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USC coach to put on clinic at SOU By GREG STILES Pat Powers played eight years on the U.S. men's volleyball team, earning a gold medal at the 1984 Olympic Games. He now coaches the men's team at the University of Southern California. Nonetheless, as Powers crisscrosses America putting on clinics, he's aware that girls have a far better chance of playing collegiately than boys. "There are 900 intercollegiate women's teams and 299 NCAA Division I schools with 12 scholarships," Powers says. "That means there are 1,000 girls earning full rides per year playing volleyball. "There are 21 NCAA men's volleyball teams." Powers begins an eight-stop tour today taking him to Massachusetts, Ohio, Nevada, Maryland, Ashland, Pennsylvania, Los Angeles and New York. He will put on a two-day clinic on the Southern Oregon University campus July 28-29. Clinic size is limited to the first 40 applicants, with registration already under way. The key points, he says, will be passing and snapping a volleyball, rather than hitting. "Players need to learn to snap out with their elbows, rather than their shoulders," Powers says. "It gives you a lot more range, it's quicker and more deceptive." Mastering those elements will make any player more valuable to their team, he says. "I started putting on clinics before I began coaching at USC," Powers says. "I played 20 years, but it took me three or four years to learn how to coach." The hard parts of coaching, he says, are player management, fund-raising and administrative details. Powers approaches his teaching philosophy the same way as a golf instructor, he says, thinking about one thing at a time. "In clinics, you need to do things to a kid's eyes," he says. "You have to know what they want to learn and make them feel comfortable. Once they're intimidated, the learning process shuts down." Powers notes that rally scoring, instituted in college men's play last year, will appear in the women's college game this fall. Rally scoring awards points after every play. Previously, only the serving team could score. A sideout was awarded, rather than a point, if the non-serving team won a play. (If history holds true, it won't be long before the National Federation adopts rally scoring as well.) Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 776-4483, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.