Right now I discovered of the passing of Jim Stone.
That information of his terminal sickness hit me on a number of ranges once I discovered a while again. Jim was a extremely achieved coach, after all, however he was additionally greater than that. He was a type of individuals in volleyball whose affect prolonged nicely past the groups he led. He thought deeply in regards to the recreation, thought deeply about teaching, and – importantly for the remainder of us – he shared these ideas generously.
I had the privilege of interviewing Jim for Volleyball Teaching Wizards, which gave me the chance to spend time with not simply his resume, however his thoughts. I additionally had the pleasure of bringing him to England because the lead presenter for the 2024 UK Volleyball Teaching Symposium. In each settings, what stood out was the identical factor: readability. Jim had clear concepts, clear convictions, and a transparent method of expressing them. He didn’t depend on obscure teaching clichés. He had spent the time to work by what he thought, why he thought it, and the way it utilized in the true world.
That’s rarer than it needs to be.
A variety of coaches accumulate expertise. Fewer do the onerous work of turning that have into perception. Fewer nonetheless can talk that perception in a method that helps different coaches suppose higher about what they do. Jim may do this. Whether or not he was speaking about coaching, decision-making, group tradition, participant growth, or the realities of management, there was substance there. He had the attitude of somebody who had lived the work, mirrored on it actually, and stored studying.
That made him precious not solely to his personal gamers and packages, however to the broader teaching neighborhood.
One of many issues I appreciated most about Jim was that he engaged with teaching as each a practitioner and a thinker. He was not somebody content material merely to say, “This labored for me.” He wished to grasp why issues labored, after they labored, and what coaches needs to be listening to. That mindset is a part of what made conversations with him so worthwhile. You got here away not simply with a number of helpful concepts, however with a greater technique to body the questions.
That, to me, is among the marks of an actual educator.
In volleyball, we regularly speak about individuals’s wins, titles, and positions. These issues matter, and Jim’s document speaks for itself. However there’s one other type of legacy that issues simply as a lot: the concepts individuals go away behind, the requirements they mannequin, and the way in which they affect how others coach, educate, and lead. Jim leaves an amazing deal there.
I really feel lucky to have had the possibility to study from him, to talk with him, and to convey him into contact with different coaches by the Symposium and the Wizards mission. I do know many others will really feel the identical. The game has misplaced a major determine, and the teaching neighborhood has misplaced one among its extra considerate voices.
My condolences exit to Jim’s household, mates, former gamers, colleagues, and all these within the volleyball world who discovered from him straight or not directly.
Relaxation in peace, Coach.
6 Steps to Higher Practices – Free Information
Subscribe to my weekly e-newsletter in the present day and get this free information to creating your practices the most effective, together with masses extra teaching suggestions and data.