Spring Break
For the love of the game: a coach's passion
Issue date: 11/20/08
As a child, Coach Giovanazzi was surrounded by volleyball. Both his father and brother played, and volleyball was just as much a part of life as surfing was in his hometown of Venice Beach, Calif. In high school, Giovanazzi played baseball, basketball and football. When the school's volleyball program started in his sophomore year, the quarterback from his football team asked him to go out for the team. Giovanazzi did and was soon hooked on the sport. "From the minute I started it, I loved it. It was a great combination of sports I was already playing," he said.
Giovanazzi discovered his passion for coaching around this time as well. Although he had wanted to be a teacher since middle school, it was his high school football experience that sparked his interest in coaching. He was influenced most by his high school coach who, always thinking of ways to improve the team, would often draw up plays for the team himself.
In 1975, Giovanazzi took his passion for volleyball to college, where he played for four years at UCLA as a three-time USVA All-American. It was there that his career as a volleyball player really took off. He was a member of the 1976 national team and played on the 1978 squad that competed in the NCAA Finals. In 1977 he was selected to play on the men's junior national team that played in the Junior World Championships and placed third at the Pac Rima Championships. He then set his sights on the next stage of his career, halfway across the world in Italy. "It couldn't have been better," he said. "It was so great. I arrived and didn't speak a word of Italian, and everyone on the team was Italian. They wouldn't use any English; they wanted me to pick up Italian right away."
After sustaining an injury in 1980 while playing in Italy, Giovanazzi accepted his first coaching job as an assistant coach at the University of Hawaii for one season. He then returned to school and graduated from UCLA in 1981 with a B.A. in history. That same year, he accepted a position as assistant coach at his alma mater. From 1981 to 1990, he helped coach the team to six NCAA Final Four appearances and three NCAA championships. During this time, in 1986, he also returned to Italy. "I wanted to finish my playing career. I was coaching both men and women at UCLA and wanted to get the playing out of my system and get the Italian experience," he said.
Giovanazzi discovered his passion for coaching around this time as well. Although he had wanted to be a teacher since middle school, it was his high school football experience that sparked his interest in coaching. He was influenced most by his high school coach who, always thinking of ways to improve the team, would often draw up plays for the team himself.
In 1975, Giovanazzi took his passion for volleyball to college, where he played for four years at UCLA as a three-time USVA All-American. It was there that his career as a volleyball player really took off. He was a member of the 1976 national team and played on the 1978 squad that competed in the NCAA Finals. In 1977 he was selected to play on the men's junior national team that played in the Junior World Championships and placed third at the Pac Rima Championships. He then set his sights on the next stage of his career, halfway across the world in Italy. "It couldn't have been better," he said. "It was so great. I arrived and didn't speak a word of Italian, and everyone on the team was Italian. They wouldn't use any English; they wanted me to pick up Italian right away."
After sustaining an injury in 1980 while playing in Italy, Giovanazzi accepted his first coaching job as an assistant coach at the University of Hawaii for one season. He then returned to school and graduated from UCLA in 1981 with a B.A. in history. That same year, he accepted a position as assistant coach at his alma mater. From 1981 to 1990, he helped coach the team to six NCAA Final Four appearances and three NCAA championships. During this time, in 1986, he also returned to Italy. "I wanted to finish my playing career. I was coaching both men and women at UCLA and wanted to get the playing out of my system and get the Italian experience," he said.
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