John Speraw

Last updated

John Speraw
John Speraw in Tehran- 2015.jpg
Speraw in 2015
Personal information
Born (1971-10-18) October 18, 1971 (age 52)
Arcadia, California, U.S.
Hometown California
College / University UCLA
Coaching information
Current team USA Men's Volleyball
UCLA Men's Volleyball
Previous teams coached
Teams
USA Men's Volleyball (Asst.)
UCLA Men's Volleyball (Asst.)
UC Irvine Men's Volleyball (Head Coach)
Best results
YearsLocationResult
2007, 2009, 2012, 2023, 2024 NCAA National Championship (head coach)1st
Last updated: May 4, 2024

John Speraw (born October 18, 1971) is an American volleyball coach and former player. He currently serves as the head coach of the United States men's national volleyball team and the UCLA Bruins men's volleyball team.

Contents

College career

Speraw played as middle blocker on the UCLA Bruins men's volleyball team. With the team, he won two NCAA National Championships in 1993 and 1995. [1] [2] He graduated from UCLA in 1995 with a degree in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, after which he spent three seasons as a volunteer assistant coach before being appointed to a full-time position in 1998. [2]

Coaching career

From 2002 to 2012, Speraw was the head coach of the UC Irvine Anteaters men's volleyball team. Under his leadership, the Anteaters won the NCAA National Championships in 2007, 2009, and 2012. [3] In 2012, Speraw returned to UCLA as the men's volleyball head coach. [4] In 2023, Speraw coached the team to its first national championship since 2006. [5] The team defended its title in 2024, earning its 21st overall championship. [6]

At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Speraw served as assistant coach to the United States men's national volleyball team under Hugh McCutcheon, helping the team win a gold medal. He continued as assistant coach under Alan Knipe during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, where the USA came in fifth place. [7]

In 2013, Speraw became the head coach for the United States men's volleyball team. Under his coaching, the team won a bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics. At the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, the team failed to make it out of pool play for the first time in over 20 years. [8] At the 2023 FIVB Volleyball Men's Nations League, Speraw coached the team to a silver medal after losing to Poland in the finals. [9]

Honors and awards

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pauley Pavilion</span> Sporting arena on the campus of UCLA in Los Angeles

Edwin W. Pauley Pavilion, commonly known as Pauley Pavilion, is an indoor arena located in the Westwood Village district of Los Angeles, California, on the campus of UCLA. It is home to the UCLA Bruins men's and women's basketball teams. The men's and women's volleyball and women's gymnastics teams also compete here. All teams compete in the Big Ten Conference effective at the start of the 2024-25 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karch Kiraly</span> American volleyball player and coach

Charles Frederick "Karch" Kiraly is an American volleyball player, coach, and broadcast announcer. He was a central part of the U.S National Team that won gold medals at the 1984 and 1988 Olympic Games. He went on to win the gold medal again at the 1996 Olympic Games, the first Olympic competition to feature beach volleyball. He is the only player to have won Olympic medals of any color in both the indoor and beach volleyball categories. He played college volleyball for the UCLA Bruins, where his teams won three national championships under head coach Al Scates. Kiraly is widely regarded as the greatest male volleyball player of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UCLA Bruins</span> Sports team name of University of California at Los Angeles

The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Big Ten Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). For football, they are in the Football Bowl Subdivision of Division I. UCLA is second to only Stanford University as the school with the most NCAA team championships at 123 NCAA team championships. UCLA offers 11 varsity sports programs for men and 14 for women.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UC Irvine Anteaters</span> Sports teams of the University of California, Irvine

The UC Irvine Anteaters are the athletic teams fielded by the University of California, Irvine. Its athletics programs participate in the NCAA's Division I, as members of the Big West Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. For earlier years of the school's existence, the teams participated at the Division II level with great success as explained below.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">USC Trojans</span> Intercollegiate sports teams of the University of Southern California

The USC Trojans are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. While the men's teams are nicknamed the Trojans, the women's athletic teams are referred to as either the Trojans or Women of Troy. The program participates in the Big Ten Conference and has won 136 team national championships, 112 of which are National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) national championships. USC's official colors are cardinal and gold. The Trojans have a cross-town rivalry in several sports with UCLA. However, USC's football rivalry with Notre Dame predates the UCLA rivalry by three years. The Notre Dame rivalry stems mainly from the annual football game played between these two universities and is considered the greatest intersectional rivalry in college football. The Trojans also enjoy a rivalry with the Stanford Cardinal. The USC Trojans are considered one of the most successful college athletic programs of all time.

Jennifer A. Johnson Jordan is an American female beach volleyball player. She won the silver medal at the 1999 Beach Volleyball World Championships in Marseille, alongside Annett Davis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al Scates</span> American volleyball player and coach (born 1939)

Allen Edward Scates is an American former volleyball player and coach who was head coach of the UCLA Bruins for 48 years. Scates is the winningest volleyball coach in the history of the NCAA, and the 19 NCAA titles the Bruins won during his tenure ties him for the most NCAA titles won by a coach in a single sport with Arkansas' John McDonnell. Scates' teams won collegiate volleyball championships in five different decades. In addition to coaching, Scates was a physical education instructor at Horace Mann and Hawthorne, two of the elementary schools in the Beverly Hills Unified School District.

Jeff Wayne Nygaard is an American former volleyball player. He was a member of the United States national indoor team in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. He was a middle blocker. He also played beach volleyball at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens with partner Dain Blanton.

Ricci Judson Luyties is an American former volleyball player. As a member of the United States national volleyball team, he won a gold medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. Luyties later became a successful professional beach volleyball player and won seven titles. He was the head women's volleyball coach at the University of California, San Diego.

Robert Douglas "Doug" Partie is an American former volleyball player who was a member of the United States men's national volleyball team that won the gold medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. Four years later in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, he won the bronze medal with the national team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UCLA Bruins women's gymnastics</span> College womens gymnastics team representing the University of California, Los Angeles

The UCLA Bruins women's gymnastics team represents the University of California, Los Angeles and competes in the Big Ten Conference. They compete in Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles, California. The team, coached by Janelle McDonald, has won 21 Regional titles and seven NCAA National Championships, most recently in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Klosterman</span> American volleyball player and coach

Steve Klosterman is a volleyball coach, currently Assistant at Hofstra University, a 2-time NCAA All American, NCAA Championship MVP, Puerto Rican Superior League Championship MVP, and former international player from the United States. He finished UCLA as the #1 points producer in the “rally scoring” era, and 4th overall in the long history of the most dominant collegiate men's program in the sport that's won 19 NCAA Championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UCLA Bruins women's volleyball</span> American college volleyball team

The UCLA women's volleyball program began its first year in 1965. Andy Banachowski was the head coach each year since 1965 until his retirement after the 2009 season, with the exception of the two seasons of 1968–69 and 1969–70, after he graduated from UCLA. In those seasons, Mardi Hardy Monroe was the head coach. Michael Sealy took over as head coach in 2010 and led the team to a national championship in 2011.

Liz Masakayan is a Filipino-American former indoor and beach volleyball player, and current coach. She participated in the 1988 Summer Olympics with the United States women's national volleyball team, and as a beach volleyball player won a total of 47 tournaments in her career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UCLA Bruins men's volleyball</span> American college volleyball team

The UCLA men's volleyball program represents the University of California, Los Angeles in the sport of men's volleyball as a member of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). UCLA played its first season in 1953 and has won a record 21 NCAA titles. Al Scates had been the head coach each year since 1963 until his retirement after the 2012 season. John Speraw took over as head coach after Scates retirement, and has led the team since then. The Bruins play most of their home matches in Pauley Pavilion, but when Pauley is not available, they play in the Wooden Center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1995 NCAA men's volleyball tournament</span> Football tournament season

The 1995 NCAA men's volleyball tournament was the 26th annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA men's collegiate volleyball. The single elimination tournament was played at the Springfield Civic Center in Springfield, Massachusetts during May 1995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2007 NCAA men's volleyball tournament</span> Football tournament season

The 2007 NCAA men's volleyball tournament was the 38th annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA men's collegiate indoor volleyball. The single elimination tournament was played at St. John Arena in Columbus, Ohio during May 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 NCAA men's volleyball tournament</span> Football tournament season

The 2009 NCAA men's volleyball tournament was the 40th annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA men's collegiate indoor volleyball. The single elimination tournament was played at Smith Fieldhouse in Provo, Utah during May 2009.

Brad Keller is a volleyball coach and former player. He is currently the head coach at the University of Southern California. Keller has also been an assistant coach for the USC men's volleyball, UC Irvine men's volleyball, UConn women's volleyball, UCLA men's volleyball. He was most recently an associate head coach for UCLA women's volleyball for the 2019 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 NCAA men's volleyball tournament</span> Mens college volleyball tournament

The 2023 NCAA Men's National Collegiate Volleyball Tournament was the 52nd edition of the NCAA Men's National Collegiate Volleyball Championship, an annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA Division I and Division II men's collegiate indoor volleyball. The single-elimination tournament began with three opening rounds matches. The entire tournament was hosted by the George Mason University from April 30 to May 6, 2023, at EagleBank Arena in Fairfax, Virginia.

References

  1. Bolch, Ben (July 30, 2021). "For U.S. volleyball coach John Speraw, pressure comes with forging identity". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 23, 2024.
  2. 1 2 "John Speraw - Men's Volleyball Coach". UCLA. Retrieved June 23, 2024.
  3. "Speraw leaves UCI for UCLA". Daily Pilot. June 5, 2012. Retrieved June 23, 2024.
  4. Faulkner, Barry (June 5, 2012). "Speraw returns to UCLA". Daily Pilot. Retrieved June 23, 2024.
  5. "UCLA defeats Hawaii for its 20th NCAA men's volleyball title and first since 2006". Los Angeles Times. May 7, 2023. Retrieved June 23, 2024.
  6. "UCLA Men's Volleyball Claims 21st National Championship". UCLA. Retrieved June 23, 2024.
  7. Staff, S. I. (March 26, 2013). "UCLA's John Speraw hired as U.S. men's head volleyball coach". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved June 23, 2024.
  8. "U.S. men's volleyball eliminated early at Olympics". AP News. August 1, 2021. Retrieved June 23, 2024.
  9. de Villiers, Ockert (July 23, 2023). "Men's Volleyball Nations League (VNL) 2023: Poland beat U.S. for gold medal". Olympics.com. Retrieved June 23, 2024.