Welcome to 2026! It's a new season and we started the year off with one of the most successful coaches in the country.

Paulo Coco is the reigning Coach of The Year with League One Volleyball as the head coach of LOVB Atlanta. His international competition resume is incredible:

• Assistant Coach of the Brazilian Women's National Team
• Winner of Two Gold Medals (Beijing 2008, London 2012) and a Silver Medal in Tokyo Olympic Games.
• Winner of Five Brazilian Superliga Titles and the 2023-24 Brazilian Cup.
• Winner of Three Silver Medals and Two Bronze Medals at The FIVB World Championships.

Coach Coco joined us to talk about the importance of player mentality, being part of the growth of professional women's volleyball in the United States, and his love for the game that keeps him constantly teaching. Hope you enjoy this one as we start off the 2026 season!

https://www.lovb.com/teams/lovb-atlanta-volleyball

It's a holiday miracle! Actually, it is just a podcast the day before Christmas. Is Die Hard a Christmas movie? You're right!

We were joined by Kellan Flynn - Libero/Defensive Specialist from The University of Alaska Fairbanks after a historic season for the program. You may recall a previous podcast where we interviewed her mother about her recruiting journey that took her from Atlanta, GA to Fairbanks, AK. (Link Below)

She's a great young woman and she shared her experience with the big move up north, adjusting to college volleyball and academics, and making friends for life. Enjoy!

https://alaskananooks.com/sports/womens-volleyball/roster/kellan-flynn/3916

Chapter 4

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/volleyballd-chapter-4/id1843458331?i=1000732075023

We caught up with Carlos Luna, the owner and director of Luna Volleyball Academy. He's a former professional volleyball player who played in 10 countries around the world during his career. Carlos is also a former Olympian, taking part in the 2008 games in Beijing. Just as important to him, he's also a volleyball parent.

• "Elite athletes have to have a short memory"
• "The athlete needs time to recover not just physically but mentally"

Carlos discussed with us the parent's role in supporting our players and helping them deal with the pressure of the upcoming club season. He has an online event coming up on January 3rd geared towards parents who would like to be coached on how to handle the challenges of a club season.

January 3rd event @ 10am Central:

https://lunaonlinevolleyballacademy.com/fundamentals-under-pressure-live-training/

https://lunaonlinevolleyballacademy.com/

https://www.instagram.com/lunavolleyball/