As I mentioned previously, I’m attending this year’s USA Volleyball High Performance coaching clinic. The clinic actually runs from Thursday evening through Saturday (see the schedule here), but I started the trip yesterday because of the challenges of actually getting to Colorado Springs from Exeter – at least if you are trying to make it as cost effective as you can. I will be connecting through Dallas, so the full trip is Exeter to London to Dallas to Colorado Springs, and back along the reverse path.

Two things made it a pain to plan. First, I needed to arrive at my final destination before 5pm because of when things get going. I could find no flights/connections that would accomplish this, though, meaning I have to fly over the day before (today). I will overnight in Dallas. I was last there for an AVCA Convention back in 2004 or 2005. I then connect on to Springs tomorrow.

The second issue was that the London-Dallas flight is too early for me to get a train from Exeter to London. That meant starting the trip with an initial overnight stay in London (last night).

The back-end of the trip was equally interesting to work out. It was at least £200 ($300+) more expensive to fly back on Sunday than on Monday. So I’m staying an extra night at the Olympic Training Center ($45). Of course, the Dallas to London return will be on a red-eye, so I won’t get back until Tuesday.

In total, it’ll be an 8-day trip for a 2.25 day clinic. Better be worth it!

I’m sure it will. Educational stuff aside, I’m looking forward to having the opportunity to connect with a whole bunch of coaches. The schedule actually is set up to encourage regular participant interaction.

I don’t know to what extent I’ll be able to get anything posted during the trip. The clinic schedule is quite full, though obviously I’ll have plenty of down time outside that. Just depends on my connectivity. You can count on full reporting at some point, though.

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John Forman
John Forman

John is currently the Talent Strategy Manager (oversees the national teams) and Indoor Performance Director for Volleyball England, as well as Global Director for Volleyball for Nation Academy. His volleyball coaching experience includes all three NCAA divisions, plus Junior College, in the US; university and club teams in the UK; professional coaching in Sweden; and both coaching and club management at the Juniors level. He's also been a visiting coach at national team, professional club, and juniors programs in several countries. Learn more on his bio page.

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