Drew LaPointe

Assistant Coach 14s, 17/18s

I'm a military veteran of 21 years, who is the son of military veterans, which is a lot of time to be in the military culture, but I've been able to travel and live all over the world! Currently, I'm a speechwriter for the Director of the U.S. Geological Survey, and that affords me a unique opportunity to help communicate the very latest in earth sciences to audiences all around the globe.

As far as my volleyball history goes, I've been playing or coaching in some form for the last 25 years. Once my parents retired from the military, they settled in upstate New York, where basketball and football (not to mention hockey) reigned supreme as far as sports go. I was part of an upstart, plucky group of guys who -- after watching the men's and women's teams during 1992 Olympics -- decided basketball wasn't our thing, and we wanted to play volleyball instead. Our high school had a girls team, so we stole as many drills and strategies as we could from them, and did our best on the court. It was ugly volleyball, but we learned a lot, and eventually our team of misfits was even invited to play at a few women's tournaments...which was a fantastic experience, where we were routinely crushed by our opponents; however the skills and perspective we picked up were invaluable.

Once I joined the military I played on every volleyball club team I could find on the various military installations at which I served. At my first base, I had a chance to play on a few teams with members from the US Air Force Academy men's volleyball team, and that experience was an absolutely critical in my volleyball skills development. From then on, I played on at least a dozen club or base teams over the next 20 years until my retirement in 2017.

I first met Coach Jose when we worked together in Crystal City, across from the Pentagon. We played regularly during the weekends, on teams that included former NCAA Division 1 players, as well as international players from countries like Italy and Brazil. Jose personally coached me in to a better player, with a keen eye on little adjustments that were needed in my fundamentals, and who was always ready to answer any questions I had regarding strategy and tactics. Because of Jose's coaching, I was routinely recruited to play for various teams in and around the D.C. area. I consider it an honor and a privilege to bring all that experience and knowledge, as well as a healthy dose of fun, to help develop the next generation of volleyball players, who will have a solid foundation in skills, tactics, and strategy, as well as a love for the game that will last a lifetime.