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Gretchen Hand:
In the court, one time and a chicken ran across and they had to go pick up the chicken.
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Gretchen Hand:
And that the idea behind it, is that you're never going to let anything rattle you.
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Gretchen Hand:
You're going to play your game, no matter if a chicken is on the court or not.
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Gretchen Hand:
So we call it.
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Gretchen Hand:
That's our chicken.
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Gretchen Hand:
And I think it's important just to know that any challenge that's thrown our way that we are absolutely going to overcome any adversity as if it was supposed to happen that way.
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Mark Burik:
A podcast where we learn everything we can about playing and coaching beach volleyball.
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Mark Burik:
You're always welcome to visit our website, betteratbeach.com, where we have a number of ways for you to get better.
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Mark Burik:
We have online training programs for every skill where we take you to step by step through tutorials and drills so you can fix your passing, setting, arm swing, mechanics, attacking, serving, defense, and blocking.
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Mark Burik:
And we also have a 60-day max vertical leap program, so if you're interested in workouts that will help you increase your vertical jump, you can go ahead and check that out.
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Mark Burik:
We also provide online coaching and mentorship from real professional athletes and coaches, and this is a perfect place for people who want the coach to take their game to the next level.
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Mark Burik:
Love to see you at any one of our 7-day training vacations where you can hang out with pros and get over 40 hours of training in one week at beautiful beach resorts around the world.
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Mark Burik:
And you can always reach out to us if you want to bring us to your hometown to run a one day clinic for any of your local players or coaches.
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Mark Burik:
As always, please support your sport by subscribing to our podcast and any volleyball or beach volleyball podcast if you can.
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Mark Burik:
If you liked the episode, leave us a five star review and go ahead and share this episode with the volleyball players and coaches in your life.
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Mark Burik:
Today we have a very special guest who is actually another college coach, in which I'm very excited to talk to a college coach because the area, the environment that you get into when you talk from number one, juniors, it's its own universe when we talk about juniors and then kind of the typical adult experience where we have weekend tournaments and recreational play, but we're still trying to get better, that is a crazy different experience than juniors or college.
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Mark Burik:
And the professional experience is entirely different and in some ways worse than a lot of people's college experience with sports because of maybe the lack of funding, lack of resources, lack of leadership and direction, I'm not sure.
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Mark Burik:
But Gretchen Hand has a ton of experiences.
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Mark Burik:
She played on the AVP, she played pro.
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Mark Burik:
She is now a college coach for Missouri State Beach Volleyball, and we're going to dive into her experience and try to glean the differences and see what the pluses and minuses are for players at each level and in each kind of little beach volleyball universe.
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Mark Burik:
So I'm super excited to have her on and I can't wait to hear about her experience and learn a lot from her.
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Mark Burik:
So without further ado, Gretchen Hand.
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Mark Burik:
Welcome to the show.
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Gretchen Hand:
Hi, guys.
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Gretchen Hand:
Thanks so much for having me.
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Gretchen Hand:
I'm super excited to geek out with you about beach volleyball.
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Gretchen Hand:
Let's do it.
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Mark Burik:
Love it.
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Mark Burik:
So what we always ask is, what did you do today? So you're currently Missouri State beach Volleyball head coach.
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Mark Burik:
What was today like? And today is May 5.
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Mark Burik:
Happy sinko de Mayo of 2022.
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Gretchen Hand:
Happy Sinko de Mayo today.
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Gretchen Hand:
We have been celebrating just our end-of-season review.
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Gretchen Hand:
This is where we get to meet with student-athletes and kind of go over, this is where we are at and this is how we're going to continue to improve and really develop fully both as an individual student-athlete and as a program.
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Gretchen Hand:
So it's all fun and great feedback of how to get that future growth.
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Mark Burik:
How long do those meetings last? You pull each individual in and you just say, this is where I think you have to get.
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Mark Burik:
This is where we are right now.
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Mark Burik:
How long does that meeting last? And what's the most uncomfortable that you've ever been in one of those meetings?
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Gretchen Hand:
Well, I think that it's never meant to be a bad discussion. Like whenever you do a review, we should always be able to call it that, find the positives.
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Gretchen Hand:
Right? And then there's always going to be I never want to be a know it all as a coach or a player, so there's always going to be areas to improve and being open to learning is really important.
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Gretchen Hand:
As a first year coach to Missouri State University, one of the biggest things is just to get to know my kids.
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Gretchen Hand:
And we had a wonderful roster of student-athletes that gave their very best this year.
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Gretchen Hand:
And we had learning curves this year that were incredible.
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Gretchen Hand:
And I became a better coach for my student-athletes and my student-athletes became better athletes all the way around.
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Gretchen Hand:
So it's a win-win.
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Gretchen Hand:
I think one of the biggest things after COVID is just kind of learning how to chat and how to discuss face-to-face again after being thankful for this podcast.
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Gretchen Hand:
But it's different whenever you're face to face 100%.
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Gretchen Hand:
So to have that human connection and being able to meet with coaches who care, we want to show that first and foremost we care about our student-athletes.
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Mark Burik:
And it was pretty easy during that time to feel really alone, disconnected, lucky enough to have a pretty awesome wife.
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Mark Burik:
So we got to play.
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Mark Burik:
We were peppering out in front of my house, like every day, working out together.
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Mark Burik:
And then we went on a bunch of road trips.
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Mark Burik:
When they locked everybody in, we're like, lock-in can technically mean lock in your car, right? So we went out on these big road trips.
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Mark Burik:
But if you don't have that partnership, that friendship or somebody's at home working or the nightmares of it, where it's like you don't like your home environment, covid could have been a terrible time for a lot of people.
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Mark Burik:
And getting back out of that where you can just be around, you can change environments and be around some better people.
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Mark Burik:
Imagine a lot of people are getting this breath of fresh air in terms of people in person.
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Gretchen Hand:
I think we have a lot of families still recovering, and that's okay. And it's okay not to be okay.
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Gretchen Hand:
And we've had those communications with colleagues, student-athletes, you name it.
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Gretchen Hand:
It's okay to check in on each other and have a different dialogue and not just brush off the dust and act as if everything's okay.
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Gretchen Hand:
I think that for the next few years, we're still going to see families struggling financially and learning how to recover from that.
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Gretchen Hand:
And we want to be there for all of our student-athletes and colleagues and our friends and any way that we can support.
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Gretchen Hand:
So today was a day of review and how we can do better both on the court, off the court, academically, and how we can have more fun over the summertime to get really excited about our fall time.
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Mark Burik:
Cool.
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Mark Burik:
All right, I'm going to ask you right now just because I kind of want to dive into pretend I'm diving into one of those player meetings.
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Mark Burik:
So I want you, in your mind, pick one player in your head.
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Mark Burik:
And of course, we don't need to or want to say your name, but what was one piece of advice that you gave to her to get better? It was one tangible thing that you gave her during one of the meetings today or yesterday.
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Gretchen Hand:
I got it.
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Gretchen Hand:
Okay, so without naming names, we had a student-athlete that was asked to do multiple roles, whether it was split blocking or being a role of a defender.
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Gretchen Hand:
And that student-athlete had a tremendous outlook and just really kept a positive attitude.
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Gretchen Hand:
And yet whenever you're going back and forth between the roles, I think one of the hardest things is to be patient with yourself.
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Gretchen Hand:
And I know that that's one of my own personal downfalls.
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Gretchen Hand:
Everything that we wanted, we wanted it yesterday.
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Gretchen Hand:
So as an underclassmen, Missouri State beach volleyball.
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Gretchen Hand:
We were very young this season, and a lot of underclassmen did a great job, and it takes time.
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Gretchen Hand:
And so that is something where you can't put a finger on it, just like, yeah, I'm going to give myself this.
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Gretchen Hand:
And sometimes it's asking your student-athletes and your athletes just to have faith and faith in the process.
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Gretchen Hand:
And so across the board, I know that we're doing great things, and yet it still takes time.
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Gretchen Hand:
It's never going to be a perfect game.
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Gretchen Hand:
You have sets and matches.
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Gretchen Hand:
They're like, wow, I was really on.
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Gretchen Hand:
That was awesome.
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Gretchen Hand:
Like, fire, straight fire.
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Gretchen Hand:
And then there are times when you're like, wow, I just got hit literally in the face.
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Gretchen Hand:
And it's humbling.
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Gretchen Hand:
And we celebrate that joy in a wide range. And I think it's important to just let it be that at that moment and then be patient with it.
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Mark Burik:
That patience is something huge.
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Mark Burik:
And I remember being in college and somebody way smarter than me talking about the progression of years in college.
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Mark Burik:
I was really impatient with the skills, and I think a lot of people are really impatient with not developing.
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Mark Burik:
They want to know when's the time that I'm going to be this level of efficiency.
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Mark Burik:
And it's hard to really measure that.
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Mark Burik:
We had a few drills in college where you knew, hey, if I beat this drill, I'm at the level where I need to be.
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Mark Burik:
And that was a big plus or minus side out drill, where it's just you against an entire team of six, and can we set you and can you side out and play a little game of tug of war where you get a seven point lead, essentially, and it was horrifically taxing conditioning drill.
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Mark Burik:
But the first time you win plus seven, minus seven, you're like, Yeah, this is me being a baller.
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Gretchen Hand:
Absolutely.
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Gretchen Hand:
Yeah.
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Gretchen Hand:
And I think that those are the character builders, and you kind of have to be okay with earning your weight and really learning how to enjoy that process, because if you're constantly just try to get to the next step and get to the next step, while it's great to be passionate and driven, we're supposed to have fun along the way.
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Gretchen Hand:
And that is where, if we're not enjoying the process, we can actually stunt our own growth.
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Gretchen Hand:
So we want to find joy in the process.
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Gretchen Hand:
We want to be patient.
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Gretchen Hand:
And really, we try to journal every day at the end of our practices just to kind of, like, set it back in stone and review it in our heads of, this is what we did a great job with today.
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Gretchen Hand:
And so for any athletes out there, what did you do a great job with today? And it could be anywhere from I planned out my day to doing meal prep and having great nutrition to I got enough sleep.
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Gretchen Hand:
I put down my phone.
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Gretchen Hand:
I got enough sleep and went to bed early.
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Gretchen Hand:
So we really try to talk about all the disciplines that can make us more efficient on the court.
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Gretchen Hand:
And while it's skills and drills yeah.
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Gretchen Hand:
It's also about the disciplines of the court that will set you up for success.
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Mark Burik:
Yeah.
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Mark Burik:
It's so funny when you said, put your phone down and go to sleep thing.
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Mark Burik:
When I was in college, we had texting.
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Mark Burik:
I don't think we had smartphones yet.
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Mark Burik:
I don't quite remember, but there was still a significant amount of texting, and we had laptops, so that was when on facebook, you're just DMing everybody.
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Mark Burik:
That was our smartphone texting.
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Mark Burik:
And it's strangely important and difficult to say, I'm going to put my phone down now because otherwise it's going to cost me this much sleep.
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Mark Burik:
And I think a lot of people, myself included, will watch something or text or communicate or just swipe through reels or whatever until they feel like they're so tired that they can't continue, you know, instead of choosing to go to bed so that you have maximal performance.
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Mark Burik:
It's strange that your body is willing to sacrifice that time down the road and that your mind doesn't say, no, I have to shut it down, I have to put the phone in another room, I have to close it so that I can get my sleep.
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Mark Burik:
Because your body or your brain at that point doesn't know that you want to wake up in four or 5 hours
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Gretchen Hand:
Yeah, to piggyback off of that. So you have these student-athletes that are physically still developing.
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Gretchen Hand:
Think about your college years of how your body changes and muscle development, and that's for both males and females.
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Gretchen Hand:
And so whenever we talk about a controllable, that's controllable you can control.
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Gretchen Hand:
If you are letting your body wind down and turning off that phone or creating a new system so you can have more recovery time to be more efficient on the court, that absolutely as a freshman and sophomore in college, it gets a little different whenever you're a junior and senior because of the number of repetitions you've had.
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Gretchen Hand:
And longevity-wise, if you start practicing those disciplines earlier, it can lead to a stronger, healthier career even beyond that collegiate level.
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Mark Burik:
Yes, stronger healthier.
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Mark Burik:
It's not talked about enough that the lack of sleep will cost you an injury, and an injury will create a new motor pattern.
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Mark Burik:
And that motor pattern, just because you want to get back into sports so quickly, you might ignore full recovery, you might get back to the point where you can play, but do you actually get your body back to the point where it was pre injury? And I know personally that's why I went through a lot of that.
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Mark Burik:
I found the minimum amount of recovery time and then I just said I'm good enough to play.
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Mark Burik:
And you kind of forget about the little rehab to get that section of your body back to 100%, so that your body operates again at 100%.
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Mark Burik:
But if you lose sleep, you lose nutrition, you start getting hurt, then hurt is where you build compensations on compensation.
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Mark Burik:
And then you just keep this cycle of getting those dominoes.
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Gretchen Hand:
Those dominoes keep going for sure
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Mark Burik:
Just going back to the path of how fast people should get better. I remember the college coach, what he told me, and this was Paul Concer.
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Mark Burik:
I don't know where he's coaching right now.
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Mark Burik:
I should shoot him a text.
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Mark Burik:
He's always like making his way around the NCAA coaching rounds but he said, Listen, Mark, you're being too impatient with yourself.
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Mark Burik:
And I was like, Whatever.
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Mark Burik:
But he said, Year one is when you're just looking at everything and you're learning what a tool does.
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Mark Burik:
You're not even learning how to use it yet.
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Mark Burik:
You're just looking around saying, that's a hammer, and it put snails in that's duct tape.
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Mark Burik:
Okay? It sticks things together.
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Mark Burik:
The entire year two is you being able to now use it.
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Mark Burik:
Okay, let's teach you how to actually be efficient with a hammer.
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Mark Burik:
And you might only learn a couple of them in that second year because it takes a lot to be a master with each tool.
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Mark Burik:
And then he says, finally, you're three, four, five, depending on how long you've been in the game.
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Mark Burik:
That's when he goes, you have your tool belt.
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Mark Burik:
You see a problem and you don't even need to look for it.
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Mark Burik:
You just grab it from your tool belt and you know, that's the solution to that problem.
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Mark Burik:
And that really calmed me down when he somehow, I guess, metaphorically or theoretically broke it into years of where I should be mentally.
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Gretchen Hand:
That pathway for success. And I think that was a great way to break it down.
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Gretchen Hand:
And we talk about our resources as well, and whether it's those proper tools and the progression.
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Gretchen Hand:
But I think that whenever we look at beach volleyball, it's so incredible to see how quickly these student-athletes are coming in as impact players.
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Gretchen Hand:
And you're seeing it right now on so many levels.
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Gretchen Hand:
It's not necessarily if you're a senior or graduate student, you're seeing anywhere from freshmen all the way up, competing on the court in great ways.
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Gretchen Hand:
And so, again, it may not be a year thing.
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Gretchen Hand:
It may be that your maturity, it's a different pathway.
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Gretchen Hand:
So that patience, it's really important that every year is different and that we recognize that maybe your first two years you were on and it was fire, it was easy, and then there could have been an injury or there's some other life change that makes it a different kind of season.
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Gretchen Hand:
And so it's really important just to be a constant learner and okay with making adjustments as you need it.
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Mark Burik:
That's so smart just to say, like, hey, your path might change, it might get altered when you should have zagged or zig when you're supposed to zag.
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Mark Burik:
But you have to be a constant learner, which means when you're presented with a new situation, a new environment, hey, this isn't an interruption.
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Mark Burik:
This is our opportunity now to adapt and overcome and see what's next, because life's going to throw always a million problems.
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Gretchen Hand:
We can problem-solve now. I mean, my goodness, our goal and what we want to do is to help our student-athletes go out and be successful young adults in the professional world and be incredible influencers and many, many platforms.
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Gretchen Hand:
And I'm confident that this class that's coming off of COVID they're fighters.
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Gretchen Hand:
They didn't quit even when there was a global pandemic.
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Gretchen Hand:
So for any student-athlete out there that is struggling, you've already made it through so much, you just got to keep going.
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Mark Burik:
As a coach, do you ever throw intentional wrenches for your team or for a player, or do you kind of let life handle that? I did this one thing when I was coaching player coach in Sweden for one of my pro teams and I locked them out for an intentional 25 minutes before a practice.
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Mark Burik:
And, you know, I was going to use it as a teaching point, like, what's going to happen if we show up to a match and we need to play immediately? How are we going to react in that situation? That's going to be a problem we're going to run into.
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Mark Burik:
To teach my youth coaching girls club team, to teach them honestly, it was a thing about drinking.
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Mark Burik:
I had them hold something in their hands while trying to play a volleyball and literally a two hour, not one handed practice, but they had to hold something in their hands.
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Mark Burik:
And I said, this is what this can do to you.
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Mark Burik:
Just know that you will be handicapped if you make the decision to drink.
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Mark Burik:
And at no point did I say, don't drink, don't drink, blah, blah.
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Mark Burik:
I said, this is what comes with your decisions.
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Mark Burik:
There's an inability to do certain things.
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Mark Burik:
Can you work around it? Did you figure out how to pass because you could put your other hand on top of it? Yes.
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Mark Burik:
Is it compromising you? Incredibly, yes.
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Mark Burik:
But they didn't know what I was teaching them until the end of the practice when they were so pissed off.
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Gretchen Hand:
I think that it's important to use different modes of learning and anything that's thought provoking at this point.
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Gretchen Hand:
Beach volleyball is such an ever changing sport.
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Gretchen Hand:
That's our chicken.
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Gretchen Hand:
I coached with coach Carlos Immense at Weber International University, and being from Columbia, he was literally playing on a court one time and a chicken ran across and they had to go pick up the chicken.
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Gretchen Hand:
And the idea behind it is that you're never going to let anything rattle you.
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Gretchen Hand:
You're going to play your game, no matter if a chicken is on the court or not.
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Gretchen Hand:
So we call it.
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Gretchen Hand:
That's our chicken.
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Gretchen Hand:
And I think it's just important.
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Gretchen Hand:
It's important just to know that any challenge that's thrown our way, that we are absolutely going to overcome any adversity as if it was supposed to happen that way.
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Gretchen Hand:
Because beach volleyball is random.
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Mark Burik:
As if it was supposed to happen that way. That's gold.
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Gretchen Hand:
We're right where we need to be.
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Mark Burik:
Treat problems as if they were supposed to happen.
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Mark Burik:
Oh, man.
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Mark Burik:
Round of applause for that one.
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Mark Burik:
I like that.
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Mark Burik:
That might be our hook.
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Gretchen Hand:
Right on.
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Mark Burik:
OK, so we talk a lot about problem solving.
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Mark Burik:
I want to know what you think mentally, are the two most important attributes and I might end up pressuring you into a more detailed answer.
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Mark Burik:
Usually people don't get it on the first try, but something tangible.
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Mark Burik:
What are the two most important attributes mentally for a successful beach volleyball player?
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Gretchen Hand:
Well, on the court to create the most success, I feel like you're either 50% of the solution or you're 50% of the challenge. Right.
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Gretchen Hand:
And every single rally we want to be solution-based, meaning that whenever it comes to having a teammate that I find this year was super, super helpful.
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Gretchen Hand:
Coach Carol Walter, our assistant coach, like, we used to play together and we were lucky enough to have her assistance this year.
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Gretchen Hand:
And one of the best points that was really effective is as we were teaming up, we were like our athletes weren't looking each other in the eyes.
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Gretchen Hand:
And so whenever after rallies it's like, okay, look at each other and let's talk about what we need real quick.
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Gretchen Hand:
Was that great set? Okay, we're going to give that visual of like, hey, that was a great set and start to make that better connection with our teammates.
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Gretchen Hand:
And I think that that is, again, after COVID something that's kind of been lost is just really making sure that we're connecting with our teammates on the court and asking how we can help each other.
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Gretchen Hand:
So we want to be solution-based and be there for each other.
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Gretchen Hand:
And I think that is different for every student-athlete of what they need for success.
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Mark Burik:
So does problem solving mean 50% of the problem solver? Is that positivity instead of turning emotional a logical how do we fix this problem?
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Gretchen Hand:
So going back over the resources or the tools that we previously had talked about the tool belt and we talked about on when we're on serve receive making sure that we have a great site out game. Well, if we have a really aggressive server that's pushing us deep, did we adjust with the proper footwork? Do we reset a little bit deeper? If we got challenged on the back left corner, did we take that serve away and shift our services? There's so many different resources that we could have used.
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Gretchen Hand:
We could have switched our left and right side.
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Gretchen Hand:
But we're going to exhaust all of our resources and make sure that we are making as many adjustments to make it difficult for that for our opponents to do it again.
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Gretchen Hand:
Back to us.
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Gretchen Hand:
I think it's important to remain flexible and that's just a small example, but like knowing our resources to overcome the adversity, we really try to break down each area to say, hey, here s some problem solving solutions or just ways to overcome it quicker.
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Gretchen Hand:
And I feel like it helps them in system play.
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Mark Burik:
How do you think that that compares with having the rock of what your system is? So if you're always problem solving or you have the ability to lean or dip or dodge in a different way, as opposed to, let's do what we do every single day.
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Mark Burik:
Or is doing what you do every single day problem-solving? Are you more like chameleon based if you had to be some of a spirit animal?
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Gretchen Hand:
I think that whenever we look at the schedule of life right, it's ever-changing.And so it's really important and relating it back to season.
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Gretchen Hand:
So we get into season and we go straight in and everybody's super excited and they're fresh and they're healthy.
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Gretchen Hand:
And then you get to mid season and all of a sudden the academic workload gets a little bit heavier.
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Gretchen Hand:
You're starting to see more stress management needed.
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Gretchen Hand:
And like, athletes may be getting a little bit more physically, showing the need for more recovery time.
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Gretchen Hand:
And then towards the end of the season, that's when you're seeing all of it.
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Gretchen Hand:
Like you're seeing the physical injuries that may have been coming out.
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Gretchen Hand:
It's the academic workload.
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Gretchen Hand:
It could be any number of things that are ever changing.
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Gretchen Hand:
And so our practices, while we have core foundational work, it is meant to help them and deal with the stress management at hand.
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Gretchen Hand:
So we do our two-week progressions for our practice schedules, but we stay pretty flexible if needed for the needs of our student-athletes.
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Gretchen Hand:
If we're coming back from a road trip and they're super banged up, we may just be doing yoga for that first day back and working on we're going to hydrate, we're going to get with our athletic trainer and get that recovery, and we're doing yoga today.
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Gretchen Hand:
It just is need-based.
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Mark Burik:
Yeah.
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Mark Burik:
I like being flexible.
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Mark Burik:
I found that it's important to me.
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Mark Burik:
It didn't used to be that way.
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Mark Burik:
And then I see this one instagram reel over and over.
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Mark Burik:
Kobe Bryant, who was like, I made a contract with myself.
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Mark Burik:
I made a promise to myself.
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Mark Burik:
And he's like, if you're too tired on one day, if you can't do it on one day, he goes, Nope, I'm not changing.
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Mark Burik:
Because this is what I said I would set out to do.
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Mark Burik:
And it's always like, where is that line of doing it? No matter what you are, where you're tired, when you're hurt, when there are problems and other things and other stressors going in your life, and can you just keep beating your head against the wall and eventually you're going to break that wall down? Or do you shift an ebb and flow and then if it's somewhere in the middle, which most likely that's where the answer is. Where do you find that line?
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Gretchen Hand:
I love that mentality of having that discipline and things changed after COVID and our student athletes need a little bit more assistance and our colleagues need more assistance and just mental health and wellness.
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Gretchen Hand:
We have to be aware that it's important to listen to the need.
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Gretchen Hand:
It's no longer just about the skills.
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Gretchen Hand:
And so whenever you see when we talk about stress management and what that looks like.
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Gretchen Hand:
It's a wide range of needs going on right now.
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Gretchen Hand:
It's really hard to pass a ball when you didn't sleep the night before because you're stressed out about all these tests because of the workloads, and that's when your highest probability for injury whenever you're that fatigued out.
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Gretchen Hand:
And so I have definitely, over the years, become more aware of the needs of the student-athletes.
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Gretchen Hand:
It is important to have structure and going through that core foundational work and having your progressions, and yet there's always time to care and listen to the needs of the student-athlete.
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Mark Burik:
Do you think foundationally, that athletes everywhere, especially high school and college athletes, have come out severely weakened from Covid?
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Gretchen Hand:
Yeah, I think that first year back after COVID, you saw a ton of catastrophic injuries that were not normal. It just wasn't normal.
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Gretchen Hand:
Our season right after Covid, I was at a previous institution, and I was working with both indoor and beach, and on the indoor side, basically, you had a season that stopped, and then we started it again for the following spring.
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Gretchen Hand:
And so you had a lot of impact injuries, ankles, knees, hips, even shoulders of, like, just not having the normal reps of attacking.
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Gretchen Hand:
I think that we're much better than right after Covid, but I don't feel like we're out of the woods yet.
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Gretchen Hand:
I think we're still kind of you have to continuously monitor those student athletes and the ones who kind of started right before COVID that got a year delay, those are the ones that were the most susceptible at that point.
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Gretchen Hand:
So I think it's just important to be aware and monitor and then try to establish that new norm for, okay, what's our standard of getting our core working?
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Mark Burik:
Yeah. And how do we get back and how fast do we get back? Because it's widely known, covered increased obesity rates quickly, increased levels of depression quickly, increased suicides quickly, all terrible things that are going to have consequences not only just currently, but down the road.
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Mark Burik:
And it was a complete awful thing.
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Mark Burik:
It's not as awful as the people who suffered the worst and suffered real family losses and the people who lost their lives from Covid, but we have to find a way to you can't just hit the ground running again.
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Mark Burik:
And I think a lot of people tried to do that.
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Mark Burik:
Maybe for us.
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Mark Burik:
My stomach got fluffier than it ever did, but I also have a gym in my garage, so I built my own access point.
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Mark Burik:
And thank God I'm lucky enough to have space where I can have a squat rack to work out, because it's so weird to just sit there and do jump squats, like in your living room.
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Mark Burik:
In our online program, we have a 60 vertical lead program.
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Mark Burik:
People literally, they bought their interchangeable dumbbells, and we designed the program so that you could do it with any equipment, but they were literally doing weighted jump squats in their living rooms, and they still saw those vertical increases, but it took a lot of pushing them to get them moving.
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Mark Burik:
It took a lot of people together in one group showing, like in our Facebook group, we give a lot of support.
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Mark Burik:
So it's, Hey, I'm doing it.
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Mark Burik:
Why aren't you doing it? Hey, that person's doing it in their dining room.
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Mark Burik:
All right.
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Mark Burik:
I guess if they're doing it in a dining room, I could do it on my porch.
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Mark Burik:
That's not so bad.
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Mark Burik:
But when you don't have those connected groups, you just lose out because you think, oh, well, it's not easy for everybody probably.
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Mark Burik:
So I'm not going to do it.
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Gretchen Hand:
Yeah.
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Gretchen Hand:
And I think that fight or flight, right? Are you going to fight for it or are you going to just hunker down and try to protect yourself? And there was a wide range of response during that time, and I think that even from your caretakers, whether it's your parents or your loved ones, everyone's response.
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Gretchen Hand:
We were just trying to do the best that we could.
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Gretchen Hand:
So for our student athletes, even now, it's just like any time flu season comes around this year, it was scary again.
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Gretchen Hand:
And so there was a fear of, like, hey, is season going to get canceled? And at that point, it's just reassuring that while that fear is real, we're not going to feed into it because it's out of our control and we're going to focus on what we can control.
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Gretchen Hand:
So we were able to get through a great season, and those student athletes, we were able to reassure them, I understand that fear.
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Gretchen Hand:
And yet sometimes when it's out of your control, you just have to have faith it's going to work out.
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Mark Burik:
Yeah, I like that.
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Mark Burik:
The fear that's bugging me right now is everybody now.
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Mark Burik:
The fear of all germs, of people, of groups are the most important thing in human society.
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Mark Burik:
Like, there's no lone wolf that successfully survived.
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Mark Burik:
No man is an island.
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Mark Burik:
You cannot survive on an island on your own.
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Mark Burik:
You need groups.
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Mark Burik:
And the fear that has been generated now from groups, from people connecting from just the world and your environment, man, I hope it goes away quick.
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Mark Burik:
But you can still walk around and see the people who are really still, like, walking the earth very fearful.
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Mark Burik:
And I feel personally, like, bad for them.
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Mark Burik:
I want to help them and say it's okay, but you're also talking to somebody who doesn't use soap or shampoo when they shower, and it's totally fine with going two or three days without it.
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Mark Burik:
Washing your hands, to me, is against health rules.
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Gretchen Hand:
I think there's a range there of just like, as it relates to our sport, we play a dirty sport.
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Gretchen Hand:
It's out on a beach.
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Gretchen Hand:
It's important to know that a lot of it is out of our control.
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Gretchen Hand:
But do what you can with what you have.
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Gretchen Hand:
And so if we are in our garage getting a great workout, that's what we have in that moment and to celebrate that moment for our student-athletes, whenever we were kind of going through it the season of just seeing the on the variant going through, we couldn't control if we were going to get shut down or not, but we went to work and we didn't live in fear.
295
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Gretchen Hand:
We had fun and we got better.
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Gretchen Hand:
So I think that if it's an outside element that you can't control, we're going to put it on the side and focus on what you can.
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Mark Burik:
Yeah, I'm having trouble with specifically for me, it's probably off topic, but the hand washing and the pure and hand sanitization that just went rampant all of a sudden.
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Mark Burik:
And then looking at the studies, and I did a deep dive into these studies, I go, this kind of makes sense because growing up, I was like they said in the army, you never wash your hands.
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Mark Burik:
You want to expose your body to different things without letting it completely take over.
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Mark Burik:
And now I'm looking at all of these skin documentaries.
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Mark Burik:
They're saying every time you take a purell and alcohol wipe, you're killing your body's layers of germs that are meant to keep the other guys out.
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Mark Burik:
Like, your skin is porous, but it develops a little biome so that you can't let things in or they do their job.
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Mark Burik:
And every time you clean and wipe your hands and destroy, that, like you're wiping all of those away.
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Mark Burik:
It is important for doctors whose hands are going into other people's bodies and getting through that, but a lot of these things that are coming out that I'm seeing every day are flying in the face of the whole like, hand washing thing where you actually kind of destroying your skin's own ability to fight things away and seeing I have never accepted the little alcohol wipe from the airline agents.
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Mark Burik:
I'm like, no, I'm not putting my hands in anybody else's body or mouth.
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Gretchen Hand:
I think it's very thought provoking and whenever as it relates to our collegiate and student athlete level, that's something that is just we have our athletic trainers and we talk about the hygiene and the newest of alignment with CDC.
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Gretchen Hand:
So because we're an institution, it's a little bit different than just training out at a professional level.
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Gretchen Hand:
So as of right now, we do recommend and we stay with our athletic trainer for the latest advice and man, even this year it changed multiple times.
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Gretchen Hand:
So I think it's important, like anything that we remain flexible so we can have the best outcome.
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Mark Burik:
And you have to you have to go with the best information you have available to you currently.
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Mark Burik:
And the people who are yelling at everybody else, they've seen different information sets than you have, so they're going to have a different opinion.
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Mark Burik:
It's a little bit socky.
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Mark Burik:
That information comes from a million different sources right now.
314
00:37:25,508 --> 00:37:29,382
Mark Burik:
And in general, I understand where it's going.
315
00:37:29,576 --> 00:37:30,320
Gretchen Hand:
Yeah.
316
00:37:30,950 --> 00:37:32,682
And locally, it's just different.
317
00:37:32,816 --> 00:37:37,606
Gretchen Hand:
How it is in California is different than Missouri, which is different than Florida.
318
00:37:37,678 --> 00:37:45,270
Gretchen Hand:
And coast to coast, it's not consistent across the board just yet.
319
00:37:45,320 --> 00:37:52,134
Gretchen Hand:
But I think, again, it's important to remain flexible and it's to the needs of that area.
320
00:37:52,292 --> 00:38:01,950
Mark Burik:
I think that's a brilliant point because they are new York City versus upstate New York versus somewhere in rural Oklahoma.
321
00:38:02,570 --> 00:38:07,820
Mark Burik:
You're having one person at the top generate rules that are supposed to blanket the entire thing.
322
00:38:08,510 --> 00:38:11,298
Mark Burik:
But yeah, everybody's in a different situation.
323
00:38:11,384 --> 00:38:18,006
Mark Burik:
And that's not just for this covid thing, but that's for a lot of things in policy and everything.
324
00:38:18,068 --> 00:38:23,998
Mark Burik:
So that's a very smart and interesting point, that it's tough to apply all those different roles.
325
00:38:24,034 --> 00:38:28,100
Mark Burik:
I guess that's why we have governors and mayors, so they have some freedom within there.
326
00:38:29,030 --> 00:38:30,690
Mark Burik:
Anyway, back to volleyball.
327
00:38:32,030 --> 00:38:43,626
Mark Burik:
All right, so we went to basically the most important mental attribute that you noted was problem solving and then being the positive force on your team.
328
00:38:43,688 --> 00:38:52,880
Mark Burik:
And I think some people, just as a warning, some people think that there being a positive force by yelling at somebody else or telling somebody else that they're doing something wrong.
329
00:38:53,450 --> 00:39:03,330
Mark Burik:
That can be a version, but I think the positive force will always play to people's strengths better if you can be neutral with your speech or positive.
330
00:39:04,010 --> 00:39:21,978
Mark Burik:
We have a problem with this at camps in our classes where you have a somewhat more experienced player or somebody who just heard what the coach said and they see another player doing it incorrectly, like partner coaching, and I always get to stop them.
331
00:39:22,004 --> 00:39:25,818
Mark Burik:
I go, Hey, guess what, everybody? You guys all have the day off.
332
00:39:25,844 --> 00:39:31,820
Mark Burik:
And they get confused and I go, none of you have to coach today because you hired me to do it.
333
00:39:32,270 --> 00:39:39,906
Mark Burik:
And this is like real tough with husband, wife, boyfriend, girlfriend, where I'm doing a private lesson for the two of them and it's like their coupled date.
334
00:39:40,028 --> 00:39:54,090
Mark Burik:
And one of them, you could just see the pressure that they're putting on the other one, and it's like, hey, I'm going to try to do it just this way, so can you just let me work in here a little bit and I'll try to see if I can get through it my way.
335
00:39:54,260 --> 00:39:55,530
Mark Burik:
And that's tough.
336
00:39:55,850 --> 00:39:56,466
Gretchen Hand:
Yeah.
337
00:39:56,588 --> 00:40:11,722
Mark Burik:
So do you allow or encourage coaching within teammates? How do you mitigate or promote that?
338
00:40:11,866 --> 00:40:38,386
Gretchen Hand:
Well, I think it's always important to support that line of communication. We want to bring out each other's best, and how we communicate with each other on the court is kind of like, what do you need? How can I help? And so, just for basics, if it's a serve receive drill, and we're working on that, first of all, contact for that transition set, like where can we put that set for our attacker? That's going to be the most efficient.
339
00:40:38,458 --> 00:40:48,190
Gretchen Hand:
So working on that feedback and working on the communication of like, hey, we're always going to be giving some type of feedback.
340
00:40:48,250 --> 00:41:14,434
Gretchen Hand:
So whether it's the type of survey that's coming at us, if it's a close calls, if it's going to be an outcall, making sure that we give enough time for our teammates to make that response, and then for the set of, like, set location and giving feedback after it's complete, like, hey, that was a great set, so we can give that positive reinforcement to our teammates to make sure that we can produce it more consistently.
341
00:41:14,602 --> 00:41:21,330
Gretchen Hand:
So I think that as it relates to coaching, we have a great coaching staff with a lot of knowledge.
342
00:41:21,770 --> 00:41:28,002
Gretchen Hand:
If it's a movement that needs to be corrected, that's one thing that the coaches are happy to help with.
343
00:41:28,136 --> 00:41:39,862
Gretchen Hand:
But if it's feedback on how do we help each other, make it easier for each other to do their job, we want to encourage them on how to communicate and give that feedback.
344
00:41:39,946 --> 00:41:51,202
Gretchen Hand:
Like, if the path is too tight and it's becoming a trap on the net, we want the seller to give feedback of, hey, let's pull that ball off just a couple of balls.
345
00:41:51,286 --> 00:41:52,374
Gretchen Hand:
Give me a little room to work.
346
00:41:52,412 --> 00:41:58,318
Mark Burik:
Really? You would say that after that? That's when I tell them I call that a no S-H-I-T comment.
347
00:41:58,474 --> 00:42:07,100
Mark Burik:
Like, when you see a passer pass literally into the net and the setter hits the net wall setting, and they say, you got to pass that off, to me, it's like, no.
348
00:42:10,170 --> 00:42:22,550
Gretchen Hand:
But sometimes, especially with newer programs or newer learners, sometimes they don't realize that the path looked great and then all of a sudden you had wind on your back and the ball blew two more ball spaces.
349
00:42:22,670 --> 00:42:26,640
Gretchen Hand:
It started out great and it was a higher pass and maybe the wind took it.
350
00:42:27,630 --> 00:42:39,286
Gretchen Hand:
It could be that we need to talk about the elements at that point, but if there is some open dialogue that can help our play become a little easier, we want to support each other in that.
351
00:42:39,468 --> 00:42:43,382
Mark Burik:
I've just always found that we'll call it no crap.
352
00:42:43,406 --> 00:42:48,130
Mark Burik:
I don't know who's listening or if I don't have a curse on my own podcast, but we'll call like the no crap comment.
353
00:42:48,990 --> 00:42:55,690
Mark Burik:
When you set somebody tight and the blocker literally grabs at the same time as the hitter, and the hitter goes, set me off, dude.
354
00:42:56,490 --> 00:42:57,730
Mark Burik:
Yeah, no kidding.
355
00:42:59,790 --> 00:43:14,674
Mark Burik:
Why are you even saying that at this point? And I found that when you give that feedback after that mistake, where it's an obvious mistake, and then you say, Correct it, I found that that shuts down communication more than anything.
356
00:43:14,772 --> 00:43:20,834
Mark Burik:
And instead, at least at my level, I know that they know that that's tight.
357
00:43:21,002 --> 00:43:24,106
Mark Burik:
And I'll say, Hey, I'll fix it.
358
00:43:24,168 --> 00:43:26,906
Mark Burik:
But yeah, perfect for me is 4ft.
359
00:43:27,038 --> 00:43:30,758
Mark Burik:
I don't say, set me off, that was too tight.
360
00:43:30,794 --> 00:43:32,918
Mark Burik:
I don't accuse their last action.
361
00:43:33,014 --> 00:43:35,146
Mark Burik:
I say what's perfect for me.
362
00:43:35,208 --> 00:43:38,434
Mark Burik:
And for me, 4ft from the net is my perfect set.
363
00:43:38,472 --> 00:43:45,986
Mark Burik:
And so that's how I'll interpret, I'll fix it, but 4ft perfect for me.
364
00:43:46,108 --> 00:43:46,430
Gretchen Hand:
Yeah.
365
00:43:46,480 --> 00:43:57,314
Gretchen Hand:
And I would say, well, if we can't set each other tight, was it the pass? Was it the pass that was too tight in the first place? So we really tried to break down the movements of the why.
366
00:43:57,472 --> 00:44:02,730
Gretchen Hand:
And our goal is not to have the same thing happen twice.
367
00:44:02,850 --> 00:44:05,250
Gretchen Hand:
So we're going to be constant learners on the court.
368
00:44:05,370 --> 00:44:16,658
Gretchen Hand:
If we had an outcome, then, okay, well, let's pass to a new location, maybe let's run a backplay or a different tempo set.
369
00:44:16,744 --> 00:44:22,718
Gretchen Hand:
But there's always a solution that we don't have to repeat that same action unless it's the outcome that we want.
370
00:44:22,864 --> 00:44:25,602
Gretchen Hand:
I kind of like that Tetris.
371
00:44:25,746 --> 00:44:26,270
Mark Burik:
Yeah.
372
00:44:26,380 --> 00:44:30,050
Mark Burik:
Well, with me, I think I do that.
373
00:44:30,160 --> 00:44:33,314
Mark Burik:
I go to that after two or three sales.
374
00:44:33,472 --> 00:44:34,180
Gretchen Hand:
Yeah.
375
00:44:35,110 --> 00:44:39,350
Mark Burik:
If everything was good and I just made some kind of mistake, I go, give me that same ball again.
376
00:44:39,400 --> 00:44:46,250
Mark Burik:
I'm going to fix that now because I need to establish this, and then I'll go and do the other things.
377
00:44:46,300 --> 00:45:00,518
Mark Burik:
And I think defensively, getting to recognize the really macho dudes on the other side of the court who gets stopped one way, they usually back down quickly and they go the complete opposite way.
378
00:45:00,544 --> 00:45:08,210
Mark Burik:
So if we stuff somebody down the line, they're either going to hit hard cross or they're going to shoot the next ball.
379
00:45:09,010 --> 00:45:14,958
Mark Burik:
Whereas I think a lot of people go, No, I'm going to go back to that because I know that that's my good swing.
380
00:45:15,114 --> 00:45:20,620
Mark Burik:
So I need to have that good swing as part of the statistical set here to keep the defense honest.
381
00:45:20,950 --> 00:45:25,370
Gretchen Hand:
And absolutely, you can reinforce that and have that confidence.
382
00:45:25,930 --> 00:45:30,342
Gretchen Hand:
And I would say that there's probably something just to have that confidence.
383
00:45:30,426 --> 00:45:36,410
Gretchen Hand:
You still made an unknown adjustment right, to create that outcome.
384
00:45:37,810 --> 00:45:48,590
Gretchen Hand:
So that's what we're trying to get them to recognize, okay, it doesn't have to be big, but we're not going to give that same ball the same experience.
385
00:45:48,700 --> 00:45:52,010
Gretchen Hand:
We're going to make a slight adjustment to get the outcome that we want.
386
00:45:52,060 --> 00:45:55,900
Gretchen Hand:
And if you can crank online, do it.
387
00:45:56,350 --> 00:46:01,958
Gretchen Hand:
But if we made an error on a ball down the line, I want you to go back after it.
388
00:46:01,984 --> 00:46:06,810
Gretchen Hand:
But what's the adjustment is it keeping your body neutral so we're not over rotating.
389
00:46:06,870 --> 00:46:14,234
Gretchen Hand:
If we hit the ball out wide a little bit, there's usually some kind of adjustment that can be made to get the outcome that you want.
390
00:46:14,332 --> 00:46:16,338
Mark Burik:
That's a fantastic counter.
391
00:46:16,494 --> 00:46:17,574
Mark Burik:
We're making adjustments.
392
00:46:17,622 --> 00:46:23,382
Mark Burik:
But if I got stuffed going across, maybe it's because I went too low, or maybe it's just because I turned.
393
00:46:23,406 --> 00:46:24,714
Mark Burik:
You can still go hard cross.
394
00:46:24,762 --> 00:46:29,378
Mark Burik:
You can still have the same swing just an alteration of how you did it.
395
00:46:29,404 --> 00:46:31,840
Mark Burik:
You just stay higher next time.
396
00:46:32,590 --> 00:46:33,340
Mark Burik:
Perfect.
397
00:46:34,090 --> 00:46:34,730
Mark Burik:
Nice job.
398
00:46:34,780 --> 00:46:39,634
Mark Burik:
You should be in debate class.
399
00:46:39,682 --> 00:46:42,150
Gretchen Hand:
Not debating. We actually agreed pretty good.
400
00:46:42,260 --> 00:46:43,086
Mark Burik:
Yeah, I think so.
401
00:46:43,148 --> 00:46:43,770
Mark Burik:
Yeah.
402
00:46:43,940 --> 00:46:46,100
Mark Burik:
And we whittled it down to a perfect answer.
403
00:46:46,430 --> 00:46:46,794
Mark Burik:
Yeah.
404
00:46:46,832 --> 00:46:47,790
Mark Burik:
Good teamwork.
405
00:46:48,170 --> 00:46:53,202
Mark Burik:
Okay, so next then, what do you think as a player? Because you played pro.
406
00:46:53,276 --> 00:46:55,710
Mark Burik:
Did you ever play pro indoor? I apologize for that.
407
00:46:55,760 --> 00:46:58,138
Gretchen Hand:
I did not know when I finished.
408
00:46:58,174 --> 00:47:01,914
Gretchen Hand:
I finished my athletic career with University of Missouri, St.
409
00:47:01,952 --> 00:47:02,602
Gretchen Hand:
Louis.
410
00:47:02,746 --> 00:47:07,426
Gretchen Hand:
And before, when I graduated, there was no beach volleyball.
411
00:47:07,498 --> 00:47:15,130
Gretchen Hand:
I was in the middle of the country, and beach volleyball was not a college level at that time, but I didn't want to be finished.
412
00:47:15,190 --> 00:47:19,270
Gretchen Hand:
And I had my dear friend Kelly Renee Hickam.
413
00:47:19,330 --> 00:47:20,578
Gretchen Hand:
She's now Finney.
414
00:47:20,734 --> 00:47:22,338
Gretchen Hand:
She was my first teammate out of St.
415
00:47:22,364 --> 00:47:23,314
Gretchen Hand:
Louis, Missouri.
416
00:47:23,422 --> 00:47:26,238
Gretchen Hand:
We teamed up for about seven years total.
417
00:47:26,324 --> 00:47:28,014
Gretchen Hand:
We were brave enough to start in St.
418
00:47:28,052 --> 00:47:28,822
Gretchen Hand:
Louis, Missouri.
419
00:47:28,906 --> 00:47:34,160
Gretchen Hand:
We played the AVPs, the Jose Quarrels, the King of the beach, you name it.
420
00:47:34,490 --> 00:47:36,090
Gretchen Hand:
We just wanted to play.
421
00:47:36,200 --> 00:47:50,386
Gretchen Hand:
And so we traveled Midwest based for quite some time, and then we were brave, and we pursued our dreams, and we moved out to California, and that's when we got into the AVPs and traveling internationally, and just really we were blessed.
422
00:47:50,458 --> 00:47:53,890
Gretchen Hand:
Sometimes you'd rather be lucky than good, but a nice balance of both helps.
423
00:47:53,950 --> 00:47:57,414
Gretchen Hand:
So we were able to compete for quite some time now.
424
00:47:57,572 --> 00:48:03,666
Gretchen Hand:
I was out in California competing, and I had many pathways that brought me to this point.
425
00:48:03,728 --> 00:48:09,538
Mark Burik:
What do you think was at that time when you're making that move, you're going from Midwest now you're going to AVP now you're progressing AVP.
426
00:48:09,634 --> 00:48:22,374
Mark Burik:
What were you disappointed in? That you think too long to learn where you just wish you would have picked that up, or you wish somebody would have just given you that easy answer that you spent too long figuring it out.
427
00:48:22,412 --> 00:48:23,922
Mark Burik:
Did you have any of those?
428
00:48:23,996 --> 00:48:33,462
Gretchen Hand:
Sure. I think especially for all those athletes in the Midwest for so long, especially when I was going through my beach career, it was that, Oh, you can't do that.
429
00:48:33,536 --> 00:48:34,386
Gretchen Hand:
You can't do that.
430
00:48:34,448 --> 00:48:36,538
Gretchen Hand:
There's no beaches in Missouri.
431
00:48:36,694 --> 00:48:37,770
Gretchen Hand:
You shouldn't do that.
432
00:48:37,820 --> 00:48:40,954
Gretchen Hand:
You should go, and you should get, like, the cans, the won't, the don'ts.
433
00:48:41,002 --> 00:48:43,350
Gretchen Hand:
You want to eliminate that negative talk.
434
00:48:43,400 --> 00:48:44,430
Gretchen Hand:
That doesn't apply.
435
00:48:44,540 --> 00:48:58,026
Gretchen Hand:
So I would say if you have a dream and you want to go and pursue whatever it is to go for it and to be brave, I had to overcome a lot of fear just, like, failure of, like, oh, well, what if I move out to California? And it's not what I thought.
436
00:48:58,088 --> 00:49:01,818
Gretchen Hand:
Wherever you go, there you are, and you're supposed to be there in that moment.
437
00:49:01,904 --> 00:49:05,610
Gretchen Hand:
So I would encourage student-athletes to be brave and go for it.
438
00:49:05,660 --> 00:49:14,694
Gretchen Hand:
I'm excited for beach volleyball, where it's growing for both the women's side and the men's side and our pro side, and there's room enough for everyone.
439
00:49:14,792 --> 00:49:20,266
Gretchen Hand:
So if you want to do it, you should go out and do it and quiet the cance, the won'ts, the don'ts.
440
00:49:20,338 --> 00:49:27,982
Mark Burik:
So you think that the thing that slowed you down the most was the hesitation to actually go out and be in a volleyball environment.
441
00:49:28,066 --> 00:49:29,854
Mark Burik:
And volleyball environments now are getting bigger.
442
00:49:29,902 --> 00:49:34,090
Mark Burik:
They're becoming a lot more pockets where you can still be successful.
443
00:49:34,150 --> 00:49:39,450
Mark Burik:
That still might mean, hey, it's 4 hours from your home instead of across the country.
444
00:49:39,560 --> 00:49:47,878
Mark Burik:
I know right next to you guys now there's big beautiful facility, beach volleyball, Ozark, and they've got ten indoor courts in this gigantic bubble.
445
00:49:47,914 --> 00:49:49,278
Mark Burik:
And that was when I walked into it.
446
00:49:49,304 --> 00:49:53,394
Mark Burik:
We ran a clinic there and when I walked into it, I said, this is what I want.
447
00:49:53,552 --> 00:49:59,670
Mark Burik:
I looked at it, you guys did what I want to have and it's such a beautiful place.
448
00:49:59,720 --> 00:50:15,894
Mark Burik:
But now they built that without having an environment or a culture already established, which is a little bit wacky to me because in Utah, for example, the guy in Salt Lake City, Core Meryl, who owns that facility, he ran leagues in a park for two years and they were all sold out.
449
00:50:15,932 --> 00:50:16,882
Mark Burik:
They didn't have enough courts.
450
00:50:16,906 --> 00:50:20,910
Mark Burik:
So he was able to go to a bank and be like, look, here's the size of my waiting list.
451
00:50:21,080 --> 00:50:22,782
Mark Burik:
I can't get enough people in.
452
00:50:22,856 --> 00:50:24,354
Mark Burik:
So this is why I want to build this.
453
00:50:24,392 --> 00:50:25,702
Mark Burik:
And here's the financials.
454
00:50:25,786 --> 00:50:30,022
Mark Burik:
And so he built the community before he built the facility.
455
00:50:30,166 --> 00:50:37,470
Mark Burik:
And now before I bought horses, they're like Kevin Costner and they're just building it and they're not hoping that people are going to come.
456
00:50:37,520 --> 00:50:41,034
Mark Burik:
They are grabbing people and saying, come here, come here, come here.
457
00:50:41,072 --> 00:50:43,390
Mark Burik:
Getting corporates, getting people to come in and run clinics.
458
00:50:43,450 --> 00:50:50,122
Mark Burik:
And for our clinic, we had somebody who drove 16 hours, literally he drove 16 hours to get there because it's a nine hour clinic.
459
00:50:50,146 --> 00:50:51,654
Mark Burik:
We go ham with our training days.
460
00:50:51,692 --> 00:50:53,346
Mark Burik:
But that's how you build it.
461
00:50:53,408 --> 00:51:04,230
Mark Burik:
And I think people have to continue to understand that a community, whatever you want for a sport like beach volleyball or anything else, you have to have an active hand in building your own community.
462
00:51:04,340 --> 00:51:05,794
Mark Burik:
And that takes effort.
463
00:51:05,962 --> 00:51:10,774
Mark Burik:
But I don't think you have to have to have to go out to California anymore.
464
00:51:10,822 --> 00:51:14,394
Mark Burik:
I just think it's easier because there are so many players out there.
465
00:51:14,492 --> 00:51:30,090
Gretchen Hand:
What's so beautiful about our sport is that every area is different, right? So the California style of play and that investment of time, it's where your legacies are at because it's been developed for so long there.
466
00:51:30,200 --> 00:51:36,454
Gretchen Hand:
And then when you go to Florida and it's South Florida play, it's a melting pot of culture.
467
00:51:36,562 --> 00:51:53,182
Gretchen Hand:
And it's so cool to see the Brazilian influence, to see all these outside various cultures that come into the South Florida style play and the different tempos and then the Midwest, I feel like, is that physicality?
468
00:51:53,206 --> 00:51:57,330
Mark Burik:
It's a Florida small ball. The slow handsets, the slow ball.
469
00:51:58,190 --> 00:52:02,540
Mark Burik:
You can see a Florida player just by how they play.
470
00:52:04,010 --> 00:52:08,454
Gretchen Hand:
Everywhere you go, there's these different tendencies that you can pick up on.
471
00:52:08,492 --> 00:52:24,834
Gretchen Hand:
And I'm so thankful that I've been able to travel and meet the amazing beach players that we have because everybody contributes a different type of influence and style, and it really can help you be an active learner for life if you're just open to it.
472
00:52:24,872 --> 00:52:28,666
Gretchen Hand:
So travel and play and get to know different coaches.
473
00:52:28,738 --> 00:52:33,282
Gretchen Hand:
I feel like the more coaches that you can surround yourself with, that knowledge is power.
474
00:52:33,356 --> 00:52:41,718
Gretchen Hand:
And for where the Midwest is growing to, we are creating that opportunity that most did not previously have.
475
00:52:41,804 --> 00:52:47,610
Gretchen Hand:
When the Silvara family with the volleyball beach in Ozark, they're passionate and they did build it.
476
00:52:47,660 --> 00:52:52,338
Gretchen Hand:
And people are coming in from all over, and the Springfield area, they are building it.
477
00:52:52,364 --> 00:52:53,542
Gretchen Hand:
We're building more courts.
478
00:52:53,626 --> 00:52:58,110
Gretchen Hand:
And the Midwest will become a powerhouse in a great way, in a different way.
479
00:52:58,160 --> 00:53:01,114
Gretchen Hand:
It doesn't have to be like west coast or East Coast.
480
00:53:01,222 --> 00:53:02,502
Gretchen Hand:
It's okay to be different.
481
00:53:02,636 --> 00:53:05,202
Gretchen Hand:
So I'm excited where we're growing, too.
482
00:53:05,336 --> 00:53:05,634
Mark Burik:
Yeah.
483
00:53:05,672 --> 00:53:08,010
Mark Burik:
And they can become something.
484
00:53:08,120 --> 00:53:22,666
Mark Burik:
If you recruit the right people to your team, you can become sort of like what I always compare things to the indoor club in Illinois sports performance, where they really illinois had no business being a hotbed for recruiting as far as volleyball.
485
00:53:22,738 --> 00:53:28,006
Mark Burik:
But one club and then a few other clubs that started around it just said, we have a systematic approach.
486
00:53:28,078 --> 00:53:29,182
Mark Burik:
We know how to run a club.
487
00:53:29,206 --> 00:53:31,914
Mark Burik:
We know how to coach our coaches, and our coach coach our way.
488
00:53:32,012 --> 00:53:35,382
Mark Burik:
And it's a very progressive system.
489
00:53:35,456 --> 00:53:46,074
Mark Burik:
When you get into their club and they built now a whole environment, that when you hear about players from Illinois, okay, now I'm interested in going there to recruit, and I think that's what the Savara family is doing as well.
490
00:53:46,112 --> 00:53:52,018
Mark Burik:
They're going to see that, you know what, there is a ten court facility there, and there's nothing else to do in Missouri.
491
00:53:52,054 --> 00:53:55,340
Mark Burik:
So if they're playing beach volleyball, I bet they're doing it 10 hours a day.
492
00:53:56,690 --> 00:53:58,678
Gretchen Hand:
Well, it's an investment.
493
00:53:58,834 --> 00:54:00,366
Gretchen Hand:
It's investment of time.
494
00:54:00,428 --> 00:54:01,722
Gretchen Hand:
It's investment of money.
495
00:54:01,796 --> 00:54:11,574
Gretchen Hand:
And I think that if you want to practice your craft and become the best at it, then you have to be willing to sacrifice what it takes to get the outcome that you want.
496
00:54:11,672 --> 00:54:17,650
Gretchen Hand:
So a lot of times our student athletes will say, I want to earn a competition team spot.
497
00:54:17,710 --> 00:54:20,254
Gretchen Hand:
Okay, and let's create that pathway.
498
00:54:20,302 --> 00:54:29,890
Gretchen Hand:
What does that look like and what areas do we need to improve and how can we get you on that pathway? The quickest is that we do have to sacrifice during season.
499
00:54:29,950 --> 00:54:33,630
Gretchen Hand:
Our social life, that's just making it a priority.
500
00:54:34,430 --> 00:54:41,154
Gretchen Hand:
It's not even have to we get to because the get to is man, not everybody gets this opportunity.
501
00:54:41,312 --> 00:54:45,486
Gretchen Hand:
We get to do this together, and it's fun to see that investment grow.
502
00:54:45,548 --> 00:55:00,942
Mark Burik:
It bugs me when somebody wants that other spot and they show up to the practices and then while doing the same amount of practice as somebody else, they're there in the gym for the same amount of hours, they're there for the same lifts, and they don't put in the outside film time.
503
00:55:01,016 --> 00:55:04,710
Mark Burik:
They don't stay after their practice and jump serve for however long.
504
00:55:04,760 --> 00:55:11,758
Mark Burik:
They don't come 30, 40 minutes before practice and then serve and pass and dig against the wall when you show up to practice.
505
00:55:11,794 --> 00:55:17,286
Mark Burik:
If you're a part of a team, you are currently doing the bare minimum to be on the team.
506
00:55:17,348 --> 00:55:20,398
Mark Burik:
You're not doing the maximum to have a starting role.
507
00:55:20,554 --> 00:55:23,694
Mark Burik:
It's the extra repetitions and time.
508
00:55:23,792 --> 00:55:30,454
Mark Burik:
I think 99% of athletes don't understand, and that's why the 1% will always trump them athletically and skillfully.
509
00:55:30,622 --> 00:55:36,958
Gretchen Hand:
And I think that as it relates to that college experience, that's uniquely different than club.
510
00:55:37,054 --> 00:55:50,334
Gretchen Hand:
Like, whenever you're going into your college years and you're transitioning into the disciplines, it's not about mom and dad staying on you to do your work, you do have to become more self motivated, and time management is real.
511
00:55:50,432 --> 00:56:03,450
Gretchen Hand:
And to max out your abilities on the court, it does take that I am putting my phone down, I'm going to bed early, I'm going to get up early, complete homework, like make sure my nutrition, my meals are ready to go.
512
00:56:03,500 --> 00:56:11,470
Gretchen Hand:
I'm going to every single class, and I'm going to outperform in both academics and on court, and I'm going to be an outstanding citizen.
513
00:56:11,530 --> 00:56:13,110
Gretchen Hand:
It's connecting the dots.
514
00:56:13,550 --> 00:56:14,962
Gretchen Hand:
Success is not a fluke.
515
00:56:15,046 --> 00:56:16,510
Gretchen Hand:
It's not a fluke whatsoever.
516
00:56:16,630 --> 00:56:24,094
Gretchen Hand:
And so if you can figure out how to be successful in the classroom, it's going to help you be successful on the court.
517
00:56:24,142 --> 00:56:28,722
Gretchen Hand:
It's going to help you be successful in your profession after the next step.
518
00:56:28,796 --> 00:56:33,786
Gretchen Hand:
So right now, we are learning how to connect the dots for the success.
519
00:56:33,908 --> 00:56:39,750
Gretchen Hand:
And there are tremendous commonalities that will work for each individual and as a program.
520
00:56:39,860 --> 00:56:44,970
Mark Burik:
While you were saying that, my mind started going towards being prepared outside work.
521
00:56:45,020 --> 00:56:51,258
Mark Burik:
And then I thought two and three years before that for myself, I started lifting when I was 14, for sure.
522
00:56:51,284 --> 00:57:00,894
Mark Burik:
I was doing push ups, sprints, agility, but I started lifting my freshman year, and that was on top of now all of the little agility drills that I was doing on my own in middle school.
523
00:57:00,992 --> 00:57:02,802
Mark Burik:
So I was equipped in the weight room.
524
00:57:02,816 --> 00:57:06,258
Mark Burik:
I already knew how to power lift an Olympic lift by the time I got to college.
525
00:57:06,344 --> 00:57:16,122
Mark Burik:
The word that I want to use is going to sound mean, but I'm embarrassed for people who show up to a Division One program or scholarship program and have never lifted, have never put the weight room.
526
00:57:16,136 --> 00:57:24,222
Mark Burik:
I used to say, if you're going to get a Division One scholarship, you should have to have some sort of measurement of hours logged in a weight room.
527
00:57:24,296 --> 00:57:32,418
Mark Burik:
Because I saw specifically from being a guy in a Division One volleyball program and seeing how much went into it and how hard we worked.
528
00:57:32,444 --> 00:57:41,454
Mark Burik:
And then we saw a lot of people on the women's team where there were twelve scholarships and they're giving away the type of athlete that was getting this scholarship was just so low.
529
00:57:41,492 --> 00:57:44,754
Mark Burik:
And you know that they haven't touched a weight, they haven't been in a weight room.
530
00:57:44,792 --> 00:57:45,742
Mark Burik:
And it was admitted.
531
00:57:45,766 --> 00:58:00,214
Mark Burik:
And I was like, how can you get to a Division One program and never put in the work in the weight room? And never said, I need to get stronger and faster? I'm always embarrassed for the people who haven't put in that little extra time but are somehow gifted a scholarship.
532
00:58:00,262 --> 00:58:10,866
Mark Burik:
And do you take that into account when you're recruiting players? Like, do you have any experience in the weight room? Does it bother you when a player does or doesn't? And I know personally I get fired up about it.
533
00:58:10,928 --> 00:58:23,526
Gretchen Hand:
Yeah, I think it's concerning because you want to make sure that your student athlete is coming in prepared to take competition and be ready to go to the stronger that you can have your body be ready to perform.
534
00:58:23,648 --> 00:58:27,426
Gretchen Hand:
It's going to as an individual and as a program, it's going to make all of us better.
535
00:58:27,488 --> 00:58:34,462
Gretchen Hand:
So we definitely are proactive with making sure that we are including the strength and conditioning.
536
00:58:34,546 --> 00:58:38,134
Gretchen Hand:
We have a strength and conditioning coach on staff and athletic trainer on staff.
537
00:58:38,182 --> 00:58:45,286
Gretchen Hand:
The student athletes can help develop their programs, but also we do additional speed, agility training and footwork.
538
00:58:45,358 --> 00:58:48,598
Gretchen Hand:
There's just so many opportunities for growth.
539
00:58:48,634 --> 00:58:48,906
Gretchen Hand:
Right.
540
00:58:48,968 --> 00:59:04,182
Gretchen Hand:
And so I think just energy-wise, by promoting it and knowing that it's a value and voicing that before those student-athletes even come in, that they know that they are going to be doing those workouts, that they're a little bit more proactive, I think it's a little bit different as well.
541
00:59:04,256 --> 00:59:11,358
Gretchen Hand:
I'm sure it does still happen, but I don't know too many of my incoming recruits that are not because I'm forcing them to.
542
00:59:11,444 --> 00:59:12,426
Gretchen Hand:
They do it on their own.
543
00:59:12,488 --> 00:59:14,542
Gretchen Hand:
They're already self motivated.
544
00:59:14,626 --> 00:59:14,946
Gretchen Hand:
Yeah.
545
00:59:15,008 --> 00:59:19,002
Gretchen Hand:
And so overall health and wellness, there's so much availability now. Back in our days, the previous student-athletes just didn't have those resources.
546
00:59:19,076 --> 00:59:32,586
Mark Burik:
For the players who and I see this on juniors, I never knew it was a thing, but juniors will take their senior season off and they won't play or they won't put in.
547
00:59:32,648 --> 00:59:40,842
Mark Burik:
And this is coming from club coaches and close personal friends who go, I can't stand coaching seventeens because they're checked out.
548
00:59:40,916 --> 00:59:54,894
Mark Burik:
They don't put an effort because either they have their D-1 scholarship or they have their school already, and they claim that they don't want to get hurt or they're already set or they don't have that, and they're so demotivated at that point.
549
00:59:54,932 --> 01:00:00,166
Mark Burik:
And then the third athlete is the one who didn't care to move up a level in the first place, so they don't have that growth.
550
01:00:00,238 --> 01:00:27,198
Mark Burik:
Mindset as a coach who spends time recruiting players to your program, are you disgusted like I would be at people who would take off their junior or senior year before they get to your program? Or are you like, thank God I'm preserving my financial investment from my program?
551
01:00:27,284 --> 01:00:35,862
Gretchen Hand:
I think that every coach is different, but for me, I want my student-athletes to be healthy and in shape and ready to come in and be high impact for any program. And so that doesn't even really register in my mind of taking a year off, because we already saw what Kova did to us by taking a year off.
552
01:00:35,996 --> 01:00:46,390
Gretchen Hand:
And to me, I want my student-athletes to have the disciplines and the physicality that it's going to take to help build a powerhouse.
553
01:00:46,450 --> 01:00:50,346
Gretchen Hand:
And so if it's not reflective of that, then that's not our plan.
554
01:00:50,408 --> 01:00:55,866
Gretchen Hand:
We talk about our pathways for success and even the recruits of what they're currently doing.
555
01:00:55,928 --> 01:00:58,194
Gretchen Hand:
Again, that's just not even an option.
556
01:00:58,292 --> 01:00:59,886
Gretchen Hand:
They're taking off that time.
557
01:01:00,008 --> 01:01:02,886
Gretchen Hand:
It's time to go to work, and it's time to have that.
558
01:01:02,948 --> 01:01:04,726
Gretchen Hand:
Work means many categories.
559
01:01:04,798 --> 01:01:21,274
Gretchen Hand:
It's like, okay, the stress management work, where's your recovery at, your hydration, your nutrition, where is your on court work, where's your academic work? And it's not, Oh, I have to we get to man and, like, not everybody gets a D-1 scholarship.
560
01:01:21,442 --> 01:01:26,122
Gretchen Hand:
Not everyone gets a scholarship on any level to play college ball.
561
01:01:26,206 --> 01:01:27,250
Gretchen Hand:
That is an honor.
562
01:01:27,310 --> 01:01:30,022
Gretchen Hand:
And there's so many different pathways to get to compete.
563
01:01:30,046 --> 01:01:35,514
Gretchen Hand:
Now, to me, if I'm a student-athlete in high school, I would say, go after it and earn what you want.
564
01:01:35,552 --> 01:01:38,502
Gretchen Hand:
Like, there's a spot for you to compete, but you have to earn it.
565
01:01:38,516 --> 01:01:39,150
Gretchen Hand:
It's not given.
566
01:01:39,200 --> 01:01:44,082
Mark Burik:
Why do you think that's happening then? Why do you think well, I do have two questions before I forget it.
567
01:01:44,096 --> 01:01:47,554
Mark Burik:
I want to say you don't have to answer this one yet, but I'll say it out loud so we don't forget.
568
01:01:47,662 --> 01:02:11,386
Mark Burik:
Number one, do you have the power to remove somebody's scholarship if you get a report of them just essentially taking mentally off while still being a part of their club team? And the second is, why is this happening? Why are there so many players that they think that they're done once they've gotten their college scholarship?
569
01:02:11,458 --> 01:02:12,822
Gretchen Hand:
I just think it's mindset I think that it's not about earning a spot on the college roster anymore. That's not the end result.
570
01:02:12,956 --> 01:02:17,002
Gretchen Hand:
I think that used to be the end result of like, hey, I'm just going to earn a scholarship.
571
01:02:17,086 --> 01:02:19,806
Gretchen Hand:
And that, for whatever reason, was the stopping point.
572
01:02:19,868 --> 01:02:24,858
Gretchen Hand:
And once they earned it, maybe at that point that's where they thought that it was complete.
573
01:02:24,944 --> 01:02:27,006
Gretchen Hand:
That's actually just a new starting point.
574
01:02:27,068 --> 01:02:32,470
Gretchen Hand:
And that new starting point is like, okay, we've earned a position into college competition.
575
01:02:32,590 --> 01:02:33,150
Gretchen Hand:
That's great.
576
01:02:33,200 --> 01:02:39,210
Gretchen Hand:
Now my next stepping stone is going to be earning a competition spot in the top one through five.
577
01:02:39,260 --> 01:02:47,178
Gretchen Hand:
Or my next stepping stone is, okay, I just graduated from college with my undergraduate degree, and I want to pursue a professional level.
578
01:02:47,264 --> 01:02:57,058
Gretchen Hand:
Okay, so now what's your pathway for mapping out the tournaments you're going to focus on? So to me, there's always a new starting point, and we're not meant to be finished until we're 6ft.
579
01:02:57,094 --> 01:02:59,674
Gretchen Hand:
Under man, I want to keep improving.
580
01:02:59,722 --> 01:03:03,010
Gretchen Hand:
I want to keep challenging, and I think that growth mindset.
581
01:03:03,070 --> 01:03:19,186
Gretchen Hand:
If you can be forward thinking of like, okay, this is just the very next step of really cool stuff and get excited and be motivated about that fun opportunity, keep challenging yourself because the end result is no longer, oh, I'm going to get to play Collegiate Beach.
582
01:03:19,258 --> 01:03:21,438
Gretchen Hand:
That should just be another starting point.
583
01:03:21,524 --> 01:03:24,670
Gretchen Hand:
And now there's new disciplines that have to be implemented.
584
01:03:24,730 --> 01:03:24,990
Mark Burik:
That’s awesome.
585
01:03:25,040 --> 01:03:36,598
Mark Burik:
One of my best friends, Pat Santiago, who just got the head coach job at Columbia, he talked about, like, once you hear that you got accepted to a college or you got a spot on a college team, now is not the time to let off the throttle.
586
01:03:36,634 --> 01:03:38,994
Mark Burik:
He goes, now is when you floor it.
587
01:03:39,092 --> 01:03:40,926
Mark Burik:
He goes, all right, we're going.
588
01:03:40,988 --> 01:03:42,370
Mark Burik:
Now it's full throttle.
589
01:03:42,430 --> 01:03:44,094
Mark Burik:
And every new thing, it goes.
590
01:03:44,132 --> 01:03:45,994
Mark Burik:
You have to push the accelerator harder.
591
01:03:46,042 --> 01:03:46,650
Mark Burik:
You really do.
592
01:03:46,700 --> 01:03:53,974
Mark Burik:
And I don't think people are willing to say that you're building your engine along the way so that it has the ability to push harder.
593
01:03:54,022 --> 01:03:55,690
Mark Burik:
You're building your work capacity.
594
01:03:55,750 --> 01:04:03,166
Mark Burik:
You're building your tolerance for pain and your time management skills to be able to have more room in the accelerator.
595
01:04:03,238 --> 01:04:15,630
Mark Burik:
But at each new level you reach, you are pushing the accelerator down another inch, and along the way, it's like you got your foot on the accelerator and you're working on your engine at the exact same time so that it will move faster.
596
01:04:16,130 --> 01:04:21,798
Gretchen Hand:
Yeah, I think that it's okay not to be comfortable, and that's part of that learning process.
597
01:04:21,884 --> 01:04:26,982
Gretchen Hand:
And when we're getting challenged and we're learning, it's not a narrow progression up.
598
01:04:27,116 --> 01:04:36,942
Gretchen Hand:
Sometimes you're going and it's the scenic route, but either way, to have that patience and faith, tying it back in, it's like just like keep grinding out.
599
01:04:37,016 --> 01:04:42,922
Gretchen Hand:
That's part of the adventure and the fun, and then all of a sudden you reach a new high level of, I didn't know I was capable.
600
01:04:43,006 --> 01:04:43,986
Gretchen Hand:
Well, now you do.
601
01:04:44,048 --> 01:04:46,750
Gretchen Hand:
So now what? And looking forward to the new challenge.
602
01:04:46,810 --> 01:04:50,338
Gretchen Hand:
And I think that that's part of why I love beach volleyball.
603
01:04:50,434 --> 01:04:51,262
Gretchen Hand:
I love coaching.
604
01:04:51,286 --> 01:04:59,790
Gretchen Hand:
It is because it's never the same, because there's always new teammates, new athletes that I'm working with, and there's always a way to help.
605
01:04:59,840 --> 01:05:00,054
Mark Burik:
Yeah.
606
01:05:00,092 --> 01:05:01,530
Mark Burik:
New emotions, new problems.
607
01:05:01,640 --> 01:05:14,826
Mark Burik:
There's so much nuance to the game, to coaching, and like you said, you're experiencing as a college coach now, like, coming out of COVID, you have an entirely new set of problems to deal with and no one else has ever figured out before.
608
01:05:14,948 --> 01:05:23,538
Figure out how to do that and surround yourself with the team and get advice from people and try to soak in as much of the best information as you can and move forward with it.
609
01:05:23,564 --> 01:05:23,790
Gretchen Hand:
Yeah.
610
01:05:23,840 --> 01:05:26,346
Gretchen Hand:
And I'm thankful that we get to right.
611
01:05:26,408 --> 01:05:28,422
Gretchen Hand:
So we could be doing something else.
612
01:05:28,496 --> 01:05:32,250
Gretchen Hand:
And instead, I truly believe that beach volleyball is the greatest sport out there.
613
01:05:32,300 --> 01:05:40,078
Gretchen Hand:
I truly believe the lifestyle sport, the friends, the family, the relationships that you build can last an entire lifetime.
614
01:05:40,174 --> 01:05:45,610
Gretchen Hand:
And I have had more love and joy in my life because of the sport.
615
01:05:45,730 --> 01:05:49,770
Gretchen Hand:
I'm thankful that I'm in a position I can give back to my community.
616
01:05:49,880 --> 01:05:56,938
Gretchen Hand:
And we really try to have fun in the process of just like, where is this adventure going and just taking those moments.
617
01:05:56,974 --> 01:06:12,798
Mark Burik:
I think beach is so magic as a lifestyle sport because you can show up anywhere and within the span of a vacation, you can make friends that you could hang out with for multiple hours, and then even after the playtime, you continue to hang out with them.
618
01:06:12,824 --> 01:06:16,638
Mark Burik:
Like, you go to a beach resort and you try to find people to connect to.
619
01:06:16,724 --> 01:06:21,094
Mark Burik:
But beach volleyball players, we wave a flag saying, like, we are beach volleyball.
620
01:06:21,142 --> 01:06:22,014
Mark Burik:
Come join us.
621
01:06:22,112 --> 01:06:25,050
Mark Burik:
And you already know that you have a built in family.
622
01:06:25,160 --> 01:06:30,778
Mark Burik:
As soon as you get to a new city on vacation for a short amount of time, it's not frequent.
623
01:06:30,814 --> 01:06:40,374
Mark Burik:
Or if you say, like, I'm a baseball or I'm a softball player, that you can just go to a resort or go to a new city and find a walk up softball game that you can get next on.
624
01:06:40,412 --> 01:06:43,254
Mark Burik:
We have a really special sport in that way.
625
01:06:43,292 --> 01:06:47,622
Mark Burik:
I think tennis is similar to walk up to a court and just randomly find a pickup game.
626
01:06:47,696 --> 01:06:48,226
Mark Burik:
Basketball.
627
01:06:48,298 --> 01:06:52,770
Mark Burik:
But sometimes basketball is just a little bit brutal socially.
628
01:06:53,510 --> 01:06:53,946
Gretchen Hand:
Yeah.
629
01:06:54,008 --> 01:07:03,930
Gretchen Hand:
I think one of the greatest compliments that I had from a student athlete through the connections that we had made over the years, coach, I know I can go play anywhere in the world and I have a friend.
630
01:07:04,040 --> 01:07:08,718
Gretchen Hand:
I think that is the way that we now connect our sport anywhere in the world.
631
01:07:08,804 --> 01:07:10,422
Gretchen Hand:
And, man, what a beautiful thought.
632
01:07:10,496 --> 01:07:12,274
Gretchen Hand:
So I love the competition.
633
01:07:12,382 --> 01:07:17,850
Gretchen Hand:
I also love the relationship that you can build over the years, and it just keeps getting better and better.
634
01:07:17,960 --> 01:07:18,270
Mark Burik:
Yeah.
635
01:07:18,320 --> 01:07:20,590
Mark Burik:
Brandon makes exactly that speech.
636
01:07:20,710 --> 01:07:25,818
Mark Burik:
Every one of our campsos, every single camp, we come in as strangers and we leave as family.
637
01:07:25,904 --> 01:07:31,798
Mark Burik:
You're able to call anyone from any one of our camps that you met there and be like, hey, I got a work trip for two days in Chicago.
638
01:07:31,834 --> 01:07:37,518
Mark Burik:
Is anybody playing? And the people in our facebook group, they'll just jump onto it like, you could stay here, you could stay here.
639
01:07:37,544 --> 01:07:43,350
Mark Burik:
We have people now met at our camps that are just literally staying at each other's houses around the country and playing together.
640
01:07:43,400 --> 01:07:47,874
Mark Burik:
And it's so cool to see how those connections and they help you in so many other areas in life.
641
01:07:47,912 --> 01:07:53,994
Mark Burik:
Like, once you build that first bridge through sport, then all of a sudden you can turn that into other stuff.
642
01:07:54,092 --> 01:07:55,762
Mark Burik:
I've met through volleyball.
643
01:07:55,786 --> 01:08:04,546
Mark Burik:
I've met people who have made me much better in business or in real estate, and now I've partnered with three different people who I met through beach volleyball and real estate deals.
644
01:08:04,618 --> 01:08:05,840
Mark Burik:
It's like, cool.
645
01:08:06,530 --> 01:08:14,010
Mark Burik:
That was the bridge that we love, and we know we have this common bond, and now we can figure out what other ways we can to succeed together.
646
01:08:14,060 --> 01:08:15,150
Mark Burik:
It's a magic sport, man.
647
01:08:15,200 --> 01:08:21,450
Mark Burik:
Well, Gretchen, I don't want to hold you too long, and I'm not even halfway through the things with you that I want to talk about.
648
01:08:21,500 --> 01:08:30,594
Mark Burik:
So I'm wondering if we could do this again together at another point, maybe deeper into your off season and maybe recruiting during the summer and see how it's going.
649
01:08:30,632 --> 01:08:31,122
Gretchen Hand:
Absolutely.
650
01:08:31,256 --> 01:08:34,378
Mark Burik:
Is there anything that you want to say or share? We have your links.
651
01:08:34,414 --> 01:08:36,910
Mark Burik:
We have the link to your in the show notes.
652
01:08:36,970 --> 01:08:44,638
Mark Burik:
You'll see the links to Gretchen's coaching profile, the Missouri state bears beach volleyball squad, and her Instagram, which is coach Gretchen Hand.
653
01:08:44,674 --> 01:08:52,498
Mark Burik:
Are you doing anything with that Instagram? Is that just a great place to reach out to you in case somebody have questions?
654
01:08:52,594 --> 01:08:54,466
Gretchen Hand:
I am not the most social media savvy. I'm learning and I'm improving.
655
01:08:54,658 --> 01:09:01,174
Gretchen Hand:
If you reach out to me on Instagram or you send me an email, I try to get back with urgency by just getting out of season.
656
01:09:01,222 --> 01:09:04,222
Gretchen Hand:
I'm playing catch up for sure on my emails and instagram accounts.
657
01:09:04,246 --> 01:09:13,486
Gretchen Hand:
So if you're a student-athlete reaching out to Missouri state university beach volleyball, we look forward to speaking with you when it's when we're able to allow it for NCAA.
658
01:09:13,558 --> 01:09:23,502
Gretchen Hand:
But as far as where we are growing to Missouri state university has fully invested in beach volleyball, and we're so excited to see us grow in the years to come.
659
01:09:23,576 --> 01:09:24,510
Mark Burik:
I'm excited for you.
660
01:09:24,560 --> 01:09:36,930
Mark Burik:
I can't wait to see Missouri become a new volleyball hopper, which it seems like it's en route with new facilities, a program, got a great coach in charge, and I think you guys are building some more courts by the airport, which is crazy.
661
01:09:36,980 --> 01:09:40,566
Mark Burik:
You guys are going to have 25 courts within like 30 miles or something.
662
01:09:40,628 --> 01:09:43,678
Gretchen Hand:
It's been an incredible year in the city of springfield.
663
01:09:43,714 --> 01:09:48,690
Gretchen Hand:
We had our first ever gun serving hoses, and that was the police versus the firefighters.
664
01:09:49,250 --> 01:09:50,214
Gretchen Hand:
It was awesome.
665
01:09:50,312 --> 01:09:56,986
Gretchen Hand:
And the firefighters were straight fire, and the police officers who were not messing around, they were very serious.
666
01:09:57,058 --> 01:09:59,950
Gretchen Hand:
And next year we're going to open it up to statewide.
667
01:10:00,010 --> 01:10:02,518
Gretchen Hand:
And in year three, we're going national, baby.
668
01:10:02,614 --> 01:10:04,122
Gretchen Hand:
So everybody will be welcome.
669
01:10:04,196 --> 01:10:11,934
Gretchen Hand:
All of our first responders is an incredible community event, but we've been so well received and loved in the community.
670
01:10:12,032 --> 01:10:13,690
Gretchen Hand:
We are growing our sports.
671
01:10:13,750 --> 01:10:18,598
Gretchen Hand:
The city is helping with putting in more community support for bigger venue events.
672
01:10:18,634 --> 01:10:19,510
Gretchen Hand:
So we're excited.
673
01:10:19,570 --> 01:10:21,018
Gretchen Hand:
We've got a lot of great things happening.
674
01:10:21,104 --> 01:10:24,654
Gretchen Hand:
You'll hear hopefully some more wonderful stuff here in the near future.
675
01:10:24,752 --> 01:10:24,978
Mark Burik:
Great.
676
01:10:25,004 --> 01:10:25,820
Mark Burik:
That's awesome.
677
01:10:28,350 --> 01:10:36,634
Mark Burik:
I got two brothers on the Fbny team in New York, and so they go to the World Police and Fire games every couple of years, and they do throw that match, but I think you got to title it better.
678
01:10:36,672 --> 01:10:38,618
Mark Burik:
Like you guys do gun surfing, hoses.
679
01:10:38,654 --> 01:10:39,420
Mark Burik:
It's beautiful.
680
01:10:40,170 --> 01:10:43,550
Gretchen Hand:
There was a trophy involved in a lot of bragging rights.
681
01:10:43,610 --> 01:10:47,002
Gretchen Hand:
The fire department took it in year one, of course.
682
01:10:47,076 --> 01:10:47,806
Mark Burik:
That's what we do.
683
01:10:47,868 --> 01:10:49,694
Mark Burik:
Firefighters, baby
684
01:10:49,742 --> 01:10:50,350
Gretchen Hand:
Had that honor. Yes.
685
01:10:50,520 --> 01:10:53,434
Gretchen Hand:
And it was elbows were being brought, for sure.
686
01:10:53,532 --> 01:10:54,902
Mark Burik:
I mean, we don't sit in cars.
687
01:10:54,926 --> 01:10:55,778
Mark Burik:
We scale buildings.
688
01:10:55,814 --> 01:11:02,386
Mark Burik:
Firefighters, I love always service people, but my family's FBNY, so I got to be inspired by.
689
01:11:02,568 --> 01:11:06,922
Gretchen Hand:
Thank you so much for having me on, and I'd love to talk again in the future.
690
01:11:06,996 --> 01:11:07,498
Gretchen Hand:
Thank you, guys.
691
01:11:07,524 --> 01:11:07,978
Gretchen Hand:
Thank you.
692
01:11:08,064 --> 01:11:09,470
Mark Burik:
Have a great day, and we'll see you on the sand.
693
01:11:09,530 --> 01:11:09,970
Gretchen Hand:
Thank you.
694
01:11:10,020 --> 01:11:10,238
Mark Burik:
Bye.