Scottish Volleyball are excited to announce a new structure for Performance and Coaching within the office. Thanks to continued and expanded support from sportscotland and Fédération International de Volleyball (FIVB), Scottish Volleyball will have two full-time permanent staff working with National Teams and on our Coach Education as well as a part-time Beach Volleyball coach.
As of 1st April, Ally Jack, currently the Indoor Performance and Coaching Manager, will become the Head of Performance and Coaching. This role will better match the structure of the Development team and enable Ally to spend more time working strategically to support all National Teams across the Beach and Indoor and continue to develop our Coaching courses and ongoing Coach education.
New Head of Performance and Coaching Ally Jack commented, “This new structure allows us to build on the progress we’ve made in recent years and take a more strategic, long-term approach to performance and coaching. By strengthening our pathways and enhancing coach education, we are creating an environment where our athletes and coaches can thrive at every level. I’m excited to take on this role and continue working with our incredible team to push Scottish Volleyball forward”
Ally will be supported by a Logistics Operations Lead, with Development Officer – Community, Adam Paton, moving from Development to Performance and Coaching to fulfil this role. As Logistics Operations Lead, Adam will support all National Teams and manage both Indoor and Beach Pathways. He will lead projects to introduce long-term Athlete Monitoring and an improved Athlete Support system for performance players. He will also work with the network of Scottish Volleyball coaches, introducing a Coach Licenses scheme with improved continual professional development opportunities.
The Hub will be completed by a Scotland Beach Head Coach, which will be put out to advert today. The successful candidate will work with Ally and Adam as well as our network of Beach athletes and coaches to plan, implement and deliver training sessions to our Beach athletes whilst supporting network coaches and performance athletes. To allow the Beach Head Coach to focus on coaching, developing athletes, and upskilling coaches, the Logistics Operations Lead will take charge of managing the Beach programme. It is hoped that up-to 80% of the Scotland Beach Head Coach’s time will be dedicated to Junior and Development athletes in the Beach Programme whilst supporting performance pairs in dedicated training camps and upskilling their network pair coaches.
Scottish Volleyball CEO Margaret Ann Fleming MBE noted, “Scottish Volleyball is committed to creating the best possible environment for our athletes and coaches to develop and succeed. Thanks to the invaluable support from sportscotland and FIVB, this new Performance and Coaching Hub will be a game-changer in how we support our National Teams and build our future stars. Our ‘Build, Develop, Perform’ strategy is ambitious, but with the expertise and dedication of our team, I have no doubt we will see significant progress in the years ahead.”
The Performance and Coaching staff alongside new and existing network coaches and support staff and partners will work to deliver a new six-year Performance and Coaching Strategy entitled “Build, Develop, Perform”. This strategy, agreed with FIVB and sportscotland, aims to take large steps forward across Indoor National Teams, the Beach Programme, and our Coach Education work to fast-track Scottish Performance both in the short and long term. The full strategy and information to accompany the strategy will be launched on Monday 28th April 2025.