TV – 20 questions Think Volleyball Inquiry, version 1c
This month we have
the honor of receiving another legend of volleyball, Hugh
McCutcheon. With a brilliant speech, Hugh takes us, step by step, through his view of how to make volleyball better. Among other
things, Hugh is best known for being the former head coach of the US
men's national volleyball team, the former head coach of the US women's
national volleyball team, and the current head coach of the University
of Minnesota's women's volleyball team. So, let's hear Hugh thinking
volleyball.
1 - Volleyball is the 4 or 5th sport in the world
with a wider base of fans, even greater than basketball. What should be
made to communicate and show better this sport that so many millions
practice and love?
Hugh McCutcheon:
We need to increase television
exposure, and part of that is figuring out whether we try to manage
match duration through a different scoring system. In addition, as much
as we need to market the athletes who play this game, we also need to
connect people to the game itself. The skills in volleyball are
complicated, as are many of the rules, so it’s not easy for
non-volleyball people to understand and appreciate our sport. Everyone
can kick or bounce a ball, or hit it with a stick, but not everyone can
pass and spike. We need to create an audience through an appreciation
and understanding of what makes our sport so great and so unique.
2
- Concepts like NBA make the show and the sport themselves. Do you
think volleyball, as a show, would benefit from concepts like those? If
yes, how and where should it be built? World League? In a strong
national league like NBA?
Hugh McCutcheon:
I think National Leagues
are the best vehicle for creating the ‘show’. These leagues are more
agile in terms of making changes than National Federations. Also they
can customize the way they package the events based on what marketing
strategies best suit their particular demographic. International
volleyball should still be a great spectacle, but that should be more a
function of the level of play – not the events surrounding it.
3
– Means and goals, strategy and principles. Are there any limits in
strategy to the victory? For example, do you admit pressure inside the
court, with your players bullying players from the opposite team? What
are the limits? And when you want to hire a certain player, should there
be a regulation to the way athletes are contacted and by whom?
Hugh McCutcheon:
Say
and do everything you can to help your team win the next point – simple
to say, very hard to do. It takes a commitment from the coaches to
teach and an equal commitment from the athletes to learn.
4 -
How do countries like Italy manage to stay at the top for so many
years, how did countries like Poland, Germany or France reach the top
and how can countries with tradition in volleyball like Portugal and
Spain, among others, get there?
Hugh McCutcheon:
Some countries, like
Italy, have a strong history of success in Volleyball. They have strong
leagues, great coaching and strong grass-roots programs. For other
countries to emerge, they have to find their own competitive advantages
and try to leverage those through hard and smart work and the creative
use of resources.
5 – When you travel with your team, to
traineeships or competitions, do you defend that the team should be
isolated in a bubble, with no contact with the “outside world”, or, on
the contrary, you think that the team should promote the contact with
local reality, including or not the adversaries, like we see, for
example, before great matches in the ATP world tour? What are the
advantages or disadvantages of each option?
Hugh McCutcheon:
When we
travel it’s a business trip, not a vacation, so we do what we need do to
prepare for competition – regardless of our location. If we get an
opportunity to experience the local culture then we will absolutely take
it, but only if our commitments to the competition have been met.
6
- Do you think that the sport taught in schools would benefit from
specialized school subjects that could be an option in the
pre-university and university years, like we see in some countries, like
the subject “indoor volleyball” or “beach volleyball”, even if the
graduation is different, in theory, like, e.g., Law or Architecture, and
is it essential, like in the USA, that the sport in the university
should be considered as a foreground to the main leagues, as athletes
are much more mature than in the younger leagues?
Hugh McCutcheon:
I
think it certainly should be considered as a possible pathway for
athlete development. USA does not have a professional league but it’s
college programs have been a great feeder system for the National Team
programs.
7 - Something you learned in volleyball that you take to your attitude before everything:
Hugh McCutcheon:
Control the things you can control and give best effort in everything you do.
8 - Something you learned outside volleyball that you bring into it:
Hugh McCutcheon:
Connecting with people, in real and authentic ways, makes collaboration and the achievement of Team goals possible.
9
– Literature, Arts, Cinema, and volleyball: is there any fictional work
that you know that puts us inside this sport? And what non fictional
book is your “bible” in volleyball?
Hugh McCutcheon:
I don’t know of
any fictional work that has impacted my volleyball career. I read
non-fiction when I can (but I have a job that gets in the way of my
reading!). I can’t say that there’s one book that’s my “go-to”. Like
most coaches though, I’m always working to improve my knowledge base.
10 - What changes in the game would make it better?
Hugh McCutcheon:
We
need to try and standardize match duration, it is currently a barrier
to televising our sport. In addition, we should encourage any rule
changes that extend rally’s, decrease unforced errors, and make our
sport accessible (easier to understand) for spectators.
11 - Tell us a secret about your work that you think makes it singular:
Hugh McCutcheon:
There’s no secret – just the work.
12 - Can an athlete reach excellency without wining? Why?
Hugh McCutcheon:
Of
course – we can only become the best we can become. We cannot control
if others are better. Just because you lose doesn’t mean you’re a loser.
13-Which
is the most important part of the game (give us a detailed view of each
technical gesture and each part of the game) for you?
Hugh McCutcheon:
Our game is disproportionally weighted towards serving and passing.
14 – What do you think about, and how do you manage, internal competition in the team?
Hugh McCutcheon:
I
think internal competition is a critical part of successful teams. We
teach and encourage our athletes to embrace the moment of competition.
15 - Leave a message to athletes with the essence of what you think they should put in volleyball and can make them and the sport great:
16 - The same to coaches:
17 - Finally, the same to directive staff:
Hugh McCutcheon:
For all: Teams become successful through the combined effort and commitment of everyone involved. Coaches, Players, Staff - everyone has the ability to help the team. It is up to everyone to understand this, and then say and do everything they can to help the team win the next point. That unity of effort, energy and intent leads to success.
18 - Your Idol in Volleyball, and why:
Hugh McCutcheon:
I don’t think I have a volleyball idol but I’ve learned a lot from Carl McGown and Doug Beal.
19 - Your idol in sports, and why:
Hugh McCutcheon:
Possibly MJ (Michael Jordan)? But I have admired many sports people over the years.
20 - Your idol in life, and why:
Hugh McCutcheon:
My parents and my family. They have taught me how to live and how to love.
Thank you, Hugh McCutcheon. Let's make volleyball better. This in an independent inquiry, both in questions and in answers.
TV – Think Volleyball (from volleyballers to volleyballers) – PG-M Pedro Guilherme-Moreira
