The Leave It Better Podcast The Side-Out Foundation

If you treat your players like family, they will fight for you like family. That is one of Coach Cathy George’s principles. As the current Head Coach of the Grand Rapids Rise professional volleyball federation team, and the winningest coach in the history of Michigan State’s volleyball program, Cathy has dedicated her life to raising the best players in the sport. Often times that has involved inviting her players over to her home for the holidays, when they can’t be home with their families.
Through numerous NCAA tournament appearances, Cathy has learned the secret To pushing young players past their breaking points – helping them achieve new levels of skill they didn’t think reach.
Links mentioned:
For more information go to www.side-out.org. Follow the side-out organization on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sideoutfndn/Have suggestions for the podcast? Email Janice: leaveitbetter@side-out.org

What does it take not only rack up an impressive win streak, but to find the confidence to keep that streak going?
In 2023, Indiana Wesleyan University’s Candace Moats was honored with multiple ‘Coach of the Year’ awards, in part to her team finishing with a flawless 38 wins and zero losses season (the first time in 6 years for any NAIA volleyball team to accomplish). 
Coach Moats has been coaching volleyball competitively for 40 years. She shares her advice for not caving to the high-stakes pressure. We also hear about the benefit of surrounding yourself with people that you may not always agree with.
Links mentioned:
For more information go to www.side-out.org. Follow the side-out organization on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sideoutfndn/Have suggestions for the podcast? Email Janice: leaveitbetter@side-out.org

Building a championship team takes great players that can be pushed to get better, AND great team staff that can push the coach to get better as well. Coach Erin Virtue leads the women’s volleyball team at the University of Michigan and serves as an Assistant Coach for the U.S Women’s National team.
Coach Virtue tells Janice how she and the national volleyball team had to re-shape the scouting system they were using so they could spot and recruit the best players the country has to offer. This episode is a unique look at how any sport can go from a talent pool of hundreds of thousands of active players, and trim it down to just a handful of the best of the best.
Links mentioned:
For more information go to www.side-out.org. Follow the side-out organization on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sideoutfndn/Have suggestions for the podcast? Email Janice: leaveitbetter@side-out.org

For decades, the best volleyball players in the country had few places to turn to if they wanted to stay with the sport they loved after college. Jen Spicher helped change that. As the CEO of the newly created "Pro Volleyball Federation," Jen is giving women a chance to continue their dreams. 
In her talk with Janice, Jen breaks down just what it takes to launch a new professional sports league. Jen also offers her unique perspective on the difference between being a college NCAA coach, and a coach on the professional level.
Links mentioned:
For more information go to www.side-out.org. Follow the side-out organization on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sideoutfndn/Have suggestions for the podcast? Email Janice: leaveitbetter@side-out.org

In the early days of collegiate and competitive volleyball, organizer had one major question in mind: How to raise the popularity and visibility of the game. That’s where Terry Liskevych came in. As a former collegiate and US Olympic team national volleyball coach, Terry Helped create the framework to support promising coaches and leaders in the world of volleyball.
Terry explains to Janice why he has a hard time putting faith in the USA volleyball organization. And in the ongoing debate over who’s needed more: great players or great coaches, Terry makes the case for choosing the players. 
Links mentioned:
For more information go to www.side-out.org. Follow the side-out organization on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sideoutfndn/Have suggestions for the podcast? Email Janice: leaveitbetter@side-out.org

Winning isn’t everything if you’re not winning cleanly. Coach Tyler Carey believes in pushing his players to be accountable for every point… even the ones the refs don’t get right.
Tyler helped start the “Power of Pink” volleyball tournament, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for breast cancer research. He talks with Janice about how a brush with death helped him find a renewed passion for life, and helping others.
Links mentioned:
For more information go to www.side-out.org. Follow the side-out organization on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sideoutfndn/Have suggestions for the podcast? Email Janice: leaveitbetter@side-out.org