VCN Hosting USC coach Brent Crouch for Player and Coaching Clinics June 12

Another big-time Division I volleyball coach will be spending the day in Lincoln putting on clinics. 

First-year USC coach Brent Crouch will conduct a pair of clinics for athletes. The varsity-level clinic for high school athletes will go from 9 a.m. until Noon on Tuesday, June 12, while a clinic for athletes in grades 6-9 will take place from 1-3 p.m. The cost of the varsity clinic is $60 and the cost of the grades 6-9 clinic is $40.

Crouch will also put on a coaching clinic from 4-6 p.m. that day which is free to any coach from any program or school. There is no cost to attend, but you are asked to register. All of the clinics will be held at the Speedway Village volleyball courts in Lincoln.

You can register for the clinics, hosted by VCNebraska, BY CLICKING THIS LINK.

Crouch, the 2016 West Coast Conference Coach of the Year who inherited a winless Portland program and within two seasons guided the Pilots to their winningest season in 25 years, was named the USC women’s volleyball head coach on Jan. 8, 2018.

Crouch, 43, took over at Portland in 2014 after the Pilots went 0-27 the previous season. After going 7-23 in his debut season, he guided the Pilots to a 16-15 mark in 2015 (its most victories since 1991) and then improved upon that in 2016 with a 17-13 mark. His 2017 team, which was hampered by injuries, was 15-15, with 5 losses coming in 5-set matches. His overall 4-year record at Portland was 55-66.
 
The 48 victories in his final 3 years was Portland’s best 3-season total since 1984-86. The Pilots’ 10-8 third place WCC finish in 2016 was its most league wins since 1985 and highest conference finish since 1989. He led Portland to the program’s first-ever victories over Top 10, Top 15, and Top 25 opponents. Crouch coached three All-WCC first team players and a WCC All-Freshman team pick, along with three WCC All-Academic first teamers. He also helped establish beach volleyball as a varsity sport at Portland in 2016.
 
Crouch arrived at Portland after four seasons (2010-13) at Saint Mary’s College, where he was an assistant with the indoor program and head coach of the beach team. 
 
During his time at SMC, the Gaels’ indoor team went 73-40 overall, finished in the top three in the WCC standings each season by winning 73.4 percent of its league matches (47-17) and earned a berth into the NCAA Tournament in 2012, advancing to the second round. Besides being involved in the team’s offense and defense, recruiting, scouting, practice planning, statistical and video analysis and scheduling, he provided academic support, as he mentored several WCC All-Academic honorees and helped the team to the athletic department’s highest grade point average, an NCAA Public Recognition Award, and an AVCA academic award.
 
Crouch also coached the inaugural Saint Mary’s beach team in 2013, guiding the Gaels to an 8-2 record, the best mark among all Northern California teams, as well as a No. 9 national ranking and a bid to the AVCA national championship for the program’s top pairs team.
 
Crouch also has coaching experience with the USA Volleyball program, including working with U.S. Women’s National Team head coach Karch Kiraly, being an assistant with the U.S. Collegiate National Team that captured a gold medal at the 2016 U22 Global Challenge and serving as both an indoor and beach coach in the USA Volleyball High Performance program.
 
From 2004 to 2009, Crouch was a head coach at various levels. He was the head coach of the RoShamBo Girls Volleyball 14 team, which was part of the Skyline Juniors Volleyball Club in Dallas, Tex. (he also served as Skyline’s associate director and recruiting coordinator). Crouch was head coach of the Wave Girls Volleyball Club 17 team in Encinitas, Calif., that finished third in the 2008 Junior Olympics Open Division after winning a gold medal at the Southern California National Qualifier (his Wave program sent players to schools such as USC and Stanford). He was head coach of the San Diego (Calif.) City College men’s team from 2006 to 2008 after serving as the head coach of Oregon’s men’s club team in 2004 and 2005.
 
Crouch played for Texas A&M’s club team from 1993 to 1997 and was named MVP of the Stephen F. Austin Tournament in 1997. He earned his bachelor’s degree in history in 1998 and his master’s in philosophy in 2000, both from Texas A&M, then a doctorate in philosophy from Oregon in 2006.
 
He competed on the beach from 2005 to 2007 in AVP and CBVA events and placed second at the 2005 California Cup state championship.
 
He has held various teaching positions in philosophy at Oregon, San Diego City College, and Saint Mary’s College since 2000.