Geoff Carlston: Grace in Coaching - Anchoring Our Journey in Compassion, Curiosity & Storytelling

with Geoff Carlston,
Epic Journey Leadership - Founder & Director;
Ohio University Head Volleyball Coach from 2021 to 2025;
2020 Kermit Blosser Ohio Athletics Hall of Fame inductee;
Ohio State University Head Coach from 2008 to 2019;
Back-to-Back-to-Back Sweet 16 appearances (2014-16);
Ohio University Head Volleyball Coach from 2003 to 2007;
5x Consecutive MAC Conference Championships;
4x Mid-American Conference (MAC) Coach of the Year;
2x AVCA Mideast Region Coach of the Year

Ohio University’s Geoff Carlston shares his inspirational observations on coaching with an emphasis on grace and compassion.  He shares his personal experiences that helped develop his philosophy towards coaching volleyball with the intent of both coaching the sport and developing the human beings in your program.  Using techniques he has shared in the business world as well as strategies he uses at Ohio University, Carlston provides valuable insights on how to handle all the complexities and difficulties you will encounter coaching volleyball.

Build a trusting environment where players learn to share their lives with their coach 

Carlston discusses the events in their world weighing on your players and how to help them transition from their daily life into their volleyball world and back to be more successful people.  By refocusing your own approach to practice, he shares how you build a trusting atmosphere where players learn to be more supportive and understanding. This culture shift helps your team develop as a group and leads to a group that will be more successful at volleyball.

Learn to be a transformative coach instead of just a transactional coach

Coach Carlston shares his goals to help transform his players instead of just simply processing their views and dealing with daily issues.  By learning to listen and be purposeful, Carlston helps you improve your personal relationships with players to be far more impactful than simply teaching them volleyball skills and techniques.

Take your coaching to the next level

Carlston shares techniques that help you reevaluate why you are coaching to help you be more effective as a coach.  He discusses the large amount of stresses everyone carries around and helps you to help understand your players and give them the advice to handle volleyball and whatever else life throws at them.  Carlston helps you dig deeper into why you are coaching and allows you to reflect on how you can be more purposeful in impacting young people.

By helping you refocus your coaching energy, Carlston shares the philosophy to be a better coach and a better person.  Those skills will then translate into you helping players be better athletes and better people.  He summarizes his outlook on coaching like this:  “Grace in coaching, compassionately, curiously, doing your work, owning your work, and then sharing that with your teams…. That is coaching!”

This is the video every coach needs in a time like this!

52 minutes.  2024.