LOREN ANDERSON

HEAD VARSITY COACH

I was born in Pocatello, ID, & have lived in various cities across the western United States, including Blackfoot, ID, Park City, UT, Sedona, AZ, Glendale, AZ, Boulder, CO, Seattle, WA, Stanley, ID and Boise, ID. Also did a short time in the US Virgin Islands. I started playing beach volleyball at the age of 17 and fell in love with the sport. At age 19, I was asked to coach a freshman team in Avondale, AZ, which started a lifelong journey of coaching.

Despite not having a college degree, I have been on a self-education journey for the past 30 years, researching child development, motor learning, ecological dynamics, skill acquisition, motivation, sports psychology, and many more topics that relate to coaching and playing volleyball.

I played beach volleyball in Arizona and worked up to an AAA rating. I have also played indoor volleyball on two collegiate club teams and have been playing in competitive tournaments on the beach, grass, and indoor for 30 years.

I have coached every age level from 5-year-olds to adults, including as a varsity coach for four high schools, as well as JV, Frosh, and Middle School/Jr High. I have been lucky enough to coach for seven different volleyball clubs before I started my own club in 2010 -- Rise Volleyball Academy -- in Boise, ID.  I sold the club in August of 2021 and spent a year traveling the United States with a trailer and my two huskies, Kira & Kurek.  In October of 2022, I moved to San Rafael and began working for Marin Juniors Volleyball Club.

My coaching philosophy is centered around the phrase "count it all joy." I believe that high performance is a behavior, not an outcome, and that kindness is the most important quality of any great teammate. I believe effort, dedication, commitment, grit, and toughness are all importan,t and are simply what love of the game looks like from a third-person perspective.

I strive to create a culture focused on player autonomy, mastery, and purpose, and encourage players to explore solutions, embrace mistakes as an essential part of the learning process, and learn how to rely on themselves and their teammates to achieve greatness. My goal is to continue the success of the Redwood program through creating an environment that elicits the best from each player, motivates them to strive to be better every day, and allows them to have fun playing an amazing sport.

My approach to practice design and the learning process emphasizes learning by doing, with practices designed to create challenges for players. I believe that players should be encouraged and allowed to explore solutions and given space to learn and grow as an individual and a team.

Above all, I believe coaches are ethically called to create a safe space where all athletes can walk in and, for that day, match, or practice, take off the crushing weight of their armor, hang it on a rack, and open their heart to truly be seen.