February 10, 2026 • 36 mins
Tim Cates sits down with USD Beach Volleyball head coach Derek Olson for an in-depth conversation about a life built around the sport. Olson reflects on his journey from player to coach, including formative stops at Cal and the University of Washington, where he helped shape competitive programs and sharpen his coaching identity.
Now, Olson faces his biggest challenge yet: building USD’s Division I beach volleyball program from the ground up. With the Toreros not scheduled to play their first match until 2027, he shares what it takes to start a program from scratch—recruiting, establishing standards, and laying a foundation built to last.
Olson also dives into how earning his Master’s in Coaching and Exercise Science from Concordia University Irvine has influenced his philosophy, coaching style, and approach to culture-building. It’s a thoughtful, behind-the-scenes look at long-term program development, leadership, and the patience required to build something meaningful before the first whistle ever blows.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
From a player to a coach to now starting a
program from the ground up. He is University of San
Diego Beach volleyball head coach Derek Olsen, and he talks
about his unique journey and is now progressed to start
a program next on episode eighty four of the Masters
(00:20):
in Coaching podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Let's go.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
Well, welcome into episode eighty four the Masters in Coaching
podcasts Here on iHeartRadio or wherever you are consuming, we
certainly appreciate it. I am Tim Kates from A five
seventy LA Sports and iHeart Radio, and we are so
honored to have another guest here on the Masters in
Coaching podcast. And we've talked to a lot of coaches
and administrators, folks that have extended their careers into retirement,
(00:48):
those who are in the middle of their careers and excelling.
And it is so excited to talk to this week's
guests because not only he has he excelled everywhere he
has been, but now he's starting a new endeavor where
he's actually long. She need a Division one program that
doesn't start until twenty twenty seven, so we're gonna get
a fresh perspective on starting a program in twenty twenty
six and twenty twenty seven at the Division one level.
(01:11):
He of courses Derek Olsen, and he joins us now
from the University of San Diego. Derek, how you doing.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
I'm doing great. Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
Tim absolutely looking forward to this conversation. We've talked to
a lot of coaches and administrators, as I mentioned, and
none we're in that first phase of starting a program
maybe maybe first time coaches, maybe first time coaches at
a different level, and tried to figure it out. But
last fall you were named the new beach volleyball coach
(01:39):
in charge of the entire program at University of San
Diego and it's not starting until twenty twenty seven. So
what is it like for you right now?
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Well, it's different, right it's a unique opportunity.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
As you said, we don't have a team this year,
we're not competing, but it does provide me, you know,
a unique opportunity to have a runway to build this
thing out and do it the right way.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
So you know, I'm sure we'll dive in.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
But a lot of this year instead of you know,
practicing with the team and being with them daily, it's
recruiting and fundraising.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
Are the two main things.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
Do you have a facility already or is that something
in the works.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
It's in the work.
Speaker 3 (02:21):
So we actually just submitted plans to the city, the
goals to break around this summer and then to have
it done ideally by the time we report next September
when school starts. But they've kind of given us a
timeline of somewhere somewhere in the fall where it'll be
done and we'll be competing in twenty twenty seven on them.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
Now, this isn't your first coaching job, so you're you're
not fresh to this and you know, trying to figure
out as you go, but you sort of are building
the programmer. You've coached University of Washington, you coached at Cal,
you got extensive coaching the background at the elite beach
volleyball level, USA Volleyball, International Volleyball. What is this endeavor
like though? It was just something that was maybe part
(03:05):
of the challenge and part of the fun of starting
a program from ground zero.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
Absolutely, it really is a dream job. And I'm so
you know, I'm so loyal.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
To San Diego. I love this place.
Speaker 3 (03:19):
It's been a dream of mine to actually have this
job going back eight nine years ago. This is where
you know I used to live I consider home, and
so to have this opportunity come up has been, uh,
you know, really a dream come true.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
And it is.
Speaker 3 (03:36):
Yeah, it's it's a it's a challenge in a lot
of ways. But you know, with our sport, I think
it's considered the fastest growing sport in NCAA history. So
there's been a lot of you know, development and firsts.
And you know, even with my other two positions up
at University of Washington and then before that at UC Berkeley,
(03:59):
there was.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
A lot of developing and creating.
Speaker 3 (04:03):
And you know, because every program has kind of started
from you know, ground zero, but has taken a few
years to develop to you know, where they are now.
And so a lot of the things that I learned
from my previous stops I'm applying here. You know, Like
I don't think they would have hired a brand new
(04:24):
coach in position. They wanted somebody with experience, and I
kind of had that unique experience of you know, not
necessarily starting from the ground up, but putting a lot
of systems and you know, a lot of philosophies in
place to this startup.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
I was shocked to hear that.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
Correct me if I'm on wrong.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
University of San Diego this is the first D one
beach volleyball program in the San Diego area. Mean, we
think of West Coast volleyball, beach volleyball the epicenter for
you know, the volleyball circuits and high school volleyball and
you know Olympic volleyball. Is University of San Diego really
the first D one program to have beach volleyball in
(05:07):
that area.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
Yeah, yeah, it's true, I know it.
Speaker 3 (05:11):
You would have thought that it would have been, you know,
an established place within our sport from the beginning.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
But you know, credit to Kimya.
Speaker 3 (05:21):
Our athletic director, for launching this program and taking the
necessary step.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
So that we we do have a program.
Speaker 3 (05:28):
And I'll tell you what, the city has been really
forthcoming and their support and you know, appreciation for having
a school adopt the program. And so yeah, it's it's
been it's been really cool to see it.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
Why do you think it took so long for Division
one to have beach volleyball in the San Diego area.
There's other schools in that area. Why us D?
Speaker 2 (05:55):
Why? Now? Yeah, you know, that's a good question.
Speaker 3 (05:59):
And I think a lot of us that have been
in San Diego for the last ten plus years have
been asking those questions.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
And you know, I think for every schools it's different, right.
Speaker 3 (06:10):
Sometimes it comes down to a money issue, Sometimes it
comes down to a Title nine issue. Sometimes it's just
you know, what the ad wants or admin wants, and
so you know, I think, you know, I'm obviously biased,
but to me, it's a no brainer in San Diego,
and I think we'll be real competitive.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
You know, from the jump.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
I'm curious in the recruiting that you're doing to start
this program. And I asked this because I had daughters
that went through it in lacrosse, and I remember, you know,
looking at programs or maybe we're just starting across the
country at the Division one or Division two level, and okay,
there's an opportunity there. They don't have players already, they're
(06:51):
looking for players, they're looking to build a program, and
they're looking for young players. What is going to be
your philosophy? Have you started it as far as building
that initial team as a new program. Are you looking
for young players? Are you going to look into the
portal bringing experienced players a little bit of bullf Have
you figure out maybe a philosophy of how you're going
(07:12):
to start your program with players.
Speaker 3 (07:15):
Yeah, and that's something that me and my two coaches,
Mike Plachek and Jayden Whitmarsh, we're talking constantly about. You know,
it's tricky because we got to field an entire team.
Our roster limit is nineteen, so we got to have
you know, essentially nineteen by year one. But we don't
want nineteen incoming freshmen, right, we want to balanced roster.
(07:37):
The fortunate thing for us is the transfer portal makes
that job easier for us, so we can go out
and get athletes to have one year of eligibility, athletes
that have two three, so that we can start off
with a balanced roster. So that's fortunate for us. But
you know, I was thinking the other day, actually, I
(07:58):
have two young daughters, and I'm starting to think that, like,
my daughters are going to be around the program a lot.
So kind of my idea of recruiting, you know, on character,
which is I think the most important thing is like
who do I want to be role models for my daughters?
Which is, you know, a perspective that I haven't even
(08:18):
considered before, but it kind of gives me a new
lens to operate within. But yeah, I mean, this is
a unique opportunity, right, Like I have an entrepreneurial spirit.
I love the building and the creating something rather than
just jumping on something that's already well established and good,
you know. So I'm looking for individuals that share that,
(08:42):
you know, athletes that want to be a part of
that process and you know, see that vision as we do.
Because I think, yeah, like you said, it's a it's
a really unique opportunity to be the first.
Speaker 1 (08:53):
I imagine and I'm just speculating. I'm I'm guessing your
inbox for your email and your assistance is getting filled
up pretty quickly on a daily basis. And now knowing
that USD is going to have a D one Beach
Volleyball program, you probably don't have to go out and
sell the program, Derek, because I imagine you're getting flooded
(09:15):
with kids looking to come to your program because of
the location, being the D one program and being a
new program. Am I right that? I mean you're probably
getting indudated with kids that are just trying to get
into your program.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
Yeah, I mean we're seeing it, you know through our
email box. We have camps ongoing and they're filling up
within you know hours, to be honest, Wow, So yeah,
I mean I kind of expected it to some degree,
but probably not at this level.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
And you know, we're you know, we're just we're just starting.
Speaker 3 (09:49):
So I think when we kind of establish our identity
a little bit and establish you know, how good we
can be, I think that's only gonna get become more.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
So we're going to.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
Get more to the program. Some of your philosophies you
mentioned character is going to be a big thing for you,
and I want to touch on that in a minute,
but I kind of want to go back to how
you got into coaching. You're a former player, but you
played indoor volleyball and then went out and played outdoor volleyball.
You played on the AVP Tour, and then you got
into coaching. Why what was it about coaching at that
(10:22):
point you said, I want to get into it. I
want to coach beach volleyball.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (10:26):
I grew up in a family of educators, so my
mom taught elementary school, my dad was a pe teacher
and a volleyball coach.
Speaker 2 (10:36):
My grand grandfather.
Speaker 3 (10:38):
High school coach, high school teacher, uncles, you know, so
it's kind of been what I've grown up in. But
you know, I started playing volleyball at the University of Oregon,
actually on their club team, and I grew up around
it because, as I said, my dad coached and he
ran his own club and he played, and so I
(10:59):
always kind of was interested and curious about the sport,
but it was a girl sport where where I'm from
at the time, and so I never really had access
to it. And then finally at the University of Oregon,
you know, I tried out and made the team, and
I was terrible, but I at least kind of knew
what the game was supposed to look like and supposed
to be. So for whatever reason, I became addicted and
(11:21):
it was I remember the first couple of years just
like frustrated every day because I wanted to be better
in it and it's.
Speaker 2 (11:28):
A hard sport.
Speaker 3 (11:29):
But I think finding that at nineteen and going through
like the very beginning stages of it kind of gave
me a unique perspective of how that process is and
I could actually like absorb it and comprehend the you know,
very beginner all the way through to you know, the
professional level, and so that gave me a unique perspective
(11:51):
something that I've leaned on in my coaching career. But
when I graduated from the University of Oregon in two
thousand and six, I moved down to San Diego, you know,
with with goals to be a professional beach volleyball player.
Speaker 2 (12:03):
And so, you know, I worked hard at it.
Speaker 3 (12:05):
I sacrificed a lot, I you know, accomplished a lot
of goals. I had to keep moving the goalpost, if
you will, and got way better than I ever thought
I could. And that actually, throughout that process gave me
confidence that you know, I never really knew that I had.
It's not like I was lacking self esteem or anything
(12:27):
like that, but I had never done something like that
where I put years into my development for something and
saw the you know, the product of that, which was
really cool.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
And eye opening to me.
Speaker 3 (12:38):
And it kind of gave me this recipe for success, like, hey,
this can actually apply to other domains, this can apply
across the board, and I kind of lived it, and so,
you know, there's a point in time where I was
I was coaching towards the end of my career, and
I always say, you know, the switch for me was
(12:59):
what you used to keep me up at night was
my own like practice, my own training, my own competition's
coming up. Then for whatever reason, all of a sudden,
it switched to how am I going to train my
athletes tomorrow? How am I going to get this person better?
And thinking about drills and ideas for them, And then
it was just kind of a you know, the riding
(13:20):
was on the wall, you know, because I still had
plenty of years in me physically, but I just kind
of knew with that mind shift that I wanted to
pursue coaching.
Speaker 1 (13:31):
What is it about coaching at the college level? Because
you've coached Olympic teams, part of the Morocco national team,
a club level, elite volleyball levels of coaching.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
Up and down the board.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
But why do you being you settled maybe at the
D one level and what you've been doing at Cal
Washington and now USD.
Speaker 3 (13:50):
Yeah, I mean it's the perfect environment because I mean
there's I believe in a very holistic approach to this
whole thing. And it's not just you know, the skills
and drills that you do on the court during practice.
There's so much more that goes into it. And so
this system, this environment actually allows us to dive deeper
(14:12):
into those other areas strength and conditioning, nutrition, mental skills,
you name it. There's a bunch that goes into it,
and you get the same players for an entire year
that you get to just like really spend time with
and develop and and to me, that's that's really cool.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
At the club level, you know, you get them.
Speaker 3 (14:31):
For practice, but there's not a ton of time outside
of practice that you know you can help develop them.
So it's a unique, unique environment, but it's really really
cool and you get to be really hands on.
Speaker 1 (14:46):
You mentioned that when you were pursuing that pro career
at the Grind you went through and and just the
process and then flipping that switch, as you said, from
a player's mentality to a coach's mentality. When you look
at your style of coaching and how you you know,
work your programs and in your players, is it based
(15:07):
on that process that you went through. Is it based
on that plus how you were a coach, maybe philosophies
that you took from family members who were educators and coachers.
When you look at how you, I guess approach coaching
in your style and where where do you kind of
get it from?
Speaker 3 (15:23):
Probably all of that, to be honest, you know, in
my career, our sport is is interesting. Ten years ago,
there wasn't a lot of coaching in our sport, so
I grew up and developed almost myself. Like I didn't
have coaches in beach volleyball, so I, you know, would
watch this person, do you know a certain skill or
(15:48):
run a certain drill, and I would adopt it. It
was a whole lot of just like monkey see, monkey do,
and and borrowing ideas and really training myself.
Speaker 2 (15:57):
And so I think.
Speaker 3 (15:59):
That also so helped, you know, like train my coaches
eye and develop some like coaching characteristics that have helped me.
But I think, you know, really my philosophy and kind
of what I've learned along the way is I mean,
it's a I like to coach the individual, like I
don't have a cookie cutter. Everybody's got to do do
(16:21):
it this way because to me, that's not the best approach.
And I think that approach could work, and it certainly
has to some degree. But if I'm going to get
the most out of my athletes, I want to meet
them where they're at and I want to see if
I can develop them as individuals.
Speaker 1 (16:37):
You mentioned no coaching in beach volleyball, and I want
to kind of pick up on that. Why was there
no coaching for beach volleyball? Was it just because the
players maybe knew more than the coaches and can teach themselves.
And now we're maybe at a point where that generation
and I'm gonna lump you into that great generation of
volleyball players that now are older and can't be coaches.
(16:59):
Is it just the evolution that way? Is that why
we have coaching now when beach volleyball?
Speaker 3 (17:04):
You know, it's I think part of it is money, right,
Coaching costs money, and the way our sport has been
set up traditionally, you only get paid if you depending
on how well you do in tournaments, right, And so
it just wasn't and especially if you're playing you know, internationally,
you're traveling a bunch, Like those costs just add up
(17:27):
if you're also having a coach.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
You know, I and I did have.
Speaker 3 (17:31):
Some coaching like later on in my career, but it
was you know, for a few trainings here and there.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
It wasn't like a consistent, consistent thing.
Speaker 3 (17:39):
But really it just it became a bigger thing really
because of NCAA and obviously you have to have a
coach with these NCAA teams, so it created more coaching opportunities,
which is really cool.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
And then because of the NCAA.
Speaker 3 (17:52):
Growth, the club level and the junior level really took off,
and then there was more coaching opportunities at the club level.
So it's almost like there was more coaching at these
lower levels than there were at the professional levels.
Speaker 2 (18:06):
And it's still true to this day.
Speaker 3 (18:08):
You know, they're more and more pros are are, you know,
having coaches now, and now our national governing body USA
Volleyball is really supporting and providing coaching, you know, stipends
and money for coaches, so it's now become much more prevalent.
Speaker 2 (18:26):
But yeah, back in the day, it was.
Speaker 3 (18:29):
That was an additional cost and we didn't want to
spend that money, so we just we just went without.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
Derek Olsen is our guest. He's the first ever coach
at University of San Diego Beach Volleyball program, launching the
team for its inaugural twenty twenty seven season, and you
mentioned character early on. I want to talk about what
you're looking to do establishing this program. Certainly you're looking
for volleyball players that can play and be competitive and
ultimately win.
Speaker 2 (18:55):
But how are you setting up your program?
Speaker 1 (18:59):
It's maybe some found and some pillars that you want
to establish right away with culture at USD.
Speaker 2 (19:07):
Yeah, I mean for sure.
Speaker 3 (19:08):
I mean I think the point of this whole thing
is to win championships, right, But you're never going to
get there if you can't build culture first and build
a team that gets the most out of itself. And
so that's hard. I think that's, you know, probably the
hardest thing. But the goal is to establish that. I mean,
(19:30):
we want synergy, which is one plus one equals three.
That's what we wanted within our team. And you got
to have high character athletes that will get you there.
Speaker 2 (19:40):
So yeah, I mean character is a.
Speaker 3 (19:43):
Lot harder to recruit on because you have a limited
amount of time to get to know these athletes and
figure out what they're all about, and you know, you
get it wrong.
Speaker 2 (19:52):
Everybody gets it wrong.
Speaker 3 (19:55):
Watching skill and predicting skill is a lot easier because
it's you can watch film and get that, but you
know whether or not and an athlete communicates well gets
along well with others, you know, has a gritty mindset,
which is passion and perseverance towards long term goals. You
(20:16):
don't know like that those things are so much harder
to recruit on. So you know, we try and we
look at those things and we have some ideas as
to how we assess those characteristics and athletes.
Speaker 2 (20:28):
But at the end of the day, too, we're we're
recruiting high school kids. Like I was an idiot in
high school.
Speaker 3 (20:33):
If anybody judged me on my character, you know, hopefully
they would have seen some great things.
Speaker 2 (20:38):
But you know, we change, we grow, and so.
Speaker 3 (20:42):
You know, it's it's hard, but that's the goal is
to you know, bring in athletes that see this not
as the finish line, but as just the next step
in their progression. And I don't need, you know, nineteen
athletes that are trying to win gold medals eventually. I
just want that nineteen athletes that are about the game,
work well with others, and you know, are competitive.
Speaker 1 (21:06):
We get a lot of parents that listen and watch
you and coaches and administrators on this podcast, and I
think the biggest feedback I get is, you know, can
you ask him as a parent, you know, how do
I get my kid recruited?
Speaker 2 (21:22):
What are they looking for?
Speaker 1 (21:22):
And I think you're the perfect person to talk to
about it starting a program. You've been successful at the
Division one level and you're coaching a D one program,
and that's where a lot.
Speaker 2 (21:31):
Of parents and kids want to get to.
Speaker 1 (21:33):
Is that level. If I'm a parent and I want
to get my daughter or or I want to get
my child recruited into volleyball indoor outdoor to a Division
one school like yourselves, you know, what do I do?
Do I have to play the club circuit? Do I
need to reach out to the coaches? Well, the coaches
find my child that they're good enough? You know, what
(21:55):
do I need to do to get my kid to
a D one program?
Speaker 2 (21:59):
Yeah? I think.
Speaker 3 (22:00):
I think the biggest thing is to not worry about
things that are outside of your control. And so much
of that is outside of your control, what coaches think
of you, where coaches are going to be at, how
coaches are going.
Speaker 2 (22:11):
To respond, like, so much of.
Speaker 3 (22:12):
That is out of side of you know, the athlete
and the parents' control. And so I always say like, look,
you've got to just develop yourself and be as good
as you possibly can, because I guarantee you you're going
to open up more doors the better you are. And
you know, of course with that on court skill, there's
also that characteristic piece, you know, like work on your
(22:34):
body language, work on how you are as a teammate,
because when you get that opportunity in front of a coach, like,
you want to represent yourself in the best way possible.
But I see because I've you know, dealt with a
lot of parents at the club level as well and
have been on that side working with parents getting their
(22:54):
athletes recruited, and there's there can be so much energy
spent on you know, where they need to be, like,
you know, how are we going to get looked at?
Which is there's some truth to that obviously, and you
need to be in the right places, but that's very
very small in comparison to get as good as you
(23:17):
possibly can, Like it's as simple as that, and you
will find an home.
Speaker 2 (23:20):
You will find a home.
Speaker 3 (23:22):
Now with that being said, there's some there's some things
like you know, attending camps, institutional camps. I think that's
the best way because you get to work with coaches
and you know, get to usually see campus a little
bit and and you know, communicate with them in a
way that's a little bit unique. So to me that
would be, you know, probably a smart move. But man, like,
(23:47):
the one thing I would say is just like, focus
on what you can to be better.
Speaker 2 (23:51):
It's as simple as that, really, Yeah, no doubt.
Speaker 1 (23:53):
Derek Golsen is our guest here episode eighty four of
the Matters in Coaching podcast here on iHeartRadio, talking a
little bit about the program before it launches in twenty
twenty seven. What are your goals? Have you set goals
for year one? Have you set goals year three, year five?
Long term? And if so, what are those goals look like?
Speaker 3 (24:15):
Yeah, I mean I'd be lying if I if I
said that I didn't have any. Obviously, I'm a competitor.
I'm competitive. I want to be as good as I
possibly can. I want to eventually win some championships, you know,
and I'm a little bit impatient admittedly, Like I want
this thing to be good from the jump, but so
much of that is related to our athletes. And if
(24:40):
I just you know, impose my goals and what I
feel like I want to accomplish on them, I think
it's kind of robbing them of their experience and their process.
So you know, I have mine internally, you know, certainly,
you know, like like I.
Speaker 2 (24:56):
Said, I want to be really competitive.
Speaker 3 (24:58):
But that's something that we're going to discuss as a
team when I figure out, you know, which nineteen I
have at the beginning of school. We're going to go
through that process and say, all right, like what is
does what does success look like to us?
Speaker 2 (25:11):
Can we define it? Are we in control of that definition?
And what are our goals?
Speaker 3 (25:17):
But you know, it's important to set goals for sure,
because you need a north star, you need to know
where to go. But as cliches it sounds, it's all
about the process. So that outcome will you know, there's
no guarantee that you're going to win league or win
a championship or make NCAAs or whatever the goal is.
If you're not focused on the process. You know, the
(25:39):
process will increase the likelihood of that, but it's not
going to guarantee like anything can happen. So so yeah,
I think I think goals are really important to have
and collaborate with your team.
Speaker 1 (25:51):
Now, you mentioned you come from a family of educators
and coaches. You're a coach now yourself and have been
at an elite level, but found time to get your
master's in Coaching and Exercise Science from Throughqordia University of Irvine.
You got your degree from Oregon and you got your
mattress from Cordia. Talk a little bit about why it
was important for you, Derek, to get that matters in
(26:12):
coaching and exercise science.
Speaker 2 (26:14):
Yeah, I mean I knew it was always important.
Speaker 3 (26:17):
I mean, look, when I graduated from the University of Oregon,
I decided that I wasn't going to pet school.
Speaker 2 (26:23):
I was done with school.
Speaker 3 (26:25):
So it wasn't until I matured a little bit and
you know, found the passion for coaching that I realized, hey,
I might want to go back and you know, educate
myself further. But you know, it's difficult, especially when you're
holding down a full time job, to go back and
go back to school. And so you know, when when
(26:45):
COVID hit in twenty twenty, I was coaching at CAL
and I was the head coach. And after you know,
three weeks of the shutdown, I could sense that we're
in it for the long haul, Like this thing is
not coming back anytime soon. I'm gonna have a ton
of time on my hands. So that's when I decided,
this is the perfect time. Everything's going to be online,
(27:07):
you know, this is the perfect time to go and
get my masters.
Speaker 2 (27:10):
And so I started researching.
Speaker 3 (27:11):
Programs and Concordia, you know, they had enrollment applications due
like the next week or something like that. So I
just jumped in and uh and did it. And the
timing was was perfect, right while everybody else was. I
mean I absorbed some Netflix, don't get me wrong, but
while everybody else was just kind of living their best life,
(27:32):
you know, doing their own thing. I got a master's
and I actually spent a ton of time, uh writing
a journal book that I that I wanted to produce.
And so yeah, I had my fun too, and got
to hang out with my wife a bunch. But I
you know, made good use of the time that we
had because I know it was obviously a unique year
(27:55):
of not having to really work, and so yeah, I
just went for it.
Speaker 1 (28:01):
Right time, right place to get it done and talk
a little bit about the program and your experience in it,
and you know, we often hear, oh, okay, I was
going in with one mindset, and I learned a lot
from a coach in a different sport and kind of
talking path and watching the stream so to speak of
different sports kind of opens you up the new maybe
technique and philosophies and ways to approach coaching.
Speaker 3 (28:24):
Yeah, it was I mean, really the program, I didn't
really know what to expect, to be honest, because you
hear coaching and and you know, as a coach, I
was like, okay, I am a coach, Like, and I'm
going to learn how to be a coach, Like what
does this mean?
Speaker 2 (28:37):
Like is this just more of the same of what
I already know?
Speaker 3 (28:40):
But yeah, I mean, you know, the whole program is
really just this big exercise of being aware of self
and being aware of you know, what your philosophies are
and actually having to like put that in you know,
in writing and articulate that and express that. So you know,
(29:01):
it was really valuable for me, and obviously you know,
I went through it, and I would encourage anybody to
go through, you know, a master's and coaching because it
really forces you to it forces you to be a
better coach, to be honest, I mean, because if you
can't articulate your philosophy, if you can't articulate, you know,
(29:22):
like why you're doing what you're doing your core values,
then you probably haven't spent enough time, you know, honing
your craft.
Speaker 2 (29:31):
And so yeah, to me, it was it was really
valuable in that way.
Speaker 1 (29:35):
Nfortia does a coaching conference every spring and a lot
of the attendees are people going through the program, coaches
at lower levels, coaches who are new coaches to guiding
different sports and doing it at different levels. But it's
the high school level or college level. You've been through
this now in Division one level and you mentioned club
(29:55):
as well and professionally, what advice would you give a
young coach that getting into the profession and is wide
eyed and looking around and wants to get to where
you're at right now? What's the best advice would you
give to that person?
Speaker 3 (30:09):
Keep an open mind and say, yes, I mean literally,
fortune favors the bold, and you know, I've had to
take leaps that I didn't necessarily want to take. You know,
I've had to bet on myself a handful of times.
But you know that's what it takes. Like You've got
to be willing to do stuff that the next person
who wants the same position isn't willing to do and
so I think that's been, you know, crucial in my journey.
(30:35):
And then you know, just like I said saying yes,
meeting with people, having having an open mind, and you know,
not being somebody that does the same thing over and
over because that's what you've always done. I've changed and
evolved and that's part of my philosophy. I hope I'm
evolving every single year that I that I do this,
(30:58):
But it takes effort to do that.
Speaker 2 (31:00):
It's just not going to just happen naturally.
Speaker 3 (31:03):
So yeah, keeping an open mind on you know, skill acquisition, philosophy,
culture building, leadership, all these different things. I think if
you keep an open mind and you go for it,
you're going to land where you want to be as
long as you have the passion for it as well.
Speaker 1 (31:19):
Final thing, and I really appreciate the time. Let's talk
a little bit about beach volleyball as a whole. The
growth of the sports from the AVP Tour to international
to the Olympics to Division one college volleyball outdoors in
the sand. The sport has grown, and you talked about
now the coaching that has evolved in the last decade
(31:41):
or so, you've seen the growth of the sport. Where
can it go?
Speaker 2 (31:45):
Now?
Speaker 1 (31:46):
What do you think is next for the sport of
beach volleyball.
Speaker 3 (31:50):
Well, there's still plenty of programs to add, right, I mean,
we're still relatively small, I would say, as far as
you know sports go, and the number of institutions that
have programs, So there's still a ways to go as
far as you know schools adopting the sport. But you know,
even through the last few years, which have been financially
(32:10):
troublesome for a lot of for most schools, we've seen
growth and so I think it's just going to continue
to take off. And with that, with the with the
opportunities provided at n c A, it just only feeds
opportunities for the juniors. And we're really seeing this model
of like we're building like a very strong foundation for
(32:34):
our sport and it's going to eventually. It already is
and in a lot of ways, but it's eventually going
to trickle up and funnel towards the top and our
in our professional tour. I think our our professional Tour,
the a VP has a ways to go. It's been
you know, I don't know if I want to say struggling,
but it hasn't been as big as we all hope.
(32:56):
And I think with the interest that we have, you know,
below it, I think it's going to explode. We're seeing
our college game and our domestic game become way more international.
So a lot of international prospects are now playing in
college because they see the value of our system and
how we develop athletes and the training that they're getting.
(33:18):
So it's really become this globalized game at the college level.
And then you know, we're already seeing it represented at
the Olympics, but I think, you know in LA you're
going to see it. You know even more, how many
of those Olympic athletes in the in the women's game
went to college in the United States and played in
the NCAA system.
Speaker 2 (33:40):
And then the other area is the men's game.
Speaker 3 (33:43):
And you know, obviously you know with Title nine, and
there's some challenges that are still there, and you know,
I think there there is some growth with the men's
game at the college level, but hopefully there's more of
that in the future. But like I said, they have
some hurdles that are kind of unique to them.
Speaker 1 (34:05):
Well, Derek really appreciate the time enjoyed the conversation. I
know our listeners did as well. A unique perspective as
a player coach at the highest level and now starting
a program from the ground up with its inaugural season
in twenty twenty seven, A great perspective. Really enjoyed it.
Thank you so much for joining us here on the
Masters and Coaching podcast.
Speaker 2 (34:27):
Right.
Speaker 3 (34:27):
Thanks for having me, Tim, And don't be afraid to
follow us Instagram. I don't know our Instagram had all handle,
but find us. We're on there, and come out and
support us next season.
Speaker 1 (34:38):
All right, there, he goes. Derek Olsen, the head coach
of the beach volleyball program at the University of San Diego.
They don't play until twenty twenty seven. He was introduced
as the new head coach last fall, and he is
building that program literally brick by brick from the ground up.
Brand new facilities being worked on, and he's building that
program with his assistant coaches from scratch. What a journey
(35:01):
he has embarked on. He's had success at cal at
the University of Washington, a former player himself on the
AVP Tour, coach the national team at the Olympics from Morocco,
a lot of success as a coach and now embarking
on a new journey starting a program from scratch. Our
best at him and his coaching staff. No doubt, we'll
be keeping an eye on what Derek Olsen and the
(35:24):
USD Beach Volleyball Program do in the years to come.
You heard him. He was a graduate of the Masters
in Coaching and Exercise Science program at Concordia University, Irvine.
Different start times throughout the year. Find one that fits
your schedule. Find out more about the programs at CUI
dot edu slash Coaching. You get a one thousand dollars
(35:44):
scholarship for first time students in the program CUI dot
edu slash Coaching. Find out more about the program, how
you can do it online in person, and find out
when that next start time is to start that next
part of your career as a coach, administrator, and as
a leader. Again thanks to Derek Olsen, new Beach Volleyball
(36:08):
director of their program which starts in twenty twenty seven,
and he has hit the ground running now at USD.
Thanks to Derek, Thanks to you for listening watching being
a part of episode eighty four of the Masters in
coaching podcast until next time. Tim Kate saying so long, everybody,
From a player to a coach to now starting a
program from the ground up. He is University of San
Diego Beach volleyball head coach Derek Olsen, and he talks
about his unique journey and is now progressed to start
a program next on episode eighty four of the Masters
(00:20):
in Coaching podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Let's go.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
Well, welcome into episode eighty four the Masters in Coaching
podcasts Here on iHeartRadio or wherever you are consuming, we
certainly appreciate it. I am Tim Kates from A five
seventy LA Sports and iHeart Radio, and we are so
honored to have another guest here on the Masters in
Coaching podcast. And we've talked to a lot of coaches
and administrators, folks that have extended their careers into retirement,
(00:48):
those who are in the middle of their careers and excelling.
And it is so excited to talk to this week's
guests because not only he has he excelled everywhere he
has been, but now he's starting a new endeavor where
he's actually long. She need a Division one program that
doesn't start until twenty twenty seven, so we're gonna get
a fresh perspective on starting a program in twenty twenty
six and twenty twenty seven at the Division one level.
(01:11):
He of courses Derek Olsen, and he joins us now
from the University of San Diego. Derek, how you doing.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
I'm doing great. Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
Tim absolutely looking forward to this conversation. We've talked to
a lot of coaches and administrators, as I mentioned, and
none we're in that first phase of starting a program
maybe maybe first time coaches, maybe first time coaches at
a different level, and tried to figure it out. But
last fall you were named the new beach volleyball coach
(01:39):
in charge of the entire program at University of San
Diego and it's not starting until twenty twenty seven. So
what is it like for you right now?
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Well, it's different, right it's a unique opportunity.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
As you said, we don't have a team this year,
we're not competing, but it does provide me, you know,
a unique opportunity to have a runway to build this
thing out and do it the right way.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
So you know, I'm sure we'll dive in.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
But a lot of this year instead of you know,
practicing with the team and being with them daily, it's
recruiting and fundraising.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
Are the two main things.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
Do you have a facility already or is that something
in the works.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
It's in the work.
Speaker 3 (02:21):
So we actually just submitted plans to the city, the
goals to break around this summer and then to have
it done ideally by the time we report next September
when school starts. But they've kind of given us a
timeline of somewhere somewhere in the fall where it'll be
done and we'll be competing in twenty twenty seven on them.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
Now, this isn't your first coaching job, so you're you're
not fresh to this and you know, trying to figure
out as you go, but you sort of are building
the programmer. You've coached University of Washington, you coached at Cal,
you got extensive coaching the background at the elite beach
volleyball level, USA Volleyball, International Volleyball. What is this endeavor
like though? It was just something that was maybe part
(03:05):
of the challenge and part of the fun of starting
a program from ground zero.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
Absolutely, it really is a dream job. And I'm so
you know, I'm so loyal.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
To San Diego. I love this place.
Speaker 3 (03:19):
It's been a dream of mine to actually have this
job going back eight nine years ago. This is where
you know I used to live I consider home, and
so to have this opportunity come up has been, uh,
you know, really a dream come true.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
And it is.
Speaker 3 (03:36):
Yeah, it's it's a it's a challenge in a lot
of ways. But you know, with our sport, I think
it's considered the fastest growing sport in NCAA history. So
there's been a lot of you know, development and firsts.
And you know, even with my other two positions up
at University of Washington and then before that at UC Berkeley,
(03:59):
there was.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
A lot of developing and creating.
Speaker 3 (04:03):
And you know, because every program has kind of started
from you know, ground zero, but has taken a few
years to develop to you know, where they are now.
And so a lot of the things that I learned
from my previous stops I'm applying here. You know, Like
I don't think they would have hired a brand new
(04:24):
coach in position. They wanted somebody with experience, and I
kind of had that unique experience of you know, not
necessarily starting from the ground up, but putting a lot
of systems and you know, a lot of philosophies in
place to this startup.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
I was shocked to hear that.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
Correct me if I'm on wrong.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
University of San Diego this is the first D one
beach volleyball program in the San Diego area. Mean, we
think of West Coast volleyball, beach volleyball the epicenter for
you know, the volleyball circuits and high school volleyball and
you know Olympic volleyball. Is University of San Diego really
the first D one program to have beach volleyball in
(05:07):
that area.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
Yeah, yeah, it's true, I know it.
Speaker 3 (05:11):
You would have thought that it would have been, you know,
an established place within our sport from the beginning.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
But you know, credit to Kimya.
Speaker 3 (05:21):
Our athletic director, for launching this program and taking the
necessary step.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
So that we we do have a program.
Speaker 3 (05:28):
And I'll tell you what, the city has been really
forthcoming and their support and you know, appreciation for having
a school adopt the program. And so yeah, it's it's
been it's been really cool to see it.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
Why do you think it took so long for Division
one to have beach volleyball in the San Diego area.
There's other schools in that area. Why us D?
Speaker 2 (05:55):
Why? Now? Yeah, you know, that's a good question.
Speaker 3 (05:59):
And I think a lot of us that have been
in San Diego for the last ten plus years have
been asking those questions.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
And you know, I think for every schools it's different, right.
Speaker 3 (06:10):
Sometimes it comes down to a money issue, Sometimes it
comes down to a Title nine issue. Sometimes it's just
you know, what the ad wants or admin wants, and
so you know, I think, you know, I'm obviously biased,
but to me, it's a no brainer in San Diego,
and I think we'll be real competitive.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
You know, from the jump.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
I'm curious in the recruiting that you're doing to start
this program. And I asked this because I had daughters
that went through it in lacrosse, and I remember, you know,
looking at programs or maybe we're just starting across the
country at the Division one or Division two level, and okay,
there's an opportunity there. They don't have players already, they're
(06:51):
looking for players, they're looking to build a program, and
they're looking for young players. What is going to be
your philosophy? Have you started it as far as building
that initial team as a new program. Are you looking
for young players? Are you going to look into the
portal bringing experienced players a little bit of bullf Have
you figure out maybe a philosophy of how you're going
(07:12):
to start your program with players.
Speaker 3 (07:15):
Yeah, and that's something that me and my two coaches,
Mike Plachek and Jayden Whitmarsh, we're talking constantly about. You know,
it's tricky because we got to field an entire team.
Our roster limit is nineteen, so we got to have
you know, essentially nineteen by year one. But we don't
want nineteen incoming freshmen, right, we want to balanced roster.
(07:37):
The fortunate thing for us is the transfer portal makes
that job easier for us, so we can go out
and get athletes to have one year of eligibility, athletes
that have two three, so that we can start off
with a balanced roster. So that's fortunate for us. But
you know, I was thinking the other day, actually, I
(07:58):
have two young daughters, and I'm starting to think that, like,
my daughters are going to be around the program a lot.
So kind of my idea of recruiting, you know, on character,
which is I think the most important thing is like
who do I want to be role models for my daughters?
Which is, you know, a perspective that I haven't even
(08:18):
considered before, but it kind of gives me a new
lens to operate within. But yeah, I mean, this is
a unique opportunity, right, Like I have an entrepreneurial spirit.
I love the building and the creating something rather than
just jumping on something that's already well established and good,
you know. So I'm looking for individuals that share that,
(08:42):
you know, athletes that want to be a part of
that process and you know, see that vision as we do.
Because I think, yeah, like you said, it's a it's
a really unique opportunity to be the first.
Speaker 1 (08:53):
I imagine and I'm just speculating. I'm I'm guessing your
inbox for your email and your assistance is getting filled
up pretty quickly on a daily basis. And now knowing
that USD is going to have a D one Beach
Volleyball program, you probably don't have to go out and
sell the program, Derek, because I imagine you're getting flooded
(09:15):
with kids looking to come to your program because of
the location, being the D one program and being a
new program. Am I right that? I mean you're probably
getting indudated with kids that are just trying to get
into your program.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
Yeah, I mean we're seeing it, you know through our
email box. We have camps ongoing and they're filling up
within you know hours, to be honest, Wow, So yeah,
I mean I kind of expected it to some degree,
but probably not at this level.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
And you know, we're you know, we're just we're just starting.
Speaker 3 (09:49):
So I think when we kind of establish our identity
a little bit and establish you know, how good we
can be, I think that's only gonna get become more.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
So we're going to.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
Get more to the program. Some of your philosophies you
mentioned character is going to be a big thing for you,
and I want to touch on that in a minute,
but I kind of want to go back to how
you got into coaching. You're a former player, but you
played indoor volleyball and then went out and played outdoor volleyball.
You played on the AVP Tour, and then you got
into coaching. Why what was it about coaching at that
(10:22):
point you said, I want to get into it. I
want to coach beach volleyball.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (10:26):
I grew up in a family of educators, so my
mom taught elementary school, my dad was a pe teacher
and a volleyball coach.
Speaker 2 (10:36):
My grand grandfather.
Speaker 3 (10:38):
High school coach, high school teacher, uncles, you know, so
it's kind of been what I've grown up in. But
you know, I started playing volleyball at the University of Oregon,
actually on their club team, and I grew up around
it because, as I said, my dad coached and he
ran his own club and he played, and so I
(10:59):
always kind of was interested and curious about the sport,
but it was a girl sport where where I'm from
at the time, and so I never really had access
to it. And then finally at the University of Oregon,
you know, I tried out and made the team, and
I was terrible, but I at least kind of knew
what the game was supposed to look like and supposed
to be. So for whatever reason, I became addicted and
(11:21):
it was I remember the first couple of years just
like frustrated every day because I wanted to be better
in it and it's.
Speaker 2 (11:28):
A hard sport.
Speaker 3 (11:29):
But I think finding that at nineteen and going through
like the very beginning stages of it kind of gave
me a unique perspective of how that process is and
I could actually like absorb it and comprehend the you know,
very beginner all the way through to you know, the
professional level, and so that gave me a unique perspective
(11:51):
something that I've leaned on in my coaching career. But
when I graduated from the University of Oregon in two
thousand and six, I moved down to San Diego, you know,
with with goals to be a professional beach volleyball player.
Speaker 2 (12:03):
And so, you know, I worked hard at it.
Speaker 3 (12:05):
I sacrificed a lot, I you know, accomplished a lot
of goals. I had to keep moving the goalpost, if
you will, and got way better than I ever thought
I could. And that actually, throughout that process gave me
confidence that you know, I never really knew that I had.
It's not like I was lacking self esteem or anything
(12:27):
like that, but I had never done something like that
where I put years into my development for something and
saw the you know, the product of that, which was
really cool.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
And eye opening to me.
Speaker 3 (12:38):
And it kind of gave me this recipe for success, like, hey,
this can actually apply to other domains, this can apply
across the board, and I kind of lived it, and so,
you know, there's a point in time where I was
I was coaching towards the end of my career, and
I always say, you know, the switch for me was
(12:59):
what you used to keep me up at night was
my own like practice, my own training, my own competition's
coming up. Then for whatever reason, all of a sudden,
it switched to how am I going to train my
athletes tomorrow? How am I going to get this person better?
And thinking about drills and ideas for them, And then
it was just kind of a you know, the riding
(13:20):
was on the wall, you know, because I still had
plenty of years in me physically, but I just kind
of knew with that mind shift that I wanted to
pursue coaching.
Speaker 1 (13:31):
What is it about coaching at the college level? Because
you've coached Olympic teams, part of the Morocco national team,
a club level, elite volleyball levels of coaching.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
Up and down the board.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
But why do you being you settled maybe at the
D one level and what you've been doing at Cal
Washington and now USD.
Speaker 3 (13:50):
Yeah, I mean it's the perfect environment because I mean
there's I believe in a very holistic approach to this
whole thing. And it's not just you know, the skills
and drills that you do on the court during practice.
There's so much more that goes into it. And so
this system, this environment actually allows us to dive deeper
(14:12):
into those other areas strength and conditioning, nutrition, mental skills,
you name it. There's a bunch that goes into it,
and you get the same players for an entire year
that you get to just like really spend time with
and develop and and to me, that's that's really cool.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
At the club level, you know, you get them.
Speaker 3 (14:31):
For practice, but there's not a ton of time outside
of practice that you know you can help develop them.
So it's a unique, unique environment, but it's really really
cool and you get to be really hands on.
Speaker 1 (14:46):
You mentioned that when you were pursuing that pro career
at the Grind you went through and and just the
process and then flipping that switch, as you said, from
a player's mentality to a coach's mentality. When you look
at your style of coaching and how you you know,
work your programs and in your players, is it based
(15:07):
on that process that you went through. Is it based
on that plus how you were a coach, maybe philosophies
that you took from family members who were educators and coachers.
When you look at how you, I guess approach coaching
in your style and where where do you kind of
get it from?
Speaker 3 (15:23):
Probably all of that, to be honest, you know, in
my career, our sport is is interesting. Ten years ago,
there wasn't a lot of coaching in our sport, so
I grew up and developed almost myself. Like I didn't
have coaches in beach volleyball, so I, you know, would
watch this person, do you know a certain skill or
(15:48):
run a certain drill, and I would adopt it. It
was a whole lot of just like monkey see, monkey do,
and and borrowing ideas and really training myself.
Speaker 2 (15:57):
And so I think.
Speaker 3 (15:59):
That also so helped, you know, like train my coaches
eye and develop some like coaching characteristics that have helped me.
But I think, you know, really my philosophy and kind
of what I've learned along the way is I mean,
it's a I like to coach the individual, like I
don't have a cookie cutter. Everybody's got to do do
(16:21):
it this way because to me, that's not the best approach.
And I think that approach could work, and it certainly
has to some degree. But if I'm going to get
the most out of my athletes, I want to meet
them where they're at and I want to see if
I can develop them as individuals.
Speaker 1 (16:37):
You mentioned no coaching in beach volleyball, and I want
to kind of pick up on that. Why was there
no coaching for beach volleyball? Was it just because the
players maybe knew more than the coaches and can teach themselves.
And now we're maybe at a point where that generation
and I'm gonna lump you into that great generation of
volleyball players that now are older and can't be coaches.
(16:59):
Is it just the evolution that way? Is that why
we have coaching now when beach volleyball?
Speaker 3 (17:04):
You know, it's I think part of it is money, right,
Coaching costs money, and the way our sport has been
set up traditionally, you only get paid if you depending
on how well you do in tournaments, right, And so
it just wasn't and especially if you're playing you know, internationally,
you're traveling a bunch, Like those costs just add up
(17:27):
if you're also having a coach.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
You know, I and I did have.
Speaker 3 (17:31):
Some coaching like later on in my career, but it
was you know, for a few trainings here and there.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
It wasn't like a consistent, consistent thing.
Speaker 3 (17:39):
But really it just it became a bigger thing really
because of NCAA and obviously you have to have a
coach with these NCAA teams, so it created more coaching opportunities,
which is really cool.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
And then because of the NCAA.
Speaker 3 (17:52):
Growth, the club level and the junior level really took off,
and then there was more coaching opportunities at the club level.
So it's almost like there was more coaching at these
lower levels than there were at the professional levels.
Speaker 2 (18:06):
And it's still true to this day.
Speaker 3 (18:08):
You know, they're more and more pros are are, you know,
having coaches now, and now our national governing body USA
Volleyball is really supporting and providing coaching, you know, stipends
and money for coaches, so it's now become much more prevalent.
Speaker 2 (18:26):
But yeah, back in the day, it was.
Speaker 3 (18:29):
That was an additional cost and we didn't want to
spend that money, so we just we just went without.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
Derek Olsen is our guest. He's the first ever coach
at University of San Diego Beach Volleyball program, launching the
team for its inaugural twenty twenty seven season, and you
mentioned character early on. I want to talk about what
you're looking to do establishing this program. Certainly you're looking
for volleyball players that can play and be competitive and
ultimately win.
Speaker 2 (18:55):
But how are you setting up your program?
Speaker 1 (18:59):
It's maybe some found and some pillars that you want
to establish right away with culture at USD.
Speaker 2 (19:07):
Yeah, I mean for sure.
Speaker 3 (19:08):
I mean I think the point of this whole thing
is to win championships, right, But you're never going to
get there if you can't build culture first and build
a team that gets the most out of itself. And
so that's hard. I think that's, you know, probably the
hardest thing. But the goal is to establish that. I mean,
(19:30):
we want synergy, which is one plus one equals three.
That's what we wanted within our team. And you got
to have high character athletes that will get you there.
Speaker 2 (19:40):
So yeah, I mean character is a.
Speaker 3 (19:43):
Lot harder to recruit on because you have a limited
amount of time to get to know these athletes and
figure out what they're all about, and you know, you
get it wrong.
Speaker 2 (19:52):
Everybody gets it wrong.
Speaker 3 (19:55):
Watching skill and predicting skill is a lot easier because
it's you can watch film and get that, but you
know whether or not and an athlete communicates well gets
along well with others, you know, has a gritty mindset,
which is passion and perseverance towards long term goals. You
(20:16):
don't know like that those things are so much harder
to recruit on. So you know, we try and we
look at those things and we have some ideas as
to how we assess those characteristics and athletes.
Speaker 2 (20:28):
But at the end of the day, too, we're we're
recruiting high school kids. Like I was an idiot in
high school.
Speaker 3 (20:33):
If anybody judged me on my character, you know, hopefully
they would have seen some great things.
Speaker 2 (20:38):
But you know, we change, we grow, and so.
Speaker 3 (20:42):
You know, it's it's hard, but that's the goal is
to you know, bring in athletes that see this not
as the finish line, but as just the next step
in their progression. And I don't need, you know, nineteen
athletes that are trying to win gold medals eventually. I
just want that nineteen athletes that are about the game,
work well with others, and you know, are competitive.
Speaker 1 (21:06):
We get a lot of parents that listen and watch
you and coaches and administrators on this podcast, and I
think the biggest feedback I get is, you know, can
you ask him as a parent, you know, how do
I get my kid recruited?
Speaker 2 (21:22):
What are they looking for?
Speaker 1 (21:22):
And I think you're the perfect person to talk to
about it starting a program. You've been successful at the
Division one level and you're coaching a D one program,
and that's where a lot.
Speaker 2 (21:31):
Of parents and kids want to get to.
Speaker 1 (21:33):
Is that level. If I'm a parent and I want
to get my daughter or or I want to get
my child recruited into volleyball indoor outdoor to a Division
one school like yourselves, you know, what do I do?
Do I have to play the club circuit? Do I
need to reach out to the coaches? Well, the coaches
find my child that they're good enough? You know, what
(21:55):
do I need to do to get my kid to
a D one program?
Speaker 2 (21:59):
Yeah? I think.
Speaker 3 (22:00):
I think the biggest thing is to not worry about
things that are outside of your control. And so much
of that is outside of your control, what coaches think
of you, where coaches are going to be at, how
coaches are going.
Speaker 2 (22:11):
To respond, like, so much of.
Speaker 3 (22:12):
That is out of side of you know, the athlete
and the parents' control. And so I always say like, look,
you've got to just develop yourself and be as good
as you possibly can, because I guarantee you you're going
to open up more doors the better you are. And
you know, of course with that on court skill, there's
also that characteristic piece, you know, like work on your
(22:34):
body language, work on how you are as a teammate,
because when you get that opportunity in front of a coach, like,
you want to represent yourself in the best way possible.
But I see because I've you know, dealt with a
lot of parents at the club level as well and
have been on that side working with parents getting their
(22:54):
athletes recruited, and there's there can be so much energy
spent on you know, where they need to be, like,
you know, how are we going to get looked at?
Which is there's some truth to that obviously, and you
need to be in the right places, but that's very
very small in comparison to get as good as you
(23:17):
possibly can, Like it's as simple as that, and you
will find an home.
Speaker 2 (23:20):
You will find a home.
Speaker 3 (23:22):
Now with that being said, there's some there's some things
like you know, attending camps, institutional camps. I think that's
the best way because you get to work with coaches
and you know, get to usually see campus a little
bit and and you know, communicate with them in a
way that's a little bit unique. So to me that
would be, you know, probably a smart move. But man, like,
(23:47):
the one thing I would say is just like, focus
on what you can to be better.
Speaker 2 (23:51):
It's as simple as that, really, Yeah, no doubt.
Speaker 1 (23:53):
Derek Golsen is our guest here episode eighty four of
the Matters in Coaching podcast here on iHeartRadio, talking a
little bit about the program before it launches in twenty
twenty seven. What are your goals? Have you set goals
for year one? Have you set goals year three, year five?
Long term? And if so, what are those goals look like?
Speaker 3 (24:15):
Yeah, I mean I'd be lying if I if I
said that I didn't have any. Obviously, I'm a competitor.
I'm competitive. I want to be as good as I
possibly can. I want to eventually win some championships, you know,
and I'm a little bit impatient admittedly, Like I want
this thing to be good from the jump, but so
much of that is related to our athletes. And if
(24:40):
I just you know, impose my goals and what I
feel like I want to accomplish on them, I think
it's kind of robbing them of their experience and their process.
So you know, I have mine internally, you know, certainly,
you know, like like I.
Speaker 2 (24:56):
Said, I want to be really competitive.
Speaker 3 (24:58):
But that's something that we're going to discuss as a
team when I figure out, you know, which nineteen I
have at the beginning of school. We're going to go
through that process and say, all right, like what is
does what does success look like to us?
Speaker 2 (25:11):
Can we define it? Are we in control of that definition?
And what are our goals?
Speaker 3 (25:17):
But you know, it's important to set goals for sure,
because you need a north star, you need to know
where to go. But as cliches it sounds, it's all
about the process. So that outcome will you know, there's
no guarantee that you're going to win league or win
a championship or make NCAAs or whatever the goal is.
If you're not focused on the process. You know, the
(25:39):
process will increase the likelihood of that, but it's not
going to guarantee like anything can happen. So so yeah,
I think I think goals are really important to have
and collaborate with your team.
Speaker 1 (25:51):
Now, you mentioned you come from a family of educators
and coaches. You're a coach now yourself and have been
at an elite level, but found time to get your
master's in Coaching and Exercise Science from Throughqordia University of Irvine.
You got your degree from Oregon and you got your
mattress from Cordia. Talk a little bit about why it
was important for you, Derek, to get that matters in
(26:12):
coaching and exercise science.
Speaker 2 (26:14):
Yeah, I mean I knew it was always important.
Speaker 3 (26:17):
I mean, look, when I graduated from the University of Oregon,
I decided that I wasn't going to pet school.
Speaker 2 (26:23):
I was done with school.
Speaker 3 (26:25):
So it wasn't until I matured a little bit and
you know, found the passion for coaching that I realized, hey,
I might want to go back and you know, educate
myself further. But you know, it's difficult, especially when you're
holding down a full time job, to go back and
go back to school. And so you know, when when
(26:45):
COVID hit in twenty twenty, I was coaching at CAL
and I was the head coach. And after you know,
three weeks of the shutdown, I could sense that we're
in it for the long haul, Like this thing is
not coming back anytime soon. I'm gonna have a ton
of time on my hands. So that's when I decided,
this is the perfect time. Everything's going to be online,
(27:07):
you know, this is the perfect time to go and
get my masters.
Speaker 2 (27:10):
And so I started researching.
Speaker 3 (27:11):
Programs and Concordia, you know, they had enrollment applications due
like the next week or something like that. So I
just jumped in and uh and did it. And the
timing was was perfect, right while everybody else was. I
mean I absorbed some Netflix, don't get me wrong, but
while everybody else was just kind of living their best life,
(27:32):
you know, doing their own thing. I got a master's
and I actually spent a ton of time, uh writing
a journal book that I that I wanted to produce.
And so yeah, I had my fun too, and got
to hang out with my wife a bunch. But I
you know, made good use of the time that we
had because I know it was obviously a unique year
(27:55):
of not having to really work, and so yeah, I
just went for it.
Speaker 1 (28:01):
Right time, right place to get it done and talk
a little bit about the program and your experience in it,
and you know, we often hear, oh, okay, I was
going in with one mindset, and I learned a lot
from a coach in a different sport and kind of
talking path and watching the stream so to speak of
different sports kind of opens you up the new maybe
technique and philosophies and ways to approach coaching.
Speaker 3 (28:24):
Yeah, it was I mean, really the program, I didn't
really know what to expect, to be honest, because you
hear coaching and and you know, as a coach, I
was like, okay, I am a coach, Like, and I'm
going to learn how to be a coach, Like what
does this mean?
Speaker 2 (28:37):
Like is this just more of the same of what
I already know?
Speaker 3 (28:40):
But yeah, I mean, you know, the whole program is
really just this big exercise of being aware of self
and being aware of you know, what your philosophies are
and actually having to like put that in you know,
in writing and articulate that and express that. So you know,
(29:01):
it was really valuable for me, and obviously you know,
I went through it, and I would encourage anybody to
go through, you know, a master's and coaching because it
really forces you to it forces you to be a
better coach, to be honest, I mean, because if you
can't articulate your philosophy, if you can't articulate, you know,
(29:22):
like why you're doing what you're doing your core values,
then you probably haven't spent enough time, you know, honing
your craft.
Speaker 2 (29:31):
And so yeah, to me, it was it was really
valuable in that way.
Speaker 1 (29:35):
Nfortia does a coaching conference every spring and a lot
of the attendees are people going through the program, coaches
at lower levels, coaches who are new coaches to guiding
different sports and doing it at different levels. But it's
the high school level or college level. You've been through
this now in Division one level and you mentioned club
(29:55):
as well and professionally, what advice would you give a
young coach that getting into the profession and is wide
eyed and looking around and wants to get to where
you're at right now? What's the best advice would you
give to that person?
Speaker 3 (30:09):
Keep an open mind and say, yes, I mean literally,
fortune favors the bold, and you know, I've had to
take leaps that I didn't necessarily want to take. You know,
I've had to bet on myself a handful of times.
But you know that's what it takes. Like You've got
to be willing to do stuff that the next person
who wants the same position isn't willing to do and
so I think that's been, you know, crucial in my journey.
(30:35):
And then you know, just like I said saying yes,
meeting with people, having having an open mind, and you know,
not being somebody that does the same thing over and
over because that's what you've always done. I've changed and
evolved and that's part of my philosophy. I hope I'm
evolving every single year that I that I do this,
(30:58):
But it takes effort to do that.
Speaker 2 (31:00):
It's just not going to just happen naturally.
Speaker 3 (31:03):
So yeah, keeping an open mind on you know, skill acquisition, philosophy,
culture building, leadership, all these different things. I think if
you keep an open mind and you go for it,
you're going to land where you want to be as
long as you have the passion for it as well.
Speaker 1 (31:19):
Final thing, and I really appreciate the time. Let's talk
a little bit about beach volleyball as a whole. The
growth of the sports from the AVP Tour to international
to the Olympics to Division one college volleyball outdoors in
the sand. The sport has grown, and you talked about
now the coaching that has evolved in the last decade
(31:41):
or so, you've seen the growth of the sport. Where
can it go?
Speaker 2 (31:45):
Now?
Speaker 1 (31:46):
What do you think is next for the sport of
beach volleyball.
Speaker 3 (31:50):
Well, there's still plenty of programs to add, right, I mean,
we're still relatively small, I would say, as far as
you know sports go, and the number of institutions that
have programs, So there's still a ways to go as
far as you know schools adopting the sport. But you know,
even through the last few years, which have been financially
(32:10):
troublesome for a lot of for most schools, we've seen
growth and so I think it's just going to continue
to take off. And with that, with the with the
opportunities provided at n c A, it just only feeds
opportunities for the juniors. And we're really seeing this model
of like we're building like a very strong foundation for
(32:34):
our sport and it's going to eventually. It already is
and in a lot of ways, but it's eventually going
to trickle up and funnel towards the top and our
in our professional tour. I think our our professional Tour,
the a VP has a ways to go. It's been
you know, I don't know if I want to say struggling,
but it hasn't been as big as we all hope.
(32:56):
And I think with the interest that we have, you know,
below it, I think it's going to explode. We're seeing
our college game and our domestic game become way more international.
So a lot of international prospects are now playing in
college because they see the value of our system and
how we develop athletes and the training that they're getting.
(33:18):
So it's really become this globalized game at the college level.
And then you know, we're already seeing it represented at
the Olympics, but I think, you know in LA you're
going to see it. You know even more, how many
of those Olympic athletes in the in the women's game
went to college in the United States and played in
the NCAA system.
Speaker 2 (33:40):
And then the other area is the men's game.
Speaker 3 (33:43):
And you know, obviously you know with Title nine, and
there's some challenges that are still there, and you know,
I think there there is some growth with the men's
game at the college level, but hopefully there's more of
that in the future. But like I said, they have
some hurdles that are kind of unique to them.
Speaker 1 (34:05):
Well, Derek really appreciate the time enjoyed the conversation. I
know our listeners did as well. A unique perspective as
a player coach at the highest level and now starting
a program from the ground up with its inaugural season
in twenty twenty seven, A great perspective. Really enjoyed it.
Thank you so much for joining us here on the
Masters and Coaching podcast.
Speaker 2 (34:27):
Right.
Speaker 3 (34:27):
Thanks for having me, Tim, And don't be afraid to
follow us Instagram. I don't know our Instagram had all handle,
but find us. We're on there, and come out and
support us next season.
Speaker 1 (34:38):
All right, there, he goes. Derek Olsen, the head coach
of the beach volleyball program at the University of San Diego.
They don't play until twenty twenty seven. He was introduced
as the new head coach last fall, and he is
building that program literally brick by brick from the ground up.
Brand new facilities being worked on, and he's building that
program with his assistant coaches from scratch. What a journey
(35:01):
he has embarked on. He's had success at cal at
the University of Washington, a former player himself on the
AVP Tour, coach the national team at the Olympics from Morocco,
a lot of success as a coach and now embarking
on a new journey starting a program from scratch. Our
best at him and his coaching staff. No doubt, we'll
be keeping an eye on what Derek Olsen and the
(35:24):
USD Beach Volleyball Program do in the years to come.
You heard him. He was a graduate of the Masters
in Coaching and Exercise Science program at Concordia University, Irvine.
Different start times throughout the year. Find one that fits
your schedule. Find out more about the programs at CUI
dot edu slash Coaching. You get a one thousand dollars
(35:44):
scholarship for first time students in the program CUI dot
edu slash Coaching. Find out more about the program, how
you can do it online in person, and find out
when that next start time is to start that next
part of your career as a coach, administrator, and as
a leader. Again thanks to Derek Olsen, new Beach Volleyball
(36:08):
director of their program which starts in twenty twenty seven,
and he has hit the ground running now at USD.
Thanks to Derek, Thanks to you for listening watching being
a part of episode eighty four of the Masters in
coaching podcast until next time. Tim Kate saying so long, everybody,
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