PROVO -- While the 2005 season ended back in April, the BYU coaching staff has stayed busy this summer putting their talents to work in other areas of the volleyball world. Besides preparing for the 2006 season, the coaches have been conducting camps across the country and working with USA Volleyball.
"It's good to keep busy," BYU coach Tom Peterson said. "We've had several opportunities to share our knowledge and develop our own skills."
Peterson has traveled all over the country conducting volleyball camps for high school athletes. Including Utah, he has conducted camps in Arizona, California, Virginia and Pennsylvania.
Along with directing camps, Peterson coached the US Youth A2 Team in the High Performance Global Challenge, July 25-28, a tournament held in Salt Lake City. The team included some of the best high school juniors and seniors form around the country. Despite meeting his team the day before the tournament, he guided the squad to a third place finish in its pool and a spot in the semifinals.
Assistant coach Grayson DuBose was at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., training the US Youth A2 Team the week before it headed to Salt Lake for the Global Challenge. DuBose said it was a good experience working with the players and being where the national team trains.
"It was fun to be a part of the USA volleyball cadre and to see some of the players from the national team," DuBose said.
Assistant coach Shawn Patchell also spent some time at the Olympic Training Center as he trained the US World University Games team for two weeks. The team will head to Izmir, Turkey to play in the Games Aug. 11-21.
"There were several very talented players there," Patchell said. "Several of them will have a shot to play on the national team."
This week, Aug. 1-5, Peterson and Patchell are conducting a camp for high school players at BYU.