Season 5 · Episode 168
SMALL PROGRAM SUCCESS with Dan Friend
Lewis Men’s Coach Dan Friend shares lessons on culture and how a smaller program can find success.
October 7, 202130m 16s
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Show Notes
- 0:41 - Dan’s thoughts on being able to coach/work with his wife (having the opportunity to create crossover between coaching styles).
- 4:42 - Key factors to Dan’s success coaching a smaller program at Lewis University.
- 5:18 - Importance of recruiting coachable players with good work ethic.
- 7:16 - Lewis University’s volleyball popularity among the general students.
- 8:32 - Disadvantages of a small volleyball program and university.
- 8:38 - Less of a social life in comparison to larger universities + harder to find ways to stay engaged within the community.
- 9:49 - Younger alumni (younger program) who generally aren’t able to help fund the program yet.
- 10:33 - Importance of Dan’s team culture/philosophy (having fun, team mentality, being outside the box, and ownership and pride of the program).
- 10:47 - Having fun + developing team mentality: enjoying competing in practice and in games as well as team activities outside the gym.
- 12:49 - Maintaining team culture despite Covid limitations.
- 13:04 - Journal writing.
- 13:19 - Reading sports psychology and volleyball related books as a team (e.g. The Inner Game of Tennis).
- 15:16 - Making sure that players have self-discipline and put in the work to get better as a player and an individual.
- 16:17 - Importance of learning about the history of the Lewis University volleyball program (being proud of the program).
- 17:55 - How Dan makes sure and can tell that his players are invested in the team culture.
- 20:26 - How Dan’s team culture and philosophy is reflected in and improves the team’s performance.
- 22:34 - What is done in practice to help close the gap between potentially more “talented” teams.
- 24:56 - Dan’s recruiting process (particularly how he finds the right players for the program).
- 27:49 - How Dan frames the program’s success when talking with his players.
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