The Deep Corner

SoCal Rising Tide head coach and occasional libero Ryan Windisch (@tropicalwindy) joins the show to talk about playing, coaching, and everything in between. He has a unique perspective on collegiate volleyball having played at the junior college level, the NCAA division 1 level, and now as the head coach for the Irvine Valley College men's program. We get into how playing libero influences coaching ability, how the Rising Tide roster is shaping up for this season, and what it takes to build team chemistry quickly at the highest level. Check out Ryan's coaching blog at https://acoachspursuit.com/ for more high level volleyball thoughts.

Ukrainian volleyball rock star Andrey Diachkov (@volleyball.advice) joins the show to talk in depth about his stellar international volleyball career that spans 15 years and several countries. He tells a few incredible stories about 5 set wins, crazy home-and-home CEV matches, playing so well against teams that they have no choice but to sign him to contracts, and what it was like to be the veteran after all his years. After surviving the gauntlet of quick fire questions unscathed, Andrey talks about his move to Houston and transition to coaching and playing in the VLA, including how he first got connected with his squad, the Chicago Icemen. If you don't already know the name Andrey Diachkov, look him up and follow him on instagram!

Also quick programming note that the show's release days are changing to Tuesday and Friday, not Monday and Friday anymore!

The legendary Eric Martin (@mremartin5) of Team LVC joins the show to somehow attempt to condense his 30-ish years of volleyball down to one single podcast. We cover all the changes in how the game is played that E has played through, the journey to the VLA level for a 5'6" utility guy, and the similarities between being a musician and a volleyball player. E also designed the VLA logo and several of our new uniforms, so we get into what makes a great sports logo and try to pick some of our favorite branded sports teams of all time. Don't miss this one.

New York Legion middle blocker Mike Marshman (@mikemarshman) joins the show to talk about his crazy last second recruitment to Saint Francis, the amazing progression of his team from his freshman to senior year in college, the differences between playing in France and Finland, and a nice crash course in how to read block in the middle. Mike also gets thrown into the fire with a new quick hitting interview segment, you'll want to see how he hangs in there! Also don't miss his insane story about the volleyball camp where he first got connected with LVC. Great episode.

Team Pineapple outside hitter/opposite Bruno Amorim (@brunera16) joins the show after finally getting home to Indiana after an insane stretch of travel disappointments when his Saudi Arabian professional season was cut short. We also cover his amazing volleyball exposure story, try to list every country he's played professionally in, dive into the differences between positions, sand vs. indoor, and playing vs. coaching, and describe what hitting off of Lloy Ball is like. Bruno is an absolute rock star in the volleyball world, really excited for you all to hear this interview.

SoCal Rising Tide (@risingtidevb) founder/general manager and VLA Director of Marketing Daniel Davidson joins the show, and we go all over the place talking volleyball. We cover the dangers of the NCAA reducing sports, how Dan consulted the FIVB on how American sports work, the Rising Tide origin story, and breaking into the American professional sports landscape, plus more. Kinda scattered but really interesting interview, looking forward to having Dan on the show again.

Chicago Icemen middle blocker Dave Hancock (@dave_hancock_) joins the show to talk about his late blooming volleyball career, all the way from his college club days at Purdue to professional volleyball in Germany and in the VLA. He has some great stories and lessons from his volleyball career and continues to be a monster in the middle at every level he plays at. Don't miss this one.

VLA Director of Business Development Will Foley ([email protected]) joins the show to bring a unique and detailed perspective on what it takes to build a professional volleyball league in today's American sports culture and landscape. We talk about how to put "butts in seats" at matches, how to get the sport in front of the most people, and how to tap into the existing incredible volleyball community. Also don't miss Will's story on what got him into volleyball in the first place. Awesome interview.

Official VLA Event Photographer Todd Jay (@theetoddjay) joins the show to talk about how ridiculously many photos he's taken in his life, what makes a great volleyball photo, and some of his favorite memories from capturing the sport. The VLA is so lucky to have such a talented guy on board to help capture some incredible moments! Give Todd a follow on social media and check out his website, ToddJayPhotography.com.

New York Legion middle blocker Blake Leeson (@blake_leeson) joins the show to talk about his humble volleyball beginnings, his quick growth into a starting role on back-to-back NCAA championship teams at Ohio State, and the transition into professional volleyball, plus his connection story to Team LVC and an incredible coincidence about flamingoes. Don't miss this one.