The InNOLEvation® Mindset Podcast

On the InNOLEvation® Mindset Podcast from the Jim Moran College of Entrepreneurship, host Mark McNees interviews Florida State beach volleyball head coach Brooke Niles who holds the records for the most beach volleyball NCAA wins, the only coach to have taken a team to the NCAA championship every year since its inception, and the first coach to reach 300 match wins, a milestone she achieved on her birthday, and was surprised by assistant coach Travis Mewhirter and the team with a celebration. Niles reflects on her California roots, her indoor beginnings, and her path to beach volleyball at UC Santa Barbara, and how the sport has evolved in terms of athletes' size, speed, rules, and serving pressure (she also kind of agrees with Mark’s dislike of the let serve :-)). She explains how she built FSU’s culture around grit, accountability, and a family environment, supported by elite conditioning, recovery, and performance technology (including WHOOP, force plates, and KINEXON). The conversation covers recruiting priorities, pairing strategy, the Big 12 transition, Gulf Shores as the championship venue through 2031, and her advice to stay true to core values as a leader.

00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro

00:34 The 300th Win Surprise

02:11 California Roots to Beach

04:45 West Coast vs East Coast Style

05:53 Karch Kiraly Anecdote

06:46 Building FSU Beach Culture

08:07 Grit Values and Leadership

10:41 Tech Driven Conditioning

13:41 Rule Changes and Let Serves

18:16 Ball Preferences and Training Tools

20:48 Measuring Athletes and Recovery

21:02 Recovery Tech Stack

22:22 Load Monitoring Tools

23:52 Recruiting What Matters

26:44 Building Winning Pairs

28:59 When Pairings Fail

30:47 Big 12 Transition

32:40 Net Height Debate

36:18 Growing Boys Volleyball

39:00 Gulf Shores Future

40:32 Coaching Values Reflection

43:06 Final Thanks Outro