Coach Chijo Podcast

Three hours of driving. One way. Just to attend volleyball practice. That's the reality for some young volleyball players on the Navajo Nation. Coach Chijo visits Kayenta, Arizona, to sit down with Andrea Ashkie, director of Velocity Volleyball Club, to learn what it takes to create volleyball opportunities in a community where distance, expenses, and limited facilities present enormous challenges. Andrea shares how she went from playing volleyball on the reservation to competing at the colle...

What can chickens teach volleyball players? Apparently, quite a bit! Coach Chijo visits longtime friend and fellow coach Hollen in rural Idaho, where a conversation surrounded by chickens turns into a lesson about hesitation, hustle, and the importance of simply going for the ball. After unexpectedly running a 6 AM middle school volleyball practice, Chijo and Hollen discuss how to get young players moving, why coaches should sometimes talk less, and how game-like training can make practices m...

Why aren't more boys playing volleyball? Coach Chijo sits down with Jake Wu, a high school senior and boys' volleyball setter from Boulder, Colorado, to explore why boys' volleyball hasn't grown as quickly as girls' volleyball and what might help change that. They discuss the shortage of youth teams, the differences between the boys' and girls' games, serving strategies, the mental challenges of competition, and why some players don't discover volleyball until high school. Jake also shares hi...

What if you had to board a plane every time your high school volleyball team traveled to an away game? That's everyday life for volleyball players in Juneau, Alaska! Coach Chijo takes the podcast onto a boat in beautiful Southeast Alaska for a conversation with Juneau-Douglas Crimson Bears head coach Arnold Ibias and players Bree Powers and Nellie Stowers. With only two teams in their conference and no roads connecting Juneau to other cities, traveling to compete is a major undertaking. The t...

Wait… snow volleyball is actually a real thing? Coach Chijo sits down with Coach Betül Çetin, an accomplished indoor, beach, and snow volleyball athlete from Türkiye who has competed internationally and now brings that experience to coaching. Coach Betül won bronze representing Türkiye at the 2012 U16 World Championship in indoor volleyball. In beach volleyball, she became the first female athlete from Türkiye to compete at the Youth Olympic Games when she represented her country at the 2014 ...