The architect of the highly successful Netherlands Men’s National Volleyball Teams of the 1990s, Joop Alberda soon became a legendary figure within the program and the sport.  Even in his early years coaching, Alberda always had a sense of the system of training and coaching style necessary to be successful on the volleyball world stage. 

His coaching background started in the early 1970s when he was a player as he was fascinated by the statistics and strategy behind the sport. Being a physical education teacher, he invested time to increase his knowledge by attending numerous clinics and championships around the world.

Coaching started in University Teams and resulted in being appointed as Junior National Team coach in the beginning of the 1980s. The selection of those junior teams resulted in laying the foundation for future Netherlands teams.

After 1986 Alberda was responsible for a National League runner up team between 1986 and 1990. At the end of the 1980s he assisted the Netherlands Men’s Team. To update his knowledge of coaching he spent time close to the heart of Italy’s Mediolanum Milan club coached by Doug Beal. There he found the inspiration and knowledge to take the challenge to make the Dutch squad into an Olympic champion against respected rivals as Italy, USA, Brazil, Russia and more. 

Building on the groundwork laid by another Hall of Fame coach Arie Selinger, who led the Netherlands to the silver medal at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona Spain, Alberda took the program to new heights in the mid-1990s.  

He guided the Netherlands to the gold medal at the 1996 FIVB World League and that success continued on into the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games as the Dutch won their first-ever Olympic Games gold medal in one of the sport’s most thrilling finals, topping favorite Italy 3-2. 

Alberda was proclaimed the FIVB Best Volleyball Coach in the world after the two gold-medal performances and the Dutch public chose the 1996 Olympic performance the top sports moment of the 20th century. 

After his golden mission, Alberda was approached by the Dutch Olympic Committee to serve as its Technical Director.  Serving in that role from 1997 to 2004, the visionary Alberda was responsible for all sports-related issues such as innovation, coaching, Olympic facilities and programs.  His direction of “Performance 2000” led to a record 25 Dutch medals at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. He later served as the technical director for the Dutch Volleyball Federation from 2006 to 2010.

Alberda is now a well-known public speaker, tapping his extensive strategic and management experience to present on topics such as change management, time management, inspirational leadership and successful collaboration.

For his ability to get the most out of his players and for taking the Netherlands Men’s National Team to the pinnacle of sport success, we welcome Joop Alberda in the Coach category, as a 2014 Inductee to the International Volleyball Hall of Fame.