. We debate, go in-depth with unique perspectives, and get nerdy about our favorite sport: volleyball! Crushing over 30 years in the world of volleyball, host Davis Ransom takes listeners into the heart of and soul of the game we love so much: volleyball!

From the show's RSS feed, refreshed Apr 12, 2026. Source feed.

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Episodes

  1. Myths About Club Volleyball That Players and Parents Believe

    This is a group podcast with Andrew Clifton, Davis Ransom, and Sean Thomas, all experienced club coaches who provide their two cents about club volleyball from an insider's perspective!

  2. Play Pain-Free Volleyball with Kha Tran from Athletic Truth Group and @painfreevolleyball

    Kha Tran not only helps others to keep themselves playing harder and longer through joint health, he also has used the ideas he describes on this podcast to go from having painful, sore knees, to full, pain-free confidence. Many of the ideas Kha recommends on this pod are only now developing…

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  3. Get Fueled Up! Energy Management for Leaders with Dale Bacon

    This episode is a bit of a different type of podcast for us! We go in detail with Pastor and Leadership Educator, Dale Bacon, in order to find out how to make the most out of our energy as leaders. This episode is so rich with great ways to think about how we can truly be at our best when our…

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  4. De-fense (Clap Clap) De-fense (Clap Clap) with TVNP Host Davis Ransom

    Everyone that plays, coaches, or even watches volleyball knows the excitement of watching a stellar defensive team dig tons of balls. In this episode, TVNP Host Davis Ransom examines ideas about how to get your teams to play with relentless defensive intensity. There is so much to think about in...

  5. How To Dominate the Net (Blocking is Hard) with UCSD Men’s Assistant Coach Jake Penolio

    Loaded with blocking tips, fundamentals, and key principles, this episode features Jake Penolio, former pro middle blocker, and key figure of UCSD’s current success. He starts with fundamentals and goes all the way through tactics against some of the most difficult offenses. This talk was so…

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  6. The Vaue of Varied Experiences with Michael Bonner, Director of Saddleback Valley Volleyball Club

    Michael Bonner has been all around the game of volleyball. He has been a highly successful coach, club director, referee, and more. Through his experience with some of the most successful clubs in Southern California, Coach Bonner has built up an incredible toolbox of information. He joins The...

  7. Coaching Emotions with Doctoral Candidate Britney Oliver Sillas-Navarro

    So often in coaching it is not the skills of the team that allow the team to win, but the strength of their will and how well the team control the state of their emotions. In this episode of The VolleyNerd Podcast we talk with Doctoral Candidate Britney Oliver Sillas-Navarro about how important...

  8. How To Win @ Serving with TVNP Host Davis Ransom

    Serving is so, so crucial to success in volleyball. Analyzing, in detail, your own approach as a volleyball coach to serving, can really help you and your athletes. From fundamentals and tactics, to mindset and game management, this talk by TVNP host Davis Ransom discusses his manner of…

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  9. Program Building with Nabil Mardini

    How do you build a program from the ground up? Nabil Mardini has done it. As the head coach for L.A. Pierce College (CA) he won multiple state championships with a program that went 0-25 his first year there. Find out what he does to make his programs so successful! Not only is Mardini an...

  10. Physical and Mental Toughness with Luis Cuatok (Part 2)

    This super practical episode gives coaches games, drills, and ways of thinking about how to train toughness that will make any team better! Many coaches hope for tougher players, and harp on their players to become tougher, and that may work well for some athletes, but highly successful youth…

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  11. Physical and Mental Toughness with Luis Cuatok

    Physical and mental toughness are often elusive. In this episode we go into what toughness looks like on the volleyball court and how we can start to develop it within our athletes. Luis Cuatok thinks deeply about this topic and shares a bunch of super interesting information about why toughness...

  12. Evoking Joy in Volleyball with Loren Anderson (Part 3)

    Loren Anderson from Rise Volleyball Academy takes a different approach to club volleyball. In this episode we explore why volleyball should be viewed as a lifetime game, why adults sometimes need to allow children to learn lessons through experience (even when they know better), and why modeling...

  13. Evoking Joy in Volleyball with Loren Anderson (Part 2)

    An important discussion challenging the status quo in youth volleyball. The owner of Rise Volleyball Academy discusses why we are often off-base with how we, as coaches, are handling numerous situations. This episode also had tons of awesome ideas for how to illicit and encourage athletes’ love…

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  14. Evoking Joy in Volleyball with Loren Anderson (Part 1)

    Loren Anderson is the Owner of Rise Volleyball Academy in Idaho and they do things differently out there! They pride themselves on evoking Joy through volleyball! This enlightening discussion makes me think about why we do things the way we do. Loren discusses the rationale and practical aspects…

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  15. Competing at the Highest Level of College Volleyball with UCLA Assistant Coach John Hawks

    This episode focuses on UCLA Men’s Volleyball Assistant Coach John Hawks and how he helps his teams consistently compete at an extremely high level. Coach Hawks has had an amazing coaching career and on this episode of The VolleyNerd Podcast we talk about how he evaluates talent, how he has...

  16. Pro Beach Grind with Skylar del Sol

    Dynamic, up and coming beach athlete Skylar del Sol talks with The VolleyNerd Podcast about “The Grind” of working your way up the ladder into the elite ranks of beach doubles volleyball. He drops some really cool Inside information about the challenges and joys of being a pro beach volleyball...

  17. Difference Makers in the Recruiting Process with Kara Hill from My Recruiting Solutions

    Kara Hill is a leader in the juniors volleyball recruiting space. By connecting with coaches about what they wanted she crafted a business model that is a win-win for athletes AND coaches. This talk has AWESOME info for both coaches and players about what makes a difference in the recruiting...

  18. Competitive Team Culture with One of the Nation’s Top Club Coaches, Luis Cuatok

    Many coaches simply hope that their team’s culture will be championship level. Other coaches are more intentional about creating the culture that is necessary for their team’s goals. In this talk with one of the countries top youth club coaches, Luis Cuatok, we take a look at how to create a…

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  19. Ultimate Underdog Mentality with Gonzaga University’s Faith Smith

    The ultimate underdog, 5’5” setter Faith Smith from Gonzaga University, has such an incredible mindset that has helped her to be so successful in her sports career. We talk about how relationships, confidence, and intentional training has affected her and allowed her to maintain such a positive,...

  20. Learn Volleyball Faster with Alex Haapamaki

    Great talk with Coach Alex Haapamaki from Sweden! He explains how a mentor can help athletes transfer skills from practice to the game and how to help athletes develop their own inner coach. Also we discuss why science is a great starting point, but not an end point when it comes to training in...

  21. Empower Your Goal Setting Process with Luis Cuatok

    Top club coach Luis Cuatok examines how to make goal setting more powerful and effective, even through the middle of the season and all the tough parts! We explore why makes his process so meaningful and how coaches can use it for themselves.

  22. From Motivation to Inspiration with Michael Hawke

    Coach Hawke has a unique viewpoint on how to motivate players that includes essentially no physical punishment whatsoever. On this episode we talk about how coaches can get more out of our players by taking more of a collaborative approach and by taking a few steps back to really determine what...

  23. Coaching Styles with Texas A&M Corpus Christi Head Coach Steve Greene

    A coach’s unique coaching style is critical to his/her success, but developing our own style and making it work can be challenging. Steve Greene has a unique, player-centered style and has been highly successful despite being an “army of one”. This insightful talk focuses on how he developed his...

  24. Mental Training for the Masses with Ariel Haas

    Mental training is so key for high-performing athletes and even younger athletes to make the most out of their sport! Highly successful Coach Ariel Haas has had The ability to put into practice some of the most affective mental training techniques with his teams with a lot of improvement and…

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  25. What Why and How Volleyball Needs to Change with legendary coach and thought leader Terry Liskevych

    Legendary American volleyball coach, marketer, leader, and mentor, Terry Liskevych has done nearly everything in the sport of volleyball and he still wants to help make it better! The Founder of the Art of Coaching, Coach Liskevych joins us to talk about where volleyball should go next in order…

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  26. Running Toward the Unknown with Ultra-Marathoner Cameron Schmidt

    Completing a 100 mile run just to know what it was like is just one example of how Cameron Schmidt takes on life. In this episode of the podcast we catch up with Cameron, discuss some really interesting ideas about leadership, and learn how we can apply his unique take on life to the world of...

  27. Finding Better Ways with Former Australian National Team Coach Mark Lebedew

    Head Coach of Polish Pro Club Warta Zawiercie, Mark Lebedew is one of the world’s most unique thought leaders in volleyball. A contrarian by either nature or experience, Coach Lebedew discusses why challenging everything is good, why GMS and Art of Coaching are fundamentally flawed, and how...

  28. Motivation: More Than Just Being Positive with Cort Peters

    Expert Mental Performance Coach, Cort Peters joins The VolleyNerd Podcast to discuss the complex nature of motivation and how being positive is only one (very important) rung on the motivation ladder. He uses some fun stories to express important ideas about how sports can be utilized to make...

  29. Sports Performance for Volleyball with Zach Penolio

    Owner/Founder of Flux Sports Performance, Zach Penolio joins the pod with great insight into training volleyball athletes and how to physically account for the unique demands of the game. We talk about when to start training, how to have a great warm-up, what a high-level workout looks like, the...

  30. Good, Better, Beast: What Volleyball Coaches Can Learn from Business with Executive Coach Rob Lisama

    Rob Lisama has been an Executive Coach and a Volleyball Coach for over 20 years and has a reputation of integrity and compassion. He shares insightful concepts from the world of business leaders that can definitely help anyone be a better volleyball coach!

  31. Hormesis For Volleyball and How To Make Stress Work For You

    Stress is a part of competition. Coaches need to know how to teach it before the game starts. This episode is all about hormesis and the helpful effects of low to moderate amounts of stress on athletes. Check this article out for more info:...

  32. 2nd Year College Player Panel

    Four college sophomores with unique approaches to their recruiting process and school selection goals join us to discuss the differences between club and college volleyball and how they adjusted to their new environment and made their new schools their homes.

  33. A Motivation Story with All PAC-12 Beach Volleyball Student-Athlete Charlie Ekstrom

    Ever since the first time she played beach volleyball she knew it was the sport for her. Growing up with the discipline of a martial artist, Charlie Ekstrom is a model of motivation. Now at Stanford, she has become one of the top female beach players in the country! She tells us her story and how...

  34. Origins of Club Beach Volleyball with Owner/Founder of 692 West Jeff Smith

    Jeff Smith has been around since the very beginning of juniors beach volleyball. On this podcast he talks about how Club Beach Volleyball came to be and how the explosive growth is shaping the game!

  35. A Determination Story with U. of Washington’s Cailin Onosko

    Cailin Onosko’s story of the ups and downs of transforming herself into a Pac-12 DS/L is so motivating! In this episode she shares how her love for improving and making the people that she loved proud contributed to her long-term success.

  36. Trends in Juniors Beach Volleyball with Tamarack VBC Founder Andrew Bennett

    Coach Andrew Bennett has been a key figure in turning beach volleyball into a legitimate year-round club sport. His unique insights into where the sport is going are thought-provoking. His fun, team-focused approach to competitive volleyball has helped to turn his club into a powerhouse and move...

  37. A Passion Story with Hannah Mackenhausen

    South Carolina Beach Volleyball Commit Hannah Mackenhausen shares her story of how she grew to find so much joy for volleyball. She also shares the work she puts in to be great!

  38. Coaching Through COVID-19 with Oregon Institute of Technology with Ken Murczek

    Oregon tech coach Ken Murczek got the job during the COVID-19 pandemic and still has yet to meet with his team in person. This unique time calls for unique measures and Coach Murczek goes into how he’s been handling all the dynamics that go into being a college head coach during a global pandemic.

  39. Offense That Works with Davis Ransom

    In this episode, The VolleyNerd, Coach Davis Ransom talks offensive philosophy and breaks down why and how the most common offensive plays work.

  40. Brazil and USA Club Volleyball Compare and Contrast with Rodrigo Suelotto

    Both the United States and Brazil are two of the strongest volleyball programs in the world, yet they approach many facets quite differently. In this episode Top Professional and Club Coach Rodrigo Suelotto discussed what each country can learn from the other.

  41. The Recruiting Process with Dianne DeNecochea

    Dianne DeNecochea’s experience in professional volleyball and coaching her daughter in club led to her starting a niche recruiting agency, ProactiveVolley. In this podcast she shares so much great insight about how to navigate the recruiting process!

  42. Building a Culture of Discipline and Pride with Kelly Drobeck

    Everyone talks about building a strong, competitive culture. Coach Kelly Drobeck has done that year in and year out with her teams. In this podcast Coach Kelly Drobeck goes into detail about how she has made her programs so successful: by making practical the themes of discipline and pride.

  43. What Can Men’s and Women’s Volleyball Learn from One Another? with John Landicho

    Currently the Head Men’s Coach at Miramar College, and with 5 State Championships with the girls at Franco’s ParkerHigh School, Coach John Landicho is the right person to talk to about how we can learn from each other to make each other better!

  44. Beach and Indoor Volleyball Compare and Contrast with Justin Marshall

    One Beach Lead Coach and Park University Assistant Beach Coach Justin Marshall joins the podcast to discuss how beach and indoor can benefit one another. He offers some really insightful similarities and differences between the beach and indoor games, cultures, and teaching methods.

  45. Max Potential with Top Club Coach Luis Cuatok

    One of the top club coaches in the country, Luis Cuatok joins the volley nerd podcast to discuss how to maximize the potential of our athletes. He starts with philosophy and then gets into practical tips for how to insure that your team is moving consistently forward.

  46. The Ultimate Sideout The Movie Podcast

    In this podcast we do a deep dive on the movie Sideout from a VolleyNerd perspective and have fun breaking down one of Volleyball’s best movies OF ALL Time!

  47. Junior College Men’s Volleyball with David Proffitt

    San Diego Mesa Head Men’s Coach David Proffitt gives us his take on why athletes choose junior college volleyball, The Cal Promise Program, and enhanced stats for winning at the JC level.

  48. Level Up with Paul Araiza

    Leveling up your game is hard. College Beach Volleyball Coach Paul Araiza dives into what it takes to take your game to the next level. He talks about taking charge of your confidence by putting in the work and shares his story of the grind to becoming an AVP Pro.

  49. Mental Skills Training with Roxanne Brunsting

    Self-determination theory, the importance of a mission statement, how to manage our energy, self talk, and many more topics are discussed in this important overview of mental skills training from UCSD All-Everything, Roxanne Brunsting

  50. An Intangibles Story with Chelsea Speaks

    Chelsea Speaks won a Bronze Medal in club as a setter then played for Fresno Pacific University for four years. She had to switch to libero in order to get on the court and she did! Check out her story of competition and fierce determination!

About this show

A Volley-talk show for anyone who loves volleyball! We talk culture and all things volley. We debate, go in-depth with unique perspectives, and get nerdy about our favorite sport: volleyball! Crushing over 30 years in the world of volleyball, host Davis Ransom takes listeners into the heart of and soul of the game we love so much: volleyball!

Hosted by

Davis Ransom

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Frequently asked questions

How many episodes does The VolleyNerd Podcast have?

The VolleyNerd Podcast has 67 episodes on PodParley. The most recent episode was published on August 28, 2022.

What is The VolleyNerd Podcast about?

A Volley-talk show for anyone who loves volleyball! We talk culture and all things volley. We debate, go in-depth with unique perspectives, and get nerdy about our favorite sport: volleyball! Crushing over 30 years in the world of volleyball, host Davis Ransom takes listeners into the heart of and...

How often does The VolleyNerd Podcast release new episodes?

The VolleyNerd Podcast publishes every two weeks, based on its 67 episodes since June 2020.

Who hosts The VolleyNerd Podcast?

The VolleyNerd Podcast is created and hosted by Davis Ransom.
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