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USA Volleyball

2016 A Big Year For Coach John Speraw

2016 A Big Year For Coach John Speraw

In a span of four months, John Speraw could collect the two biggest titles of his career - an NCAA title at UCLA and an Olympic gold medal in Rio.

Mar 4, 2016 by FloVolleyball Staff
2016 A Big Year For Coach John Speraw
By Jon Ackerman

In a span of four months, John Speraw could collect the two biggest titles of his career.

He is the head coach of the U.S. men's national team, which will compete in the 2016 Rio Olympics. He is also the head coach of the UCLA men's volleyball team, which hopes to compete for a national championship. If both of his squads take the biggest prizes at their respective levels, it could (maybe should) go down as the greatest coaching performance in this sport's history.

The U.S. owns three Olympic gold medals (1984, 1988, 2008). Not one of the coaches who led those squads was also a college coach at the time. So Speraw would be the first to pull off the incredible double. 

Accomplishing an unprecedented feat wouldn't be new to Speraw, though. He's only person in collegiate men's volleyball history to win a national title as a player (1993 and '95 with UCLA), assistant coach (2000 with UCLA) and head coach (2007, '09 and '12 with UC Irvine). 

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An NCAA championship and Olympic gold medal this year are certainly doable. As of the end of February, Speraw's UCLA Bruins were ranked No. 4 nationally. A championship would mark UCLA's first since 2006, and 20th overall (by far the most in history). It would be Speraw's first while leading his alma mater, and he'd be the first UCLA coach other than the legendary Al Scates to bring a men's volleyball national title to Westwood. 

This year's NCAA tournament is May 5–7 in University Park, Pa.

From there, Speraw will gather his national team players to prep for the Rio Olympics in August. The U.S. men sat fifth in the world to conclude 2015, but are fresh off winning the 2015 FIVB World Cup, the first tournament in which countries could secure Olympic berths. They also placed third in the 2015 FIVB World League, so the Americans figure to be right in the mix for a medal in Rio.

A gold medal would be the fourth in U.S. men's volleyball Olympic history. That would move them into first place all-time in that category. 

First is a place Speraw is accustomed to.

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