He Played for Iran, Now He’s Training His Daughter to Play in Italy | Coach Mehdi | Ep. 16

Coach Mehdi played volleyball for 25 years in Iran, including years in the Iranian national-team system. Now he's coaching in the United States and passing everything he learned on to the next generation, including his own daughter, Asal. In this episode of the Coach Chijo Podcast, Mehdi takes us inside the life of an elite volleyball player. He talks about training three hours in the morning and three hours in the afternoon, living in national-team camps, playing professionally, traveling internationally, and spending long stretches away from his family. Asal joins the conversation and gives us the player's perspective on having a former national-team player as her dad and coach. She's a 14-year-old outside hitter with a big goal: someday playing professionally in Italy. She talks about training with her dad outside of regular team practices, being a leader on her team, staying positive after mistakes, and how much work she's willing to put in to chase her dream. We also get into volleyball culture in Iran, Mehdi's career as a 6'7" left-handed opposite, playing against Japan, professional volleyball around the world, and his philosophy about setting big goals. Mehdi knows firsthand that reaching the top takes an enormous amount of work. Now he's trying to teach that lesson to his own kids. Watch the Coach Chijo Podcast on YouTube or listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or your favorite podcast app.