Latest / Set 6: The Official MLV Podcast / Episode 009 | Inside Omaha's New Era with Chris McGown

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Episode 009 | Inside Omaha's New Era with Chris McGown · Set 6: The Official MLV Podcast

• speaker-0: I I love our roster coming into the twenty six-twenty-seven season. It's just gonna be this really, really high quality group of group of athletes in terms of talent, group of athletes in terms of character. It's it's a super good group. speaker-1: What's going on? Welcome to the Set 6 Podcast. This is the official podcast of Major League Volleyball. This is episode 9. Thank you so much for tuning in, everyone. I'm Severin Lavinstein. I'm your host. And yeah, we appreciate you being here on whatever podcast platform is your platform of choice. Apple, Spotify, YouTube, whatever it is. We thank you for making us part of your day, part of your week, part of your weekend, maybe. And ⁓ yeah, before this episode, please go listen to episode eight, an amazing conversation with Alicia Alicia Childress, the new head coach of the Los Angeles MLV team. One of my favorite interviews to date, Alicia was fantastic. Thank you so much to Alicia for that. And please go listen to that. Our extensive library going back ⁓ eight episodes prior to this one, a lot of great stuff for you on YouTube leading up to this. Excited today to talk to new the new head coach of the Omaha Supernovas. Chris McGown, another amazing conversation. Chris was fantastic. Looking forward to that chat with you all as well. But we're looking forward to this show as ⁓ as well. In addition to that, ⁓ the format is going to be news, then Chris, and then just a little bit of what I'm up to to wrap it up. We've got a slightly longer interview with Chris, so we won't delay you too much before we get there. But hope you're having a great week. I had one of those weeks, one of those days the other day, you know, driving back from the grocery store with you and I was like, you know. ⁓ everything's going pretty well. Life is pretty good. You know, had one of those nice sunsets. It wasn't necessarily in like a great location. You know, what is a sunset over a Trader Joe's? But windows were down seventy seven degrees here in SoCal and I was like, you know, it's pretty great, especially when I get to jump on here and do this for a living and talk to you all. So hope that you're feeling the same way ⁓ on whatever day it is that you're listening to us here. Let's jump into the news. Let's start there. A lot of news to get to first. ⁓ V and L for me has only been one one match. In the books, ⁓ here recording with you on a Wednesday. I know it's Thursday and later for you all, but ⁓ got to watch USA against Dominican Republic last night. ⁓ and that was a great, great match. USA dominant 3-0 win. And of course, we have the connections with Morgan and Stephanie playing again on this week's similar roster as the first week, but they they both saw action. ⁓ Eric Sullivan was using basically everybody on that lineup. I texted one friend and I was like i it was like a fake question. ⁓ coach Sullivan, how many how many players are you gonna use in tonight's match? Yes. That seems like what what it was ⁓ what was the thought process there. But yeah, either way to Morgan and Stephanie. ⁓ Stephanie came in with three kills. Morgan had nine digs in the three-nothing win. ⁓ and yeah, they were using every sub. So for considering how much match time they got, I thought they they played very well. ⁓ I thought the match too was was surprising. I mean it's it's weird. I feel like I got mixed opinions on Dominican Republic. Some people thought they were ⁓ a juggernaut, others like, ⁓ they're they're pretty vulnerable and and ⁓ just from what I saw, y the US had no trouble with them, which was ⁓ which was I I was surprised. I didn't I didn't expect that. But ⁓ another one another thing I saw, ⁓ and this is from either her Instagram or her TikTok, is that Elena Scott confirmed that she was rehabbing an injury, which is unfortunate news. You never want to hear that. But that might be some insight into why she is not ⁓ maybe on some of these rosters. Obviously, there's a lot that goes into it, more than just ⁓ injuries and and sometimes it's just ⁓ matchup preferences from the coach. But I did see that on on one of her social medias. I'm pretty sure it was Instagram. ⁓ didn't dig too too deeply into what the injury is. I'm gonna leave that there. But ⁓ unfortunate news to hear and hope that Elena ⁓ recovers from whatever it is ⁓ very soon. But yeah, still hoping that maybe Cami Minor will get into some act match action coming up ⁓ potentially this week and heading into the weekend. Well, she's not on this roster, but you know what I mean. Heading into the weekend, maybe she'll be chosen for for week three. So ⁓ looking forward to the rest of this week's matches. ⁓ some other great or interesting news rather coming out of ⁓ Grand Rapids. They ⁓ are moving Kathy George to president and GM, and Mike Gollick will be the new head coach. So Kathy George is stepping down after more than four decades in coaching to oversee both business and volleyball operations. ⁓ she said, quote, wants to focus even more on intention at and intentionally on the long-term growth of the rise and the impact of this organization. ⁓ that this excuse me, let me try to read this again. quote, focus even more intentionally on the long term growth of the Rise and the impact this organization can have throughout our community and our state. After thoughtful consideration, I realized this opportunity would allow me to make an even greater impact on the future of the Rise. End quote. So very clear understanding why Kathy George is moving to the front office going to be a tremendous asset, obviously with how ⁓ how great she is, how knowledgeable she is about the volleyball space. ⁓ obviously sad to lose her from the coaching ranks, but I think she's gonna do very well in that new role. ⁓ she assumes the reigns ⁓ from President Scott Gorsline who will remain in his longtime role as chief sports officer of DP Fox Ventures and will maintain ultimate oversight of both the Rise and the Griffins, which is their AHL team, on behalf of that that parent company there. And just one more ⁓ little bit tidbit from the press release that they put out, George's new role is part of a larger restructuring of DP Fox Sports Since Grand Rapids ⁓ was given the franchise in December 2022, one business staff has served for both the Rise and the AHL team, the Grand Rapids Griffins. And going forward, each team will have a dedicated front office staff fo focused solely on excess on its success. If I could speak today, it would be great. But ⁓ regardless of you know, just these these shifts, I think it's a great thing to have a dedicated front office staff. And with like I said, with all of the knowledge that ⁓ Kathy George has, I think that's gonna be gonna be you know the right person leading the helm. And then ⁓ with Coach Golek, I mean last two seasons as an associate under Kathy George with Grand Rapids. And before Grand Rapids, nine seasons as head coach at Central Michigan University from 2016 to 2024, compiling a 137 and 123 overall record and an 81 and 77 mark in mid-American conference play. Gollic and George obviously first worked together at Michigan State University, where he spent 11 seasons on our coaching staff from 2005 to 2015. So, you know, you're you're taking someone who's not even from the outside, he's from the inside, he knows exactly how everything goes, ⁓ you know, reaching that associate level status with with Katy Kathy George, I believe. And ⁓ yeah, so two's two seasons with the associ as the associate under Kathy George with Grand Rapids. So you're taking a coach who's who's very well established, who has a lot of respect, not only from Kathy George, but from the players and who has been in that role, I think that's a a a great succession plan and ⁓ looking forward to seeing what Coach Garlic will do this season. Hoping to talk to him or Kathy George at some point soon. All right, to our free agency news. We have a couple ⁓ interesting signings here from this week, some really big ones. And then this is obviously what I know from Wednesday, Jan ⁓ Wednesday, June 17th. And so ⁓ you all will probably know more as you you can yell at past me from your future standpoints. ⁓ from what is released on Thursday and Friday for this week. But obviously we will also recap that going next week as well. But without any further ado, let's get into it. Columbus. Columbus Fury signed Anna Dixon opposite. Ava Martin, outside hitter, and Natasha Chikutz-Deans ⁓ from who's a middle belt blocker from Serbia. So Dixon and Martin too I thought were great signings for Columbus. Grand Rapids, ⁓ Kara McGee. is a middle blocker, Nika Markovich, opposite from Slovenia, and Leah Hardeman an outside hitter. So three more signings for Grand Rapids. MLV Norkal, Avis Swanson, setter. Taylor Lanfair, outside hitter, signing with MLV NorCal. ⁓ Naya Gross, the middle blocker, Izzy Strand, setter, and Ayana Sherbin, outside hitter. So several signings there for MLV NorCal. Still very excited to see who they announce as head coach and When we get all the branding for team name and everything over there with with NorCal as well. MLV Minnesota, Courtney Schwann, outside hitter landing with MLV Minnesota. Had a chance to talk to Courtney ⁓ during the MLV championship. She's fantastic. So so glad to see her land where she wants to be. Jenna Wenis is an outside hitter, also landing with MLV Minnesota. MLV Minnesota building a a very strong team. And again, also excited to see ⁓ the branding and the official team name come out hopefully soon this summer. ⁓ but two more great signings for MLV Minnesota. Dallas, we were teasing some of these signings earlier in the in the summer, frankly. But Alondra Vasquez, outside hitter, Shara Venegas, Libero for the Dallas Pulse now. Cal Kaz Brown, middle blocker, and Hannah Pukis, setter. ⁓ Dallas building an all new look team, but a huge get with with Shara Venegas as their Libero. Excited to see that this year. Obviously, Shara landing there after playing last year in San Diego. Atlanta, Anito Unwusi, middle blocker, Courtney Jackson, Libero, Gabriel Brent ⁓ Gabrielle Benda, setter, and Kendra Dalkey as outside hitter. Atlanta making several great signings as well, in addition to their re-signings. We talked about ⁓ of course, Iiko Jones, and then we're looking to talk to Leah Edmond coming up here in a couple weeks. And Orlando, Adana Shad. Wi ⁓ an outside hitter, Jordan Lockwood outside hitter, Brittany Abercrombie back at opposite, and Charity Looper back at outside hitter. We're waiting for them to announce that for so long because I like so so excited ⁓ to tell you both that the to tell you all that they were both coming back. ⁓ but so so great to have Britney coming back as well. I think that's her th it's gonna be her third season or fourth season. W someone is yelling at me to get it right. ⁓ but it's I I believe she had said it was her third season coming back, which is great. ⁓ So so excited to see that. And and Charity Looper as well. ⁓ Charity is such a great, ⁓ a fantastic interview, very knowledgeable, very well spoken, but also an even better player. So great to see two of of the some of the best ⁓ offensive offensive weapons that they had from last season coming back. And we'll look to we'll look to break this down ⁓ as well a little bit more in depth, maybe bring Jenna back on to talk more about what these signings are all going to mean. But I felt like this week had some real heavy hitters. ⁓ in the broader sense of the word throughout all the signings. And ⁓ we're we're we're I would imagine we're we're gonna s start slowing down at some point, right? We have a lot of people now assigned to these rosters. They're filling out. And so I think the free agency news is probably going to ⁓ if if it if we were at a you know, if you're ever cleaning your sink drain, they say keep it to like a a pencil width. And if we go from the pencil width of the water to down now down to to slow droplets, I think is where we're gonna go for ⁓ these for these signings coming going forward, but ⁓ been very, been very excited to see all of this news ⁓ come out. Okay, so let's move on to today's interview, and that is with Chris McGowan, the new head coach of the Omaha supernovas. Again, a huge thank you to Chris. A huge thank you to the Omaha staff who continues to be tremendous in helping us get everything set up and to to cover this this team. Chris was so thoughtful. He's also ⁓ you can tell, you can see the the coach gears of his brain working when you talk to him and and just you know, he's very ⁓ very astute is the word that I would I would use. ⁓ and then I also would be remiss if I didn't talk about first his his extensive background with his company Gold Medal Squared, which is ⁓ just a a complete, you know, coaching I I would call it academy, but really I'll I'll leave you to look it up and and just he it it's such a well versatile and well rounded approach to coaching. ⁓ that i is is has been something that I know has been a a passion ⁓ area for him. So you can you can check that out and I'll leave it there. But I did want to mention, which I neglected to in the interview, his background with BYU. And of course Chris began his coaching career at his alma mater BYU, where his father Carl founded and led the men's program to two national championships over thirteen seasons. ⁓ Chris was a volunteer assistant ⁓ with the women's program 2009 to eleven and helped bring them to a fifty and thirty nine record during that span and then was promoted to be the head coach of the BYU men's volleyball program in twenty twelve. And in twenty thirteen he guided BYU to the NPSF regular season and tournament titles, along with an NCAA national runner-up finish, earning ABCA National Coach of the Year and MPSF coach of the year honors that season. And ⁓ made also made an NCAA national semifinal appearance in twenty fourteen. I wanted to bring that up because I think it's important. I mean Chris And his family are very synonymous with the BYU program. And so to neglect to mention that at all in the interview would be a big oversight on my part. So I did not want to do that. ⁓ and want to acknowledge obviously how how important he and his family have been to that organization. But we also know how important he will be to ⁓ taking Omaha back to the championship. And we're excited to see him this season. So with that, please enjoy our conversation with new Omaha Supernovas head coach, Chris McGown. All right. Chris, thank you so much for joining us. First off, congratulations on your new position. Let's start off with what were those conversations like, I'm assuming with John Cook and Kirk Thompson in the front office when you were discussing becoming the new head coach of the Omaha supernovas? speaker-0: Yeah, it was interesting 'cause I had been speaking with John over a year ago when the opening came up and he talked to me about the job and just what was going on with the team and and with the league, ⁓ with the organization. And he and I I don't know, go back over a decade where we've had a good relationship, you know, when he was a when he was coaching there at Nebraska and I'd go out to work with his teams and so we knew each other well and he'd he talked to me about the job and I just I wasn't in a position with my family. ⁓ we'd made some long term plans as to what we were gonna do together as a family. We were going on a big trip and ⁓ overseas and some other things and I had daughters, you know, transitioning into university and and in the middle of university and so it just wasn't great timing. And so w you know, we just said, Okay, maybe down the road. And but, you know, all along the conversation was just about how unique the opportunity was, ⁓ both in terms of the moment in time and what was happening in Omaha with the supernovas, the kind of organization they were building, their commitment to basically just being first class in everything they did. And ⁓ and you know, he talked to me just hey you can see it reflected in virtually every piece of what's going on. And so I just knew that If you're gonna go coach, if you're gonna, you know, have if you're gonna go spend your time coaching doing something like that, that's what you really want. You want great people around you. You want people who are as committed and passionate as you are, and then you know, you wanna do it in an environment where the fans really, really care. And for sure that's the case there Omaha. speaker-1: You gotta make sure that the family's all good too, with all those big life changes going on. It's like, Hey, by the way, you know, this is gonna be a big new step, you know, just gonna add this into the fray. speaker-0: Yeah, exactly. And so I've got ⁓ I've got two daughters. ⁓ the oldest is going into her junior year at University of Arizona. The youngest is gonna start her freshman year down there. ⁓ and so she graduated early from high school. And so the trip that we went on was overseas. We basically went around the world. So we went to Thailand, we went to Japan, we went to Dubai, we went to Spain, spent two months in Spain, kinda going all over Spain, we went to Morocco. And then the oldest was doing study abroad there in Madrid. And so we tried to stay out of her hair and not cramp her style, you know. But we just were kind of there for Sunday dinners and ⁓ we'd spent a lot of time there in Spain in the past and just we love the country and it was just this really fun time to get to really spend time with with my youngest in a way that I just, you know, it's really once in a lifetime trip. And so family was this huge priority for me and for us. And so now The girls are gonna be at university and ⁓ and it doesn't feel like quite as much of a you know, this weird transition where, hey, dad's gonna be gone, you're not gonna be at you know, you're gonna be at home. And so now with the girls at school, ⁓ feels a little easier in terms of in terms of the family. And I mean, that's a reality for a lot of coaches. When you sign up for coaching, it's ⁓ it's hard on your family, it's hard on the relationships just because you're gone so much. And and and Then you just have to be ready to move. You know, hey, dad got fired or dad got a new job or dad, you know, something else came up. And so dragging your family around with you, I've been really fortunate to kind of be able to keep Utah as a home base for a long time and and now just the transition to Omaha just so much easier with the girls in in in college. speaker-1: I mean the the globetrotting sounds fantastic and for your oldest, I mean, it cannot be cramping your style when your parents will fly halfway across the world to be able to come and see you there, especially to, you know, have a nice dinner, be like, Hey, you know, Dad, you you got the check on this one and then, you know, it's all good from there. But that's that's fantastic. speaker-0: She was pretty happy to ⁓ to have us pick up some checks. Yeah. She she was like eating a lot of ramen. speaker-1: Yeah, don't believe me. I was the same way. And then when when my parents decided, you know, we slide it a little bit, you know, across the table there. It on a more serious note, I I think you brought up something that I that is fascinating in in really any sport, but also, you know, specifically with our sport here in volleyball, it's it's got as you said, it's gotta be tough for a coach, you know, with a with a family and you're doing a lot of moving around, not necessarily sometimes i in ways that you want to, but it seems like, like you mentioned, that you've really found that balance even before speaker-0: Yep, Chris. Exactly. speaker-1: ⁓ your your your kids were in the college ⁓ phase of their lives. How do you have any kind of tips or or ways that you really figured out how to manage that work life balance? 'Cause I think a lot of people view from the outside like a coach shouldn't have any work life balance. It's it's directly to, you know, film and and when you're not in film you're on the court, you know, and things like that. speaker-0: Yeah, you know, I think there's two big things. One for me is I'm really good at kind of I don't know, they seasons for me seem more like a sprint than a marathon. And people think, ⁓ it's just marathon to get up. But for me, it's just one long big sprint. And then after that it's, you know, and so I feel like I can bring this really, really high level of attention to the job for a season, you know, and then during the off season I really like to hey there's life beyond volleyball. Let's make up for all that lost time during that time. And so for me it i I'm really good at kind of compartmentalizing. This is a season. You're gonna put in insane hours, long days, seven days a week, you know, a lot of travel, all that stuff. And then when the season ends, I'm really good at taking a deep breath and stepping back and trying to let volleyball take a take a backseat to everything else that's going on. So there's that piece of it. And then my wife has been incredible over the course of our marriage putting up with just life of a coach. And I think that's the other massive, massive key is your partner has to be has to understand what the job is and what it requires and then be comfortable with just a lot of uncertainty and a lot of, hey, I can handle this on my own. And she's she's just remarkable. And ⁓ so y you know, sometimes you just get lucky. You know, 'cause when we signed up Together as young kids, you know, getting married, i w I wasn't a volleyball coach and she didn't know that that was what the job was gonna be. And ⁓ and so it it just the way that, you know, you take some leaps of faith w when you get married, and she certainly did. And then yeah, as time has gone on and she's seen, you know, just this is what it takes to to be a volleyball coach or to be a coach, ⁓ she's been incredible at stepping up and kind of handling all of the side of the household that ⁓ that I I haven't So yeah, she's she's awesome. A a committed partner, somebody that understands the job and is willing to just be in it with you makes a huge difference. And then for me, just I've I think you know, for whatever reason, been really good about I'm incredibly focused when focus is required. And then as soon as it isn't, I can I can check out. speaker-1: Well, if the season is a sprint, I would imagine that you're getting into the starting blocks then for this this entire run here in in twenty twenty seven with the supernovas. And tell us more about what the first few days, weeks have been like for you in this new role. We saw the press conference obviously and being introduced to the fans, but what has that beginning been like for you? speaker-0: Yeah, the the most important part and this started even when I was in Spain with a family, we'd I'd get on calls with the organization, you know, and ⁓ and we'd just were talking through everything that was going into it. and the biggest the biggest thing by far was player acquisition. And so I think it's no news to anybody that you're only as good as the talent on your team. You know, the athletes are what drive success. And so ⁓ for us you know, acquiring the best talent possible was this massive, massive priority. And the front office was incredible. And ⁓ I was fortunate enough to have ⁓ you know, quite a bit of I think of influence on who we looked at and who we considered for contracts and the nature of those. But that was that was the biggest thing by far was just the early decision making around how we wanted to build our team, who we wanted on it, you know. And ⁓ I think I think they knocked it out of the park. I I love our roster coming into the twenty six, twenty seven season. It's just gonna be this really, really high quality group of group of athletes in terms of talent, group of athletes in terms of character. It's it's a super good group. And then yeah, the rest of it is just, hey, you started a new job. Hey, meet with HR and hey, meet with these people and this is how we do things here and get to kinda know the lay of the land a little bit. And then of course the media market in in Omaha and Nebraska is unlike anything else. ⁓ and so just kinda starting to get acclimated to what the commitments are and and how, you know, serious everybody takes their volleyball here in in Nebraska and ⁓ and just kinda settling into that. But yeah, it's been awesome. Like I said, I can't speak highly enough about ⁓ just the organization in general, what how many really, really good people We've got supporting the the team. speaker-1: People who don't live there probably get sick of it, but it truly is unlike anywhere else. ⁓ but yeah Chris, I I absolutely want to talk about the roster, but before we get into that, just first to s to stay one more high level is just what excited you about MLV specifically and the opportunity to be a coach in this league? And I'm curious what you saw about the level of play and any characteristics before you took the job that really excited you about major league volleyball. speaker-0: Yeah, you know, ⁓ I don't think it's a surprise to anybody that I coached ⁓ in love, ⁓ for love with the team down at Austin in their first year. And look, I I tell everybody just more professional volleyball is a good thing. And the opportunities that these leagues are giving our our American athletes is just incredible. And I'm so grateful that, you know, all these athletes get to be in these leagues and get to play and ⁓ and then that we as coaches get these opportunities as well because if you wanted to be a professional coach to coach at this level, you had to go overseas. There wasn't and then there's that whole, I don't know, collection of issues in in trying to do that, you know, just the how mere curial the nature of the job market is in Europe and how difficult it is to break into Asia and et cetera, et cetera. And so, but MLV in particular, when, you know, I started talking with John about it. One of the things that makes the the single most unique thing about it I think is just the ownership model and the fact that MLV were is run kinda like MBA, that ownership is local, that ownership is a hundred percent and there's a freedom to kinda run your franchise, your organization how you see fit, of course within the boundaries and guidelines that are set of but ⁓ just that that degree of I think just local influence and community engagement, I think ⁓ makes it really unique. And then of course it's, you know, the level of play is really, really good. These athletes are incredible volleyball players. They're, you know, the best of the best. And so getting to be around that and to coach at that level, ⁓ obviously incredibly appealing as well. But ⁓ just MLV, I think the fact that, you know, they're able to engage the community in a way that really, really creates ⁓ you know, just incredible passion, incredible love for the team, for the players. And ⁓ and again, if you're gonna go to work every day, John and I talk about this all the time, you know, if you're gonna go to work every day, it's really nice to do it in an environment where people care. And it's that's that's a thing that, you know, MLV in general It it I think is generating a lot of people who care. speaker-1: Can we go a little deeper on the level of play? What what characterizes the level of play in MLV and the performances that you've seen kind of from the outside looking in and now as as you look to pick up on the characteristics now from the inside? speaker-0: Yeah, sure. I think, you know, ⁓ with any transition kind of up the chain, you know, if you go from junior high to high school, high school to college, college to, you know, professional, professional, maybe at, you know, national teams, what you see is just a refinement of kind of everything that goes into being a good volleyball player. And so the thing that I like to talk to people about is at the high school level, the thing that most defines you as an athlete is your physicality. Just, hey, I'm bigger, stronger, faster, whatever, than all my peers. Therefore, I'm a I am a dominant volleyball player. And then when you jump up to college volleyball, it turns out everybody is as big and as strong and as fast and you know as you are. And so what starts to really set you apart is how skilled you are. Can I do this thing over and over and over again? The repeatability, the consistency. And for me, that's technique and skill. And so any little flaws in your mechanics start to become, you know, really accelerated and and to become a liability for you. And so you you you go from not just this physical, you know, dominance, but now you also have to have skill dominance. And then for me, the next step up in the pros is this kind of mental piece where, hey, I'm I'm on my own mostly to be great or not be great because there isn't this university that's telling me w what to do every minute of my day, that's telling me, you know, all these things. And so you get to make decisions about your career, about your body, about your choices. and then can you infuse yourself with a discipline to make yourself great and to listen to coaching and to continue to get better and do all those things. And then it's a grind. For these athletes, it is an absolute grind. And the season is long and it's hard and it's Just, you know, hey, it's March and we've been in it forever. Do you show up to practice with the same enthusiasm, the same energy, the same willingness to grind and get better as you did when it was the first day of training camp? And so the the pros that I've seen that succeed have that, you know, that combination of all three of these things. They're incredibly physically gifted, so a ton of talent, but they've refined that talent to become also very, very skilled and they have this mental fortitude. and mental ability to just to make good choices and to be able to last through the grind of the season and stay engaged, stay passionate, stay enthused, you know, and ⁓ through all the ups and downs. Hey, I started this match. I didn't start this match. Hey, I had a little injury. I don't, you know, I'm feeling healthy. It just there's so many ups and downs and hey, can you stay steady mentally through that? And so, you know, that's again you know, the level of play, that's what you get to see. You get to see people who are the the elite in terms of physicality and their talent. You get to see people who are elite in terms of their skill, their ability to make incredible plays look common, you know, and just this was such a difficult ball to control. And look, you made that look easy. And just so the ease at which they're able to move around the court and then just this wonderful metal strength that a pro has to bring. And so that's ⁓ I think, you know, what makes professional sport at any level great. And Marv likes to talk about how it's it's it's really, really enjoyable to watch anybody do anything when they're an expert at it. You know, and so you can watch somebody, I don't know, dig ditches, but if they're a really good ditch digger, you know, it it looks it's fun to watch. And so I just think that's what we see is these athletes are really, really good. at what they're doing and it's just it's a joy to watch. speaker-1: That's such a great that's Marv Dunfey that said that. So great. I my my one whereas is like if I get the videos on Instagram of like the guys who they do the the greens keeping, but specifically they make the the new holes for the you know, the the golf course and they're going around and they're just so efficient with it. I'm like that seems boring, but I love it. So it's like therapeutic almost lot. Chris, someone somewhere is screaming, talk about the roster, talk about the roster. So we will do that right now. ⁓ speaker-0: Yeah. Yep. Yep. speaker-1: It was so exciting to see basically the Omaha supernova's twenty twenty seven squad is basically set. I mean, maybe a couple moves on the fringes and obviously the draft, but you know, so exciting to see a bunch of new gets adding people to to Merritt and Chiara. ⁓ I personally thought that, you know, the the additions of Teodora and Cami were ⁓ massive, massive gets for Omaha. But just let's start from the from the top level. What's your vision for the team and and now that the roster is built out, how do you envision molding the the players that you have to play the style that you want to play. speaker-0: Yeah, one of the things I've been talking to the athletes about is my vision for the team is and it's been for v virtually every team that I've ever coached, is ⁓ I don't know what your role will be right now. we can kind of guess, you know, but I I really don't know what your role is gonna be. What we can commit to as a coaching staff is we are going to work our asses off to make everybody better. We're gonna do everything we possibly can in our power to make each individual player the best they can possibly be. And then from there we'll kinda see, all right, what combination of of all of these great players score the most points and make the most sense for ⁓ you know, lineups and and even offensive systems. I'm v I I believe very strongly that it kinda, you know, hey, I think we could maybe do certain things, ⁓ you know, to to put pressure on defenses with our offense here. But we kinda have to wait and see what everybody can do. What can our setters do? What can our attackers do? And once we get a feel for that, ⁓ I think then systems start to to grow out of that. And so rather than try to force I think what I'd like to do or my systems or something like that, if you would, on this roster, what we're gonna do is get in, start training and then start to have some collaboration. And the athletes quite often will take you in the right direction if you just say, Hey, what do you think? W you know, can we go a little faster here? Or, hey, what would be better this set right now or this set right now? Or should we locate it here or there? They'll start to have good ideas on their own. And so I like to try and enter the initial part of the season with an open mind. And ⁓ obviously, you know, I I've been watching these players and I kind of have a sense of what they can do, but until you get in there and really start mixing it up. you know, I hate to commit to anything, but yeah, an incredibly I don't know, I just I feel so good about about the people that have signed and ⁓ especially the the athletes that are gonna return. We've got incredible talent returning and so it just I'm incredibly grateful that they were enthusiastic enough to come back and that we got ⁓ that we got ⁓ signed up. speaker-1: I hear you totally on the open mind, but still you've gotta be pretty excited when you have a player like Merritt Beeson who you can build your squad around. I mean, how excited do you have a player like her, a player like, you know, Chiara, like we mentioned, coming back and and talking about those returners a and what you got to see from them last season. speaker-0: Yeah. You know, the I think the the interesting thing for me with them from last season more than anything was just the way that they came together ⁓ towards the end of the season and kind of play for each other. And look, talent, you know, all that stuff is gonna take us a long way, but then there's this extra little piece where the players have to want it. They have to want it for each other, they have to be a team. And I I felt like that group last season, especially from the the athletes coming back, were this kind of really the heart of of what made them a team. And Merritt was incredibly unselfish. ⁓ you know, for example, just, hey, I'll do whatever's needed. And I'm gonna come in and be great if my role is to come in and I'm gonna, you know, be great if my role is to be out on the floor from the get go. And so just the way that she conducted herself, I think, was pretty Emblematic of the whole group. Lot of people that did a really good job with their roles. speaker-1: I've heard that it was an interesting story for how you acquired Kirsty Strong and Josie Vondren. Do you have any any insight into that for me? speaker-0: So Christie had played at Saint Mary's and then she took I I think it was a fifth year, it was one of those COVID kind of thing years at ⁓ at BYU. And Heather and I, of course, Heather Olmsted, former coach at BYU, go, you know, way, way back forever. When I left when I left the men's job there in twenty fifteen, she took over the women's program 'cause Sean jumped over to the guys. And so Heather and I, you know, are really good friends and I was talking to her about, hey, here's what we're looking for, here are people we need. ⁓ and she said, Hey, you oughta check out Kirstie. She's doing a really good job for her team in France. And ⁓ and so I think she was one of those players that just is kinda doing this, you know, like just continuing to get better, continuing to get better. And that happens a lot, I think, when you're in your early twenties. It's just, hey, I haven't kinda hit my full potential, even, you know, in college. And so she she just has continued to get better, continued to get better. And we watched a lot of video of her and saw her numbers and we got a lot of friends in Europe that we consulted with and they all said, Yeah, this is, you know, you know, in terms of all the stats and all the you know, you can moneyball all these things and start to look at, you know, how people are, you know, performing relative to others in different leagues. And they said, Yeah, all these analytics are making her look like a really good pickup. And so for Kirsty that was that was ⁓ you know, I felt like we kind of snuck one in there because I think she's she's this hidden jam. And then Josie the same thing. ⁓ the market's tough, you know, like there just aren't great players that are around and especially kind of at we're we were a little late with some of these signings. And so ⁓ a lot of the, you know, best players have been signed months previously. And so when we had some choices to make, Josie, when we saw her on video and talked to people that had played with her and just kind of her background, again, just she's, you know, the daughter of people that are running a club and it she just loves volleyball, gym rat kind of person. You watch her move around the court. She played a lot of beach, you know, consistently and they're at LSU, kind of in her in her last stop in college. And ⁓ had played a lot of beach and so you just you saw her out on the floor, smooth when she moved around, not afraid to, you know, stand in and play tough defense. You know, a lot of setters are kind of prima donnas, you they're like, Hey, I'm just gonna hide behind the block and don't hit it at me and you know I don't I don't w I don't wanna get involved and not her, man. She was she was ready to dig in and go get after it. ⁓ she's got this good serve, she's a lefty and ⁓ and so again, I felt like just this was gonna be somebody that was gonna come in and work super hard, just, you know, loved volleyball, was gonna be super fired up for the opportunity to be in Omaha, to be with the group and ⁓ and again, I feel like we we got a a nice kind of hidden gem there as well. speaker-1: And then we we mentioned Teodora and Cammy. I believe Cam Cammy was a huge signing that we I know we had our eye on, ⁓ coming over from one of the best teams in in Italy, I believe. And then ⁓ you know, with Teodora being one of the best in this league to be able to have her ⁓ anchoring the defense as well. Just w tell me about the process to get both of them and obviously ⁓ those being pretty eye opening as well. speaker-0: Yeah, Cami was like I don't know, ⁓ just I like I think a lot of us, I was so happily surprised, you know, that she was even willing to entertain the conversation. And she'd been, as you as you referenced, with one of the best teams in Italian Division One and she was playing mostly behind ⁓ one of the Italian national teams, you know, the Bassio and Oro kinda traded, you know, starting roles and so. Bossy was doing a great job for her team there. And so Cammy, I think, just felt like, hey, if I want to continue to grow and develop, I I gotta I I have to be getting the reps, the starting reps. And so, ⁓ the team was really reluctant to, you know, they would have liked to have kept her in that role and I think, you know, really liked her and loved everything about her. But just I I think she was looking for an opportunity to I think, you know, do more. And then I think she's talked about, you know, just being in the United States where, you know, we're gonna travel to Southern California to play matches and where family's from and just you know, just to get to see her play or just be a fla a plane ride a away from getting to see her play, a shorter plane ride away from getting to see her play. ⁓ it it just means a lot to these to these athletes. And so being able to do that I think for her was a big deal. But yeah, that that was an incredible signing for us. And I think Again, one that th like you referenced, sent a lot of shockwaves through ⁓ through volleyball for sure. And if you know her and you know about her, ⁓ she's just this quiet, confident, just great leader, great kid, just incredibly high character, is gonna work super hard. So I I think a perfect fit for what we're trying to do. And ⁓ and yeah, and Pusech like she's gnarly. She's she's so great. She just is like the most Serbian Serb ever, right? Like, let's go, let's go. And she just is gonna bring so much fire, so much intensity, so much just like competitive push. And so that's the other thing that we really look for is just who's gonna come in and compete, who's gonna come in, be a great teammate. But at the same time, like I want to win every single point. And I love players like that. And ⁓ and she's absolutely that. And She's one of the best in the league at reception. And so I think that was a the other piece that was important to us is kind of, you know, shoring up ⁓ our passing. And ⁓ and so yeah, ⁓ another really, really high quality signing. speaker-1: Chris, a lot of these players we've gotten to see and we've gotten to, you know, get to know some of that style, like that Serbian fire that you're talking about. But to get back to you, we haven't been fortunate enough to get to see your coaching style. I've been fortunate enough to to get to see some of your ⁓ work with Gold Medal Squared, and I know you're very intentional about coaching style and coaching philosophy. Can you give us some insight into what your style and if you could buy it's in unfair of me to ask you to boil down your philosophy, but just maybe a little bit of a taste of what that that style might be. speaker-0: Yeah, I think, you know, it's a y you gotta treat the professional athletes a little differently than you would ⁓ college athletes or high school athletes. But at the same time, there's this kind of universal constant in that they're all humans and they're all trying to play volleyball, you know. So we all have the same constraints, the same environment, the same tasks. and so you know, we're gonna try to follow ⁓ the kind of principles that drive good volleyball. And so that's what Gold Medal Squared is fundamentally about. is about finding out hey, here are the principles that underlie whatever decisions I'm trying to make, and then using those principles to make good decisions, whether it's, hey, these are what the passing mechanics should be, ⁓ or this is what my defensive system should be, or this is, you know, the best way to have, you know, positive interactions with with others and to build trust and leadership. And so We're trying to just, you know, as much as we can, as much as I can, understand what principles influence these variables and then try to make good decisions from there. And so, more than anything w with the pros, it's ⁓ you know, I've got certain things that are going to be, hey, this is the way we're gonna do it. And this is how I want the programs that I coach to run. And ⁓ you know, culturally there'll be some of those things. in a few systems, especially defensively, there'll be a few of those things. But then you know, a lot of the rest of it is hey, hey, how do I how do I continue to motivate you? How do I continue to create good relationships with you so that when the tough times come, we work through them together. And so you continue to want to improve and get better. ⁓ and so I think, you know, just trying to create this, you know, collaborative approach to athlete improvement. And then the other thing is just is I've gotten, you know, older and older in my coaching, more experience. I just I understand the value of a positive environment. And so we're we're trying really hard to create an environment where there's a ton of positivity, that the coaching staff every day brings a lot of energy to practice, that we're excited to be there, that I find you or catch you doing it right a lot, you know, as an athlete. Like, hey, I see you doing great things and I'm gonna tell you about it and and just again try to like anybody else, pro athletes ⁓ appreciate positive feedback. And so we're trying to fill the gym as much as we can with positive feedback. Everybody kind of likes that. And then when we do need to make some upgrades, it's, you know, try and take some emotion out of it. Like, hey, this isn't about you being good or bad. It's just, hey, this is where we feel like you can, you know, take some steps up. And we we would all like to be able to take some steps up if if we could. And so I think just that principle driven Decision making, principle driven leadership, and then just this atmosphere of positivity ⁓ in the gym is I think how I would like to define myself, you know, how if I could be remembered that way, ⁓ or at least seen that way. I think that's what I aspire to. speaker-1: This isn't really a question, more of an observation, but I I that positive environment is so fascinating to me because it's come up a lot recently. You know, talking to ICO in episode six, she was talking about how fun volleyball is winning volleyball and how they want if you're having fun, you'll you'll play well. And then I remember talking to the Omaha athletes last year when they transitioned it to being under Thomas and just talking about having fun again and it being a positive environment and how I I think it's fascinating how you're you're so right that positive environment really does create a a better winning environment and it's it seems like something that seems like a common theme throughout a lot of ⁓ no no matter the situation that seems to be a common theme. speaker-0: Yeah. And make no mistake, our job is to win volleyball matches. And, you know, volleyball is fun when you're good at volleyball. And ⁓ you know, all of the positivity in the world doesn't get you anywhere if you're no good, you know. And so our job is, hey, I'm trying to make you the best volleyball player that I possibly can, and we're trying to put the best product that we can out on the floor. ⁓ but I think that you get there faster and more easily. when you are are approaching it from an intent of positivity and rather than an intent of, you know, trying to beat the athletes down or, you know, mentally manipulate you somehow. And you know, at the end of the day we we have to be good at volleyball. And And so and and then a lot of the other things kind of solve themselves also when you're good at volleyball. Hey, if you want to be mentally strong, be good at volleyball. If you want to have a good time out on the court, be good at volleyball. You know, it's like so I think those those two are intertwined. But again, we're we're gonna try to become really, really skilled, really, really good at our craft, through through the lens of this kind of positive environment. speaker-1: mentioned ⁓ Thomas Robson there briefly who was the interim last year. We know he's gonna be on your staff this coming year and w have you had any conversations with him and I guess I'll make it a two parter what what did you notice about the way that he handled the team and obviously bringing them to a very successful s ⁓ end of the season ⁓ towards ⁓ towards last year as well. speaker-0: Yeah, I think Thomas, you know, I've told him and ⁓ I'll tell anyone that will listen. That was a really tough job that he stepped into and he he handled it wonderfully. And ⁓ I think he was to his credit kind of on the pulse of what that team needed, what that group needed and kind of where they needed to go. And ⁓ obviously kinda, you know, we were still up and down at the end of the season, but got enough to get in and then played a great match against Indy and played Another great match against Dallas. I mean, just a few points away, right? It just you know, from winning the championship. And so I just I can't, you know, speak highly enough about w what he did when he came in. and and so he's he's obviously it's it's kind of a nice thing to be an assistant coach. I tell everybody, the best job in sports is assistant coach, right? 'Cause you you're not in the big seat and you know, you don't have to tell and Marv talks about this as well. I reference Marv a lot, obviously, but he talks about, hey, the hard part about being a head coach is saying no. 'Cause everybody can say yes. Yes, you'll be a starter. Yes, you'll y get all the playing time. Yes, you can s you know, eat and drink whatever you want. Yeah, yeah, sure. You know. And so, you know, it's easy to say yes, it's hard to say no. And ⁓ and the head coach is the one that has to say no. And so I you know, Thomas ⁓ went from having the best job in volleyball to now the hardest job in volleyball. So turning that transition over was really impressive. speaker-1: I I feel like that's that's comparable to what they say about backup quarterbacks. It's the best job in the NFL because you know Yeah, exactly. speaker-0: Y you're getting paid this great paycheck to just, yeah, cheer somebody on, maybe wear the headset, you know, call call if he plays. And then when you're the starter, the world changes, yeah. speaker-1: Absolutely. Chris, I want to tie something that you just said into a another ⁓ thing I was curious about. ⁓ heard that you've had a very good relationship with Jalen Reyes, who I don't think is technically an assistant. I think he's got the associate head coach title, but ⁓ be even so, you know, probably has that that little bit of the spotlight off of him sometimes. But, you know, to tie that into you know, we talked up top how much pressure it is to be a coach in Omaha where volleyball really matters. Have you talked with Jalen at all about just Maybe how to deal with some of that pressure, what it's like to be a coach in this market, and I've and any any feedback that he's given you on on that process. speaker-0: Yeah, it's really funny. I actually did a coaching clinic ⁓ in North Carolina ⁓ this past weekend. And ⁓ Jeremiah, who is one of the GAs ⁓ in Nebraska when Jalen was there, is an assistant coach there at NC State. And we were just talking about Jay and about, you know, the team. And he said one of the things that Jalen had counseled these guys, the the GA group of boys that was there, ⁓ was don't talk about the team in public. Don't talk about anything we're doing with a team when you're out in public, period. He goes, because you'll be sitting at a table and you'll want to talk about our team. And he goes, people will listen. And he said they were like in a supermarket, you know, just pushing a cart around, talking about something, something, and some guy came up and said, Hey, are you talking about women's volleyball? And they said, No, no, no, we're talking about basketball, you know, or something. And just but like somebody's on in the produce aisle listening to the conversation and ⁓ and And so I thought that was a pretty illustrative example of, hey, this is what it's like when you're coaching in Nebraska is people listen, they pay attention, they care. And I just ⁓ I think I told the story in in the press conference just about being there in Nebraska, hanging out with the team and and getting to hang out with Jalen. And virtually everywhere we'd go, we'd go to a restaurant, we'd go, you know, hit golf balls somewhere, we'd go, you know, almost anything we were doing. It was, hey coach, hey coach, hey coach, how are you coach? You know, and ⁓ I was like, Jay, we're in this like random wherever and it's hey coach, hey coach, hey coach and ⁓ and he said, Yeah, he goes, That's that's that's the job here is people know you and people care. And ⁓ and so, you know, I've I think I've, you know, talked to John enough and been around the program long enough and ⁓ and then talking with Jay. ⁓ have a good feel for, you know, just those kinds of things that everywhere you go, ⁓ you're recognized and they I mean the hard part about that is you can't talk about volleyball in the supermarket, you know. But the good part about that is, you know, we're gonna have ten thousand plus fans in the in the arena every single time we play who are knowledgeable and passionate and I mean it's for sure worth the trade off. But yeah, I coached Jalen ⁓ his whole career at BYU with the BYU men and ⁓ just I've had ⁓ so much respect for his work ethic, ⁓ both as a player and a coach. I tell everyone he wasn't the most talented athlete that came into the gym, but he was for sure the hardest worker and it wasn't even close. The number of extra hours that he put in as an athlete every single day was unmatched. He dragged our poor manager. I don't know how that kid passed any of his classes because Jay would just pull that guy in and you know, g have him serve balls at him for hours and hours and hours on end and hit balls at him and just do everything. And I'd come to practice and Jalen would already have had, you know, an hour with Kyle getting reps. And ⁓ and so Jay w just worked incredibly hard and it's been fun to see all the good things that have happened to him and to the program. And you know, y I think wherever he decides to end up, if he stays at Nebraska, if he goes somewhere else, ⁓ he's he's obviously had a had a great tenor to your tenure to this point in his career and he's got a great future in volleyball as well. speaker-1: Chris, we talked a lot about, you know, what you've learned in your previous stops and you know ⁓ how important having a fun atmosphere is. But it also seems like, you know, just with what you're saying here with with Jalen that along along the way to get to this point, it seems like you've learned the value of of just having a great support system around you, whether that's, you know, your family but also the the people that you surround yourself with in the volleyball space, it seems like you have a very strong ⁓ core group o of people who are there in your corner. Would you say that's accurate as something that you you picked up pretty ⁓ maybe early or or midway along your along your journey to this point? speaker-0: Well, let's let's be honest. I've ⁓ I've, you know, been living under a what do they say, under the bright star or I I I just I've been really I got super lucky. My dad, ⁓ of course, Carl McGown, ⁓ he is in every Hall of Fame there is, you know, just this long time ⁓ coach and lover of volleyball and I got to, you know, kind of unwittingly through just osmos all this, you know, information and kind of way of seeing the world and thinking about volleyball from him. And ⁓ and so I I wish I could say, hey, I you know, I really worked hard and did all these things and, you know, and, you know, figured all this stuff out. And nah, I it was I was just, you know, for whatever reason, lucky enough to get to spend so much time with him. And so my dad was Again, you can't overstate the influence that he had on me. And so with that, all of the people that was were in his orbit became the people in my orbit. And so there've just been so many great people. And the other thing I love about volleyball is just the quality of people that it attracts. And for whatever reason, our sport tends to, I think, bring in just good people. And part of it is because, you know, at the lower levels, it's not about money. It's about, you know, it's about loving to be with kids and loving to be a teacher and an influencer and a mentor. And ⁓ and so just so many high quality people ⁓ are in our sport and I got to, you know, my dad's orbit became my orbit and just I I can't I'm so appreciative of the people that have been around me in my life and and have influenced me as a coach and ⁓ our organization, Gold Metal Squared, again, just I think the nature of what it tries to do and who it and who the people, you know, that wanna be a part of that have been. Again, just incredible, incredible coaches, incredible people. And ⁓ and so I wish I could say that, you know, I'd had more intent about the people I surrounded myself with. I think like a lot of us, it just it kinda happens organically. But for me that organic process I think started from this really, really good base and I've just been super lucky to have all these great people in my life. speaker-1: Chris, I'd like to end these chats as we wrap up here with, you know, just talking about a little little bit of the fun side. Maybe some things that don't have as much to do about volleyball a as maybe some of the other thing topics that we've hit. And with that said, ⁓ I've heard that you're a big Metallica fan and maybe trying to ⁓ to learn ⁓ some some specifics of of ⁓ how to play the instruments, one specific instrument as we go along here. But I have to open this question with Do you agree with me that the the scene of Master of Puppets and Stranger Things with Eddie breaking out the guitar is one of the best scenes in all of television? Or would would you say that maybe I'm speaker-0: I might have had to wipe some tears away when I saw that scene. Dun dun dun. I was like, yes, this is gonna be so good. speaker-1: Chrissy, this is for you. So good. So good. One of my favorites. That one's on repeat. But please, ⁓ the drums apparently are are are making a I mean, that's gotta be tough on the neighbors. speaker-0: So I have all these milestones like when I hit a birthday, you know, I'm gonna try this in a minute. So when I turned fifty, I learned to sail ⁓ you know, and so ⁓ when I turned fifty five, I was like, Hey, I gotta I gotta learn to play the drums. And ⁓ I played the guitar poorly. and so I was like, you know, maybe I can now play the drums poorly and see how that goes. And so, ⁓ yeah, we have an electronic drum set down in my basement and ⁓ And so it doesn't even sound good. It just my wife is like, Yeah, I don't even hear drums. All I just hear is it drives her insane. And so I have to wait till she's like gone somewhere and then we can get on it. And ⁓ I just I'm having so much fun. And it's one of these kind of fun learning curve kind of things. It's kind of like I I tell people it's kind of like snowboarding. ⁓ I'm a skier, so I, you know, like I'm a skiing purist. But I've tried snowboarding a little bit and it's snowboarding, the good thing about it is you can get to be okay quick. You know, being a good snowboarder takes a long time. ⁓ but it's easier to kind of get to mediocrity as a snowboarder than it is as a skier. And I feel like the drums for me, for whatever reason, have kind of been the same thing. I I've been able to get to mediocrity, maybe not even mediocrity, just like a passable level that sound good when I'm listening to it. ⁓ pretty quick. So yeah, it's been a really fun thing to try and and I've just ⁓ yeah that was one of the other things I think I admire about about John, I admire about my dad is these guys going in throughout their life, it was always, hey, ⁓ I'm curious about the world, I'm curious about what's next, I'm curious about how I can keep getting better and what that might look like. you know Both in terms of me as a volleyball coach, but also just me as a person. And, you know, this there's this big, beautiful world full of so many opportunities, like just hey, keep trying new fun things that feel like, you know, they'd engage you. And so this was one of ⁓ speaker-1: The drums are great, but as a Metallica fan, I feel like you've really gotta start getting some solos down for the guitar. I mean, ⁓ was that part of it? You know, maybe some you can play? speaker-0: Yeah. I mean those guys level yeah. Yeah. Next level on the guitar. And so, you know, it I'm I'm good with the chords, you know, like used to be able to do some things, but ⁓ yeah, it it was the drums the drums are actually a lot easier, I've found, ⁓ Metallica drums, most of the songs than ⁓ than the guitar. speaker-1: I I've never been able to play any instrument. The best I could ever do is Guitar Hero, but I was never good enough for the Metallica songs. The best I could ever do was getting Hotel California on five star, but never was good enough for any Metallica songs. So I I envy you whatever instrument you're playing in that band is ⁓ is impressive for sure. Yeah. Chris, we we cannot thank you enough for your time. We are so excited to see you at the helm of this Omaha supernova squad in twenty twenty seven. But ⁓ thank you so much for taking some time to join us here on set six. We appreciate it. speaker-0: Yeah, it's been great talking and ⁓ yeah, looking forward to the season. speaker-1: Our thank you to Chris and our thank you once again to the Omaha staff for setting this up for us. ⁓ just a a pleasure to talk to him. Looking forward to to being there and and to getting to see Chris in that Omaha atmosphere, that so special Omaha atmosphere. ⁓ but just such a thoughtful as I mentioned up top, a a thoughtful approach to this interview, which I appreciate. ⁓ and and I I I've gotten a chance to meet Chris a couple of times and and he seems like a guy who is just you know does not head into any situation without thinking about it if that makes any sense. I feel like he's a guy who has already walked into a room, knows exactly where he needs to go, exactly what he needs to do, has already f you know, figured out his plan A, B, and C. That's the sense that I get from him, and I mean it in every positive sense of the word. He seems like a guy who's very prepared, ⁓ whether he's coaching or whether he's, you know, i in a family setting. And we talk and he talked about how important family is to him too. And I think it's so one of one of the things w whether we're talking to players or coaches I love to hear is just how people have surrounded themselves with such a a great environment and Chris has certainly done that and he's now in a in a fantastic environment in Omaha as well. So we're so happy to have him be part of this league and excited to see what he does with the supernovas. All right. Thank you for listening to our interview. Let's move on to some just some fun random things that maybe have nothing to do with volleyball as we wrap up the show here. ⁓ first, I got a mailbag question, which I love, and we only have one today, but you know, I'll set ⁓ that up as a precursor. Please, I will talk about anything at f in this final little end end part of the show here. So please if you want to chat about anything, ask me any question, please ⁓ either comment on our videos and and one of our team will will flag it. I'll f try to flag it for a a response, or email me. That's severin at mlvb.com s-e-v- R-I-N and yeah, we'd love to to make this kind of end part a little bit more of a mailbag and answer your questions because as much as we enjoy crafting this show around what we think it should be, this show is for you, so we want to make it for you. But with that, got a great mailbag question from Kenny Erickson. Kenny, thank you for this question. He said, What do you think about the new Evanescence album? And you know I will talk about that kind of music. ⁓ so Kenny, thanks for the question. Here's what I think, and I actually wrote down some notes for it too, because that's how seriously I take it. I actually was listening to it in the gym yesterday. ⁓ and it was it's great gym music, first off, but ⁓ I thought it was so cool to, you know, see that Evanescence was doing a new album. ⁓ no features as well, which is always, I think, in this day and age, ⁓ a bold take. But, you know, for Evan Evanescence, I don't think they've ever needed one. It's Amy Lee's definitely an acquired taste if you if you don't necessarily trend towards that operatic type of singing. But I I I really liked some of this new album. My favorite one ⁓ was Tell Me You've Had Enough. I'd say that's probably my favorite. ⁓ song and it was it was funny reading the the background and how they came up with the album. They were touring with Metallica and I guess it kind of came out of nowhere. And you can hear some of that Metallica influence I thought specifically in that song. But I liked it. Really good breakdowns. ⁓ like I said came out of nowhere. They weren't even apparently planning an album until they toured with Metallica. and so you know they're coming to Inglewood on July eighteenth. ⁓ and I I might go. We'll see. But I think Amy Lee has also done a really great job in the space of I wouldn't say necessarily mentoring, but ⁓ promoting ⁓ some other great female led acts in the in the alternative music space. I love Spirit Box, so I'm a huge fan of Spirit Box and and the lead singer, ⁓ I believe it's Courtney LePlant is is so just it it's amazing what she can do with her voice. And then she and Poppy had a feature with Amy Lee or a feature song where they all three I don't know whose song necessarily it is, but th it's all three of them on that one track. ⁓ and the the difference between all three of them is is just it's insane. So ⁓ you know, I I think Spirit Box also has has a lot of credit to give to Evanescence for for that just influence and that style. But yeah, it's a good album. Check it out if you if you haven't. And it was funny 'cause I was just thinking, Well gosh, I think the last time I truly like made a concerted effort to listen to Evanescence, I must have been like twelve when they were I mean, they were huge when I was ⁓ going to school and it was on the radio at some point. So it's I'm already dating myself. But there you go. But Kenny, thank you for the question. And if you want to hear me talk about literally any of your questions, ⁓ an open book. So please ⁓ send us your your comments, email me your questions. We'll make this a little bit more of a mailbag at the end. So we'd love to do that. ⁓ and I missed that one. Sorry Kenny on it was two episodes ago on our ⁓ Francois Salvani ⁓ interview is where he commented that. So again, thank you. ⁓ just we'll wrap it up with what I'm watching. Obviously the World Cup has been great. I have loved to see back near my hometown, towards the New England area, just how much the the Boston area has it has embraced Scotland. I think has been so cool. And then to see like after they partied, they they brought they kind of tidied up all of their trash and and put it nice and neatly next to the next to the ⁓ trash cans. And one of the public workers was like was shocked. They they interviewed him lo on the local news. And he couldn't believe it. He was I've I've never seen anything like this. It was something as simple as cleaning up your trash and putting it away, which I thought was was really neat. And then also the bars talking about, yeah, we don't even get this much beer sales during St. Patrick's Day, which in Boston is wild to even think about. But I I've I've enjoyed ⁓ seeing a lot of the ⁓ I mean, not to get too deep about it, but it's my favorite thing about sports in general is just how it can bring people together. I think There's so much that has so much ability to be divisive, even if you know it's the previous topic talking about music. ⁓ I can't stand that. It's not my favorite ⁓ type type of music. And then you you get to sports, and yeah, it's divisive when you talk about, you know, I don't like this team, I don't like that team. But when you when you look at the ways that it can bring people together, ⁓ I love it. And I think this World Cup really has so far, knock on wood, embodied that. You know, you even get like the Norwegian fans I saw coming in again to ⁓ because of what I follow is a lot of Boston stuff. ⁓ but they they come into the the I think they're calling it Boston Stadium area and they have the the road chant and it's just looks like thousands of people. It's probably more like hundreds, but just all together. I mean they're they're doing the road chant up escalators and you know it's it's almost like with what Scotland did too, they were saying, you know, England's coming in next week. They gotta step it up and and be respectful because you had so many people talking about how much they enjoyed ⁓ partying at with the Scotland fans and sort of like they'll give you a new fan, a ⁓ a kit and it's like th they go, ⁓ and wh when they put the kit over their their heads. So ⁓ you just using that to say I I I love in sports when we can all just kinda take a take a big group of people that you don't necessarily know and you're all kind of cheering for one thing. It's like when you go to a game and you don't know the person next to you, but you're all cheering for the same thing and you turn around and you high five them and for that those however many sets or how many quarters or How many halves you're you're friends with that person that you had no idea who they were for for a little bit. So I always love that about sports. And anyway, well we'll with what I'm watching, watched Anthropoid on Netflix, which was really good. Seven out of ten. I always love these kind of movies where it's something from like the the the teens that you know, the to the twenty teens that I a movie that I totally missed and and didn't see. It's it's about the Czech resistance during World War Two and it's ⁓ starring Killian Murphy, ⁓ which was it's just such a good movie. So I would highly recommend that one again on Netflix for anybody who hasn't seen it. ⁓ broke out my PlayStation playing double O seven First Light. ⁓ I'm wondering if they'll they'll cast that actor as James Bond. ⁓ it's been a really good game so far, although I'm ⁓ unfortunately not very far of the way through it because don't have a lot of time to play my Playstation these days. But it's like a movie and it's really cool and I'm I'm excited to have some more James Bond content, which is great. And lastly, I'll leave you with this. It's it's the quote of the week, which was ⁓ I rewatched La La Land, which I'm not a musical guy, but I do love that movie. And it's a quote from Sebastian in that movie, which says, I'm letting life hit me until it gets tired, and then I'm gonna hit back. It's the classic rope adopt. So if you're not having a great day, as I said ⁓ up in the top, or not having a great week, maybe that you'll y you'll use that from ⁓ Sebastian as your inspiration. But ⁓ like I said, I hope that you're having a great week. Ho glad that you made us part of that. week and that ⁓ that your weekend and we're looking forward to being back with you next week. We are going to be taking a plane pretty soon to Iowa to go and do ⁓ the train with the majors camp ⁓ in Iowa. We're looking forward to that. That'll be for me, not tomorrow, but the next day we'll be hopping on that plane and spending the weekend out in Iowa. So if you're coming, looking forward to seeing you, please stop by and say hi. And next week we'll have a couple of players to chat with you as well. I'll keep it a secret right now. But ⁓ we were excited to vet for that. A little bit of an on-location episode coming your way next week. But until then, that's gonna do it for this episode. Thank you to producers Mike, Jenna, and Amy. Does not happen without them. And of course, this episode does not happen. This podcast does not happen without you. We thank you for listening so much, everybody. Thank you for listening to Set Six, the official podcast of Major League Volleyball. I'm your host, Severin Lavenstein, and we'll see you next time.