McGown to lead clinic

Former U.S. men's national and Brigham Young volleyball coach Carl McGown headlines the staff of the Gold Medal Squared Coaches Clinic, Nov. 10-12, at the University of Hawaii.

The cost has been dropped from the normal $400 to $100, due to funding from the Hawaii High School Athletic Association Foundation. The clinic also offers a money-back guarantee if participants aren't satisfied with the experience.

The clinic curriculum was developed by McGown, Doug Beal, Marv Dunphy and Jim McLaughlin, who have a combined 100 years of coaching experience, seven NCAA championships, two World Championships and two Olympic gold medals. Beal, former national team coach, is the executive director of USA Volleyball; Dunphy, also a former national team coach, has won four NCAA titles at Pepperdine; and McLaughlin is coach of defending NCAA women's champion Washington.

"We've been doing this for over 15 years now," said McGown, who also coached at Brigham Young-Hawaii and is currently a consultant for the Warrior volleyball team. "It was nice for (HHSAA Executive Director) Keith Amemiya to be able to sponsor this. We think it will be especially good for men's volleyball, getting coaches to learn how to get their players to play how (college) coaches want."

The three-day clinic will be held in Gym 1 and adjacent classrooms, and includes drills and instruction. The emphasis is on teaching fundamentals for coaches, game strategies, practice organization and a statistical program to evaluate players.

Participants will also be "encouraged" to get out on the court and play, according to McGown.

The clinic easily accommodates 60, according to McGown, but more will be accepted if the interest is there. Nearly 50 applications have been received so far.

"We had heard many good things from local coaches who have attended Carl's clinics on the mainland," said Amemiya. "When (UH men's coach) Mike Wilton indicated that Carl might be interested in having one here, we pursued it.

"I know that slots are quickly running out. We're offering it at $100 to make it affordable, so if you factor in the cost of going to the mainland for this, it's an incredible deal."

McGown and Wilton will run the clinic. The staff includes UH associate coach Tino Reyes and assistant Jason Salmeri.

For information, e-mail info@goldmedalsquared.com. The Web site is www.GoldMedalSquared.com

The HHSAA Foundation, in its second year, accepts monetary donations, which are tax-deductible. For information, call the HHSAA at 587-4495. The e-mail is info@sportshigh.com.