Today we’d like to introduce you to Angela Brown
Hi Angela, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born in Boca Raton, FL playing just about every sport as a child. I made my middle school volleyball team at AD Henderson (FAU CAMPUS) as a 6th grader, and played the remainder of middle school and high school in Stillwater, MN. I started my club journey as well, I believe in 7th or 8th grade. I continued to play out of HS as a setter/defensive specialist from 1997-1999 at Elmhurst University in Illinios, graduating with majors in Chemistry and Spanish ’01. I started my coaching career as an assistant varsity/head junior varsity coach for my alma mater high school SAHS (Stillwater, MN). I spent twelve years in that position as well as assisting the local club program SAJO in varying roles as coordinator, head 12’s, 13’s, 15’s coach and club director (2012-2013) as well. In my time at SAHS, I was also a lead clinician for several youth indoor summer camps and clinics as well as three years of beach volleyball camps with All American Girls/Boys out of St. Paul, MN.
I joined the Phoenix staff in February 2018 after spending the four years previous running a K-12 volleyball program at Colegio el Camino, a bilingual school in Los Cabos, Mexico. Since then, I have helped to spearhead the Phoenix beach volleyball program to include several more cities and parks and several afterschool programs (K-8 Henry S. West Laboratory School University of Miami campus, Ransom MIddle School and Coral Reef Elementary School) in the greater Miami area.
The culture I am trying to create with every one of my teams is based upon empowerment. I don’t rule, I direct. It is my hope that my athletes grow in ways that leave them more confident and with a desire to perfect the systems that work for them and those around them. I hope to connect in some way, every day with each athlete…and shape their outlook in a way that sets them on the right path with the tools that will help them along the way. It’s the greatest compliment when my players go on to be coaches themselves.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
You don’t go into coaching bc it’s smooth. You go into coaching bc you like a good challenge and probably bc you get bored easily. With ‘almost’ 30 years of coaching behind me, it’s given me just enough challenge to keep coming back for more and there have def been tough seasons, tough teams and tough players. There are days I feel like everything is working perfectly, other days, that nothing is working. Surrounding myself with a great coaching team and mentors is the only way to get through it. I also constantly remind myself ‘not to take it personal’, though some days this is easier said then done. I’ve had days that I watch film the entire day…because a team has performed so terribly. I have left gyms fuming bc of a parent confrontation and spent weekends dwelling on what they said. Coaching is not easy and its probably one of the professions that gets HARDER as you become more experienced. Our world has changed in many ways in recent years. I feel as though I am redefining my methods and my process faster now than ever.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
One of the things I love about crossing over from indoor to beach and from coaching girls to boys is the challenges that are presented to me as I modify my practices and exercises. I love to get creative and use what I learn from each. Beach athletes have a vision and discipline that’s very different then that of indoor athletes, and sometimes I can get an indoor athlete to have something click for them outside in the sand that may take two seasons for them to understand and vice versa. I joke with my HS boys ofen that I am out here to coach “volleyball players”, I don’t coach ‘middles’ or ‘defenders’ or ‘pin hitters’ etc. I enjoy using lots of coaching tools in different ways to acheive things that keep practices and training fun. I’m a huge believer in strength/agility work based on good mobility and movement patterns so I try to sneak as many of those elements in as I can. Also, I love to play with game pace in all that we do, hoping to bring a little game energy into everything we do. I start many practices with some type of competition…I don’t like boring.
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
I can speak Spanish with the best of them (though I don’t look like I speak a word of it). This has helped me living and coaching in Mexico and also in Miami. It’s a helpful tool
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.phoenixbvb.com
- Instagram: Phoenix Beach Volleyball
