SportTechie’s Athletes Voice series features the views and opinions of the athletes who use and are powered by technology. Recently, SportTechie spoke to Venezuelan Olympic volleyball player Carlos Luna at the USA Sports Analytics and Technology Conference about life after retiring from playing, and what Luna looks for in players now that he has become a coach.
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Carlos Luna’s career as a professional volleyball player covered nearly half the world and more than half of his life. He was part of a golden generation of Venezuelan men’s volleyball players who won at the Santa Domingo 2003 Pan American Games and competed in the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Outside of his national team, Luna has played professionally for clubs in Italy, Greece, Argentina, Japan, Spain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Finland, and at home in Venezuela.
After retiring as a player, Luna settled in the United States. He coached for two years in Orlando, Fla., and now works at Incredible Crush Volleyball in Rockwall, Texas. He believes that sports, including volleyball, can positively impact the psychological, emotional, and spiritual lives of children.
The Difference Between Volleyball in the U.S. and Elsewhere
“Everything starts with the culture. In my country, Venezuela, we don’t have the sport culture so if you want to become a star for your country you have to really love it. Here you have a system and you have to go through the system.
“[In the U.S.] everything goes towards college, so a college coach can be more selective. But in any country, before the talent is the ‘soft’ part. That’s where coaches look, especially the top college coaches. They are looking for players who are coachable, have big goals. If they have the talent and athleticism, that’s fine. But you can teach players and develop athleticism. If they don’t have the attitude and are not coachable, it’s hard.
“Coaches don’t have the time to deal with it, unless the players are potential Michael Jordans. Other countries do not have that short and intense season, so they can work more around the players.
“In Finland, in my last pro season, there was an American guy from California. He didn’t know anything about being professional, and he had a long career. You guys start sport careers at 10, 12 years old. But he was 25 years old and didn’t know anything about professional life—what to eat, how to lift weights … and he went to a Division I college. For me it was like ‘Wow!’
“So my feeling is that everything ends in college for 97 percent of the athletes [here]. And those last 3 percent are just the guys who made the Olympics.”
Volleyball Intelligence
“The most important skill in volleyball is the volleyball IQ. You’ve got to be a smart player, and that covers everything. You have to know when to hit a ball hard, when to not hit a ball hard.
“Volleyball is so complex. I’ve learned over the years it doesn’t matter what position you play. If you are inside the court you have to do something all the time. When you are performing a skill, fine. But when you’re not you still have to do something on the court.
“Then the other thing is knowing what the other team is going to do and then anticipate. So when I see a player who makes a strong hit or a good pass, I still want to see how they do inside the court.”
How Technology Can Influence Coaching
“I want to have the tools. All this data is amazing because, as an athlete, you don’t think too much about the data. I want to find the tools to show to the athletes what you need in terms of numbers, skills, but also the soft part. That’s why [the USA Sports Analytics and Technology Conference] comes to my attention.
“During the game, volleyball is always changing. You have to always be flexible. You can’t just say ‘I’m going to use these players.’ There are so many different options you have to have and how many resources you have to bring.”
Inspiring Bigger Ambitions
“My view is to measure players not just looking for college. I want to show them that there’s more volleyball after college. What I used to say is that if you’re going to work with me, it’s because you have big goals. I don’t coach beginners and I don’t coach in a team environment.
“I tell [parents] they don’t have realistic expectations. They say ‘I want her to make the Olympics.’ But she has a bad attitude, she doesn’t like to work so how is she going to get there? Sure, she has talent—I got tired looking at good players [who] don’t have the work ethic, they don’t have the discipline. That’s that message I want to spread. I don’t think it’s easy.”
“I’m thinking of creating an alternative for players who want to be coached and are in a club. I want to provide different options for training. I’m looking for different ways to impact them, so even if they are playing for a club I can still provide them my knowledge.
“My goal is to support them through all the processes until they decide if they want to go pro or be an Olympian. I want to show them there is life after college because, for most of them, when I ask them they say ‘I want to make varsity, and after college I want to be a doctor or this or that.’ There’s not so many interested after college and that’s what I want to show them. You can be pro. You can make a living. I made a living in other countries as a volleyball player—you can! If I did, you can too.”