Tyler Hinz

MVVC 18-1 Assistant Coach

Istarted playing volleyball back in the year 2000 as a freshman at ValleyChristian high school. I honestly only started playing so that I had somethingto do after school instead of just sitting around waiting for my sister tofinish her lame dance classes. I quickly fell in love with the game for manyreasons but the primary one being that I was better than most of the otherstudents on the team. My high school coach introduced me to club volleyball andI've been obsessed with volleyball ever since. I had always been competitivebut club volleyball allowed me and my teammates to test our skills against thebest teams in the world; teams from far away lands such as Newport BeachCalifornia, or Huntington Beach California, or even Fresno California. Afterhigh school I was fortunate enough to play volleyball in college, first at CalBaptist, then at UCSC, and then I played two years of collegiate clubvolleyball at Santa Clara University. While at UCSC I was named the nationalvolleyball player of the week for the first week of January 2007 (the mostimportant week in volleyball history), and I was a two-time club all-Americanat Santa Clara University.

My lovefor the game and competitive sports has brought me to the coaching forum.Developing a self-identity is a life long pursuit but there are aspects of aperson's character that can only be exposed by the rigors of competitivesports. For me sports have never just been about the game, it's about discoveringa person's capacity for both work and camaraderie. Sports show what sort ofsacrifices a person is willing to make to better themselves and subsequentlyimprove the quality of a team. As a coach, I strive to challenge the players ona daily basis in hopes that their understanding and appreciation of the gameincreases but also in hopes that they grow stronger as individuals. Althoughthis is a somewhat serious coaching philosophy I also believe that sports aremeant to be enjoyed; there is no reason to play volleyball unless you thinkit's fun or you think it will get you a hot prom date (which it won't, trust meI tried). Volleyball is meant to be fun and I am constantly reminding myselfand my players to enjoy these times before they're gone.

In my sparetime, when I'm not spouting off about my coaching
philosophy, I am still a competitive beach volleyball player in the Santa Cruzscene, I am also a member of the crossfit fitness cult and I perform stand-upcomedy anywhere from 2 to 12 times a week. In addition to these things I amalso a recent law school graduate so if you know of anyone looking to hireplease send them my contact information.