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Coach Clinics and Symposiums

Last Updated: 5 January 2026

Volleyball Alberta is committed to enhancing coach development across the province through clinics and symposiums. These events feature expert speakers and presenters sharing insights on the modern game of volleyball and broader sport performance topics. Many sessions also offer Professional Development (PD) points for certified coaches.

Explore upcoming and past events below, and check back regularly for new opportunities to grow your coaching skills.

2026 EVENTS

January 10 - EmpowerHER Sport Summit

The EmpowerHer Sport Summit is specifically designed for female athletes between the ages of 15 years and 25 years and their community of supporters.

Coaches, parents and all sport allies are encouraged to register and take part in the summit.

THIS EVENT HAS SOLD OUT!

The event’s primary objective is to spotlight the skills often overlooked in the pursuit of excellence, and create awareness as to their potential impact on the unique journey of the female athlete. Identifying and understanding the often unquantifiable aspects of performance and how they can shape experience and enjoyment of sport are vital to realistic goal-setting. The intentional development of these skills are keys to continuous improvement, sustainable performance and success in life and sport.

Past Events

The First Serve: New Year’s Coaching Symposium – Friday, January 2nd & Saturday, January 3rd, 2026

Event details with speaker bios

Hosted at the Saville Community Sports Centre in Edmonton, this 2-day Club Coach Development Symposium kicked off the club season alongside the University of Alberta Pandas New Year’s Classic. Coaches gained practical insights from USports head coaches and sport performance professionals, blending classroom learning with the opportunity to watch high-level exhibition matches in action.

Sessions focused on skill development, athlete autonomy, mental performance, injury prevention, and effective communication—providing coaches with immediately applicable tools to take back to their programs. Attendees also earned Professional Development points while connecting with peers from across the province in a dynamic, high-performance environment.

Digging Deeper: 2025 Volleyball Alberta Coaching Symposium – Friday, June 20th & Saturday, June 21st, 2025

Schedule with speaker bios

This 2-day event was a chance to connect with coaching colleagues and presenters from a high-performance background. Specific topics included transitioning from indoor to beach, intentional training for middles and liberos, elevating your setter training and load management using Vert technology.

Featured Session Leads + Keynote Speakers:
TJ Sanders, two-time Indoor Volleyball Olympian (2016, 2020) who spent over 10 years with the Senior Men’s National Team and multiple professional seasons in Netherlands, Switzerland, Poland, and Turkey, partnered with Elite Resilience to share some strategies for sport leaders to mentally prepare and be in their best mindset to perform in a leadership role.
Sarah Pavan, two-time Beach Volleyball Olympian (2016, 2020) and 2019 FIVB World Champion, spoke about the nuances of teaching and coaching beach volleyball skills with an indoor background, and some things that helped her transition successfully onto the beach court after spending a significant amount of her career indoors.

2024 Female Sport Summit – January 6, 2024

NORCECA Final 6 Coaching Clinic (info on poster below) – Sunday, September 24th, 2023

Volleyball Alberta hosted their 1st Annual Coach and Referee Symposium on December 14, 2019 at Mount Royal University in Calgary, AB.

This multi-stream symposium brought together Alberta’s volleyball coach and referee community for a day of professional development and sharing of best practices. As leaders in the volleyball community within Alberta, participating coaches and referees had the opportunity to learn from each other and from leading experts in their respective fields.

The 2019 Coach and Referee Symposium featured a coach education stream and a referee education stream, as well as combined sessions throughout the day where all participants came together to share experiences and best practices.

2019 Volleyball Alberta Coach and Referee Symposium Handbook

2019 Volleyball Alberta Coach and Referee Symposium Videos (click on the link to view):