The Leave It Better Podcast

For decades, the best volleyball players in the country had few places to turn to if they wanted to stay with the sport they loved after college. Jen Spicher helped change that. As the CEO of the newly created "Pro Volleyball Federation," Jen is giving women a chance to continue their dreams. 

In her talk with Janice, Jen breaks down just what it takes to launch a new professional sports league. Jen also offers her unique perspective on the difference between being a college NCAA coach, and a coach on the professional level.

Links mentioned:

• For more information go to www.side-out.org.
• Follow the side-out organization on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sideoutfndn/
• Have suggestions for the podcast? Email Janice: [email protected]

In the early days of collegiate and competitive volleyball, organizer had one major question in mind: How to raise the popularity and visibility of the game. That’s where Terry Liskevych came in. As a former collegiate and US Olympic team national volleyball coach, Terry Helped create the framework to support promising coaches and leaders in the world of volleyball.

Terry explains to Janice why he has a hard time putting faith in the USA volleyball organization. And in the ongoing debate over who’s needed more: great players or great coaches, Terry makes the case for choosing the players. 

Links mentioned:

• For more information go to www.side-out.org.
• Follow the side-out organization on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sideoutfndn/
• Have suggestions for the podcast? Email Janice: [email protected]

Winning isn’t everything if you’re not winning cleanly. Coach Tyler Carey believes in pushing his players to be accountable for every point… even the ones the refs don’t get right.

Tyler helped start the “Power of Pink” volleyball tournament, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for breast cancer research. He talks with Janice about how a brush with death helped him find a renewed passion for life, and helping others.

Links mentioned:

• For more information go to www.side-out.org.
• Follow the side-out organization on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sideoutfndn/
• Have suggestions for the podcast? Email Janice: [email protected]

In the world of women’s volleyball, one coach has racked up more wins than any other. His name is Russ Rose. He spent 40 years at Penn State and picked up seven NCAA Division 1 championships, among numerous other huge successes. So what does it take to not just get to the very top level, but stay there?

Russ’s coaching style holds players accountable. Hear what he sees as problems on the court today.

Links mentioned:

• For more information go to www.side-out.org.
• Follow the side-out organization on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sideoutfndn/
• Have suggestions for the podcast? Email Janice: [email protected]

When Gary Thompson lost his wife Maureen to metastatic breast cancer almost 10 years ago, his kids (15, 13, and 10 1/2 at the time) lost their mom. He and his family leaned into a variety of philanthropic endeavors to honor her legacy. As a result of his daughters spearheading Dig Pink® games (raising over $75K over 6 years) at their high school in Austin, TX, Gary was brought to the Side-Out Foundation and now serves as the Board Chair. Gary talks with Janice about his mission to give others battling cancer a chance to “have more tomorrows.”

Links mentioned:

• For more of Gary and his daughters' story with Dig Pink, visit his blog post, When Pink is the Color of Love, Not Cancer https://side-out.org/dig-pink/when-pink-is-the-color-of-love-not-cancer/
• For more information go to www.side-out.org.
• Follow the side-out organization on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sideoutfndn/
• Have suggestions for the podcast? Email Janice: [email protected]

Meet Janice’s former coach at Nebraska, Dr. Pat Sullivan. Aside from getting to know how Janice was as a player from her coach’s perspective, Pat explains the risks she took to bring the best out of her players. It’s blueprint to avoid mediocrity. 

Hear Dr. Sullivan's version of Nebraska's League of Their Own moments as it occurred for her and her Nebraska team.

Links mentioned:

• For more information go to www.side-out.org.
• Follow the side-out organization on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sideoutfndn/
• Have suggestions for the podcast? Email Janice: [email protected]

For 23 years, one of the most talented and respected Women’s Volleyball coaches was Nebraska’s Terry Pettit. He was there at the very beginning of women’s collegiate sports, and in many ways helped shape what NCAA volleyball is today.

Janice talks to Terry about what it was like coaching an entire team back in the early days when resources were so scarce the team only had a single ball to practice with. It was a rough start, but one that changed countless lives for the better.

Links mentioned:

• For more information go to www.side-out.org.
• Follow the side-out organization on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sideoutfndn/
• Have suggestions for the podcast? Email Janice: [email protected]

Whether you’re training professional athletes to reach their peak, or raising kids to deal with everyday pressures, Juniata Head Coach Heather Pavlik has the experience everyone can benefit from. With a family in sports, Heather knows how to move past failures in a positive way to reach success.

She tells Janice how straightforward honesty helped her gain the respect of her players and fellow coaches

After coming off her second National Volleyball Championship victory, losing only a single match in two full seasons, Heather shares her recipe for winning on the court and off.

Links mentioned:

• Juniata Volleyball website: https://www.juniatasports.net/sports/wvball/index
• For more information go to www.side-out.org.
• Follow the side-out organization on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sideoutfndn/
• Have suggestions for the podcast? Email Janice: [email protected]

Are you looking for inspiration on your path of self discovery? Do you want to help people and build a life with meaning? This is the podcast for you. For more than 30 years Janice Kruger has taught and coached young women leading them to become the best versions of themselves in both sport and life. Join Janice each week as she interviews some of the most inspirational people she's had the privilege to know. Each one of her guests has a special formula that has helped them on their journey of personal growth . The ultimate goal of this show is to demonstrate the significance of the human connection and how our respective journeys through life can help us each leave it better.

This show is brought to you by the Side-Out Foundation