Book Lessons with Coach Joanna

Joanna is a volleyball coach based in Norman, Oklahoma. In her work on the court, she conducts youth volleyball camps/clinics, co-directs the local NOC/YFAC Spring League, and coaches middle school volleyball at Community Christian School. She is also the founding director of Volleyball Norman, a local club volleyball team. 

As Joanna says, she’s been playing volleyball “since the late 1900s.” And her favorite part about volleyball is that you get to use your outside voice inside. She has played at multiple levels and coached all the way from 2nd to 12th grade. Her focus is fundamental skill development, but more importantly speaking to the heart and character of the player. She sees volleyball as the ultimate athletic metaphor for life and a great opportunity for young people to learn trust, teamwork, and resilience.

When she’s not volleyballing, Joanna provides general counsel services for local small businesses and runs BASH Player Development. BASH is the brain child of Joanna and her husband, Walter Boyd: a collaborative and whole-hearted effort to equip athletes with the capacity to embrace their faith, improve their craft, & grow through challenge & triumph. Their approach combines athletic coaching with testimony, life advice & counsel and athletes ages four (4) and beyond with camps, clinics, speaking engagements, NIL guidance, & more!

In her down time, Joanna enjoys listening to history podcasts, coloring, and gardening. Her favorite person in the world is Walter, who coaches football and trains quarterbacks and offensive lineman. Joanna and Walter have a busy home with four kiddos: Scarlet (13) Harrison (11), Benjamin (6), and Avery (4). The pair can often be found coaching or watching their kids compete in sports and activities. The family also loves the Oklahoma Sooners, professional wrestling, and their French Bulldog, Jelly. 

I love working with people new to the game, beginners, those who are prepping for things like tryouts and preparing to increase their competitive level. I find that it’s very easily for athletes to get overwhelmed with all the improvement and change they’re trying to implement in their game, so I tried to simplify and help them focus on one or two aspects at a time time so that they can see large large gains with minimal changes

Generally sessions last approximately 60 minutes with warm-up, mechanics, reps. I emphasize the basics and the intensity and intentionality that we bring to the small mechanical movements in order to add results for the larger plays. So we generally have a thorough warm-up, as well as debriefing about expectations or areas of improvement. We will run through specific drills or movements and then implement them in larger plays or reps. It’s also very important to me that the player be educated at the level of volleyball IQ they currently have wow helping them rise to a deeper understanding of the game.

It’s my best accomplishments are that I have players who no longer play for me, but still love the game and still love to participate in volleyball and want to tell me about life when they see me out in the wild.

Volleyball? Easy: Sarah Vacek, my varsity coach in high school (Florence, Texas)

Leadership? Simple: Dr. Kayla Peak, Head of the School of Kinesiology at Tarleton State University.

I’m an attorney by trade and I’ve been in the “real world.” But the most rewarding professional experiences I’ve ever had have not come in court, but on the court. I’m truly grateful to spend time in volleyball almost every day of my life.