Episode 127 - Lori Okimura

Lori Okimura is a Japanese American volleyball program director, producer, former player and coach at the highest level. Her involvement with USA Volleyball and the work she has put in for 3 decades is well-documented, from juniors, to the adult Olympic Games, to most recently, Paralympics. Engaging & giving back through athlete advocacy, grassroots program development, safe sport, human rights after 30+ years of professional expertise in executive management and corporate reorganization in multiple areas of the international sports industry. Past experience focused on new business development, sporting goods sales and marketing, professional event management, athlete management, and international business, including extensive work with nonprofit organizations & international sports federations.
Tune in, as we chat up National Girls and Women's Sports Day, former player, model, and current film actor and photographer Jason Olive, how her level of excitement with the sport still feels 'fresh and new,' the importance of building non-toxic volleyball programs at all levels, the role of parents on the club scene, how culture shifts are supposed to work, a story about Gary Sato, how a coaches "character armor' may prevent them from being better, why coaches become better in a shorter time span than long-time coaches, how everyone combined makes the sport great (fans, coaches, staff, etc.), the players who transcended the sport with off-the-court endeavors, giving back to the sport if you made it, knowing when your reputation comes into play, how the versatility of coaches has to start from how and who we 'apprentice,' Paralympics, 2020 Tokyo Olympics, how we got through COVID, "SafeSport," and MORE!