Joop Alberda (born 25 October 1952) is a retired

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

from the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. He won a gold medal as coach of the

Netherlands men's national volleyball team The Netherlands men's national volleyball team represents the Netherlands in FIVB tournaments. Volleyball is the most popular indoor sport in the country, with over 125,000 associates. The team had their most successful phase beginning in the 19 ...

in the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

by defeating

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

in the final (3-2). In October 2014, Alberda was inducted into the

International Volleyball Hall of Fame The International Volleyball Hall of Fame (IVHF) was founded to honor extraordinary players, coaches, officials, and leaders who have made significant contributions to the game of volleyball. The Hall of Fame is located in Holyoke, Massachusetts ...

Career

During his time as an active player, Alberda played on the highest national level as setter for the teams of Lycurgus and Donitas from the city of

Groningen Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...

. Alberda found that he had a knack for the training and coaching side of sport in general, and volleyball in particular. A major inspiration in this aspect was

Doug Beal Doug Beal (born March 4, 1947, in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American former volleyball player and coach, a former USA Volleyball CEO, and a member of the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. Education * Master's degree in Education from Bow ...

, whom he met in 1985. Beal had guided the United States men's national volleyball team to an Olympic gold the previous year, and his strategic approach appealed greatly to Alberda: controlling every possible detail, leaving nothing to chance. In 1994, Alberda was appointed as head coach of the Dutch national men's volleyball team which had already been under way to international fame. Two years later this led to the gold medal in the 1996 Olympics. In 1996, Alberda was elected as "best volleyball coach in the world" by the

International Volleyball Federation International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

(FIVB). In 1997, Alberda filled the position of technical director of the Dutch Olympic Committee (NOC*NSF). Under his guidance, the Dutch delegation in the 2000 Sydney Olympics managed to win a record number of 25 medals. At the end of 2004, Alberda quit his position at the NOC*NSF.

References

External links

International Volleyball Hall of Fame profile

Olympedia profile: Joop Alberda

Volleybox.net profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alberda, Joop 1951 births Living people Dutch men's volleyball players Dutch volleyball coaches People from Ooststellingwerf Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the Netherlands Sportspeople from Friesland 20th-century Dutch sportsmen Coaches at the 1996 Summer Olympics Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Russia International Volleyball Hall of Fame inductees