Remembering Jim Stone – Coaching Volleyball

Today I learned of the passing of Jim Stone.

That news of his terminal illness hit me on multiple levels when I found out some time back. Jim was a highly accomplished coach, of course, but he was also more than that. He was one of those people in volleyball whose impact extended well beyond the teams he led. He thought deeply about the game, thought deeply about coaching, and – importantly for the rest of us – he shared those thoughts generously.

I had the privilege of interviewing Jim for Volleyball Coaching Wizards, which gave me the opportunity to spend time with not just his resume, but his mind. I also had the pleasure of bringing him to England as the lead presenter for the 2024 UK Volleyball Coaching Symposium. In both settings, what stood out was the same thing: clarity. Jim had clear ideas, clear convictions, and a clear way of expressing them. He didn’t rely on vague coaching clichés. He had spent the time to work through what he thought, why he thought it, and how it applied in the real world.

That is rarer than it should be.

A lot of coaches accumulate experience. Fewer do the hard work of turning that experience into insight. Fewer still can communicate that insight in a way that helps other coaches think better about what they do. Jim could do that. Whether he was talking about training, decision-making, team culture, player development, or the realities of leadership, there was substance there. He had the perspective of someone who had lived the work, reflected on it honestly, and kept learning.

That made him valuable not only to his own players and programs, but to the broader coaching community.

One of the things I appreciated most about Jim was that he engaged with coaching as both a practitioner and a thinker. He was not someone content simply to say, “This worked for me.” He wanted to understand why things worked, when they worked, and what coaches should be paying attention to. That mindset is part of what made conversations with him so worthwhile. You came away not just with a few useful ideas, but with a better way to frame the questions.

That, to me, is one of the marks of a real educator.

In volleyball, we often talk about people’s wins, titles, and positions. Those things matter, and Jim’s record speaks for itself. But there is another kind of legacy that matters just as much: the ideas people leave behind, the standards they model, and the way they influence how others coach, teach, and lead. Jim leaves a great deal there.

I feel fortunate to have had the chance to learn from him, to speak with him, and to bring him into contact with other coaches through the Symposium and the Wizards project. I know many others will feel the same. The sport has lost a significant figure, and the coaching community has lost one of its more thoughtful voices.

My condolences go out to Jim’s family, friends, former players, colleagues, and all those in the volleyball world who learned from him directly or indirectly.

Rest in peace, Coach.