U.S. Men's National Volleyball Team Update

U.S. Men's National Team Update

B.J. Evans
Manager, Media Relations and Publications
Phone: 719-228-6800
BJ.Evans@usav.org

ANAHEIM, Calif. (Nov. 12, 2007) – The U.S. Men’s National Volleyball Team left Anaheim, Calif., for Japan on Saturday (Nov. 10) to complete its training for the 2007 FIVB Men’s World Cup.

U.S. Men's Head Coach Hugh McCutcheon, right, huddles with the team during the 2007 NORCECA Men's Continental Tournament in September in Anaheim, Calif. Photo by Henry DiRocco for USA Volleyball.

The team will train in Tokyo with the NEC Japanese team and the two will play a practice match on Nov. 15.

“We will train and try to get acclimated to the Japanese time zone,” said U.S. Head Coach Hugh McCutcheon.

The team will leave Tokyo on Nov. 16 and head to Matsumoto where it will play its first three World Cup matches against Brazil, Puerto Rico and Spain on Nov. 18-20.

Sports Psychologists Help Team: Sports psychologists have played a role in the U.S. Men’s Team’s success this summer.

Ken Baum worked both with the entire team and with some of the players one-on-one. Dr. Ken Ravizza worked with the team on group dynamics.

Baum is the author of The Mental Edge and has worked with a variety of athletes on using mental techniques that can help their performances.

“We were focusing on the performance aspect of the game; putting yourself in a peak performance state so that you know your going to play well,” Baum said.

Dr. Ken Ravizza is a professor of Applied Sport Psychology at the California State University at Fullerton and has worked with many professional sports teams including the New York Jets (National Football League), Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (Major League Baseball), Los Angeles Dodgers (Major League Baseball), Los Angeles Galaxy (Major League Soccer), and the Toronto Argonauts (Canadian Football League).

“The reason we’ve tried to work with some sports psychology people is to find an incremental advantage or a strategy we might be able to use to rally the team when it is needed,” McCutcheon said. “That is what it is all about.”

Speraw Named One of OC’s Hot 25: John Speraw, who is an assistant coach for the U.S. Men’s Team and is also the head men’s volleyball coach at UC Irvine, was named to the OC METRO Business Magazine's 18th annual list of the Hottest 25 People of Orange County. Speraw joins an accomplished group of Orange County's hottest in business, medicine, sports, finance, art and fashion.

Female Inspiration: McCutcheon is very aware of how the U.S. Women’s Nation Team is doing at the FIVB World Cup. It probably helps that he is married to former U.S. Women’s Team member Wiz Bachman.

The U.S. Women are undefeated at 8-0 with three matches left to play in the event. The top three teams will qualify for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

“It’s awesome,” McCutcheon said. “We’re extremely happy for the women. We wish them luck for the rest of the event.”