Coach Tom Peterson has achieved a remarkable feat by winning NCAA men’s volleyball championships at three different schools: Penn State, BYU, and Southern Virginia. With a coaching career spanning 45 years, he prioritizes athlete development over winning. Peterson’s leadership and cultural impact are highly valued by his players and the athletic community.
Kim Mulkey (Baylor and LSU), Pete Carroll (USC and Seattle Seahawks), Nick Saban (LSU and Alabama), and Larry Brown (Kansas and Detroit Pistons) are excellent coaches who have won championships at two different programs. Pull out the red carpet, Coach Tom Peterson has won the National Championships at three different colleges as an NCAA men’s volleyball head coach. Yes, you heard that right, Coach Peterson has won at Penn State, BYU, and Southern Virginia. Impressive!
Coach Peterson grew up in Utah. At a young age, he was passionate about basketball and tennis. His sister, Brenda Peterson, was a talented volleyball player who introduced him to the sport. When Coach Peterson attended BYU, he signed up for a volleyball class taught by the legendary Coach Carl McGown. After serving his mission, he returned to BYU and played outside hitter for the Cougars in the late 1970s.
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Kevin Pratte has enthusiastically been involved in volleyball for over 23 years. Pratte started playing in middle school and was fortunate enough to play NCAA Division 1 volleyball at The University of the Pacific. After his playing career Pratte got involved in coaching volleyball. In 2009 Pratte was the graduate assistant coach for the University of Nebraska women’s volleyball program. Later in his career Pratte made coaching stops at University of the Pacific, multiple community colleges and coached at WAVE Volleyball Club for seven years. Currently Pratte is a physical education teacher in the San Diego Unified School District, San Diego Downtown Breakfast Rotary member, a college volleyball recruiting coordinator, hosts a volleyball podcast show, the owner of the Middle Hitter website and runs a non-profit organization to help raise funds to give boys’ high school volleyball students scholarships to play club volleyball. He is excited to continue writing for Volleyball Magazine and is eager to cover the game.
Foundation website: www.kevinprattefoundation.com
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