Joop Alberda (born 25 October 1952 in Oosterwolde,

Friesland Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of ...

) is a retired

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

from the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. In 1996, under his directions, the Dutch Men's National Team won the gold medal in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

by defeating

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

in the final (3-2). During his time as an active player he played on the highest national level as setter for the teams of Lycurgus and Donitas from the city of

Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...

. He found that he had a knack for the training and coaching side of sport in general and Volleyball in particular. A major inspiration in this aspect was

Doug Beal Doug Beal (born March 4, 1947, in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American volleyball player and coach, a former USA Volleyball CEO, and a member of the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. Education * Master's degree in Education from Bowling Gr ...

, whom he met in 1985. Beal had guided the US national men's team to Olympic gold in the previous year, and his strategic approach appealed greatly to Alberda: controlling every possible detail, leaving nothing to chance. In 1994 Alberda was appointed as head coach of the Dutch national men's volleyball team which had already been under way to international fame. Two years later this led to the gold medal in the 1996 Olympics. Later the Dutch population elected this event as most important national sporting even of the twentieth century. In 1996 Alberda himself was elected as "best volleyball coach in the world". In 1997 he filled the position of technical director of the NOC*NSF, the Dutch national Olympic Federation. Under his guidance the Dutch delegation in the 2000 Sydney Olympics managed to win a record number of 25 medals. At the end of 2004 he quit his position at NOC*NSF. In October 2014 he was inducted in the

Volleyball Hall of Fame The International Volleyball Hall of Fame (IVHF) was founded to honor extraordinary players, coaches, officials, and leaders who have made significant contributions to the game of volleyball. The Hall of Fame is located in Holyoke, Massachusetts, ...

. Joop Alberda is father of two children and lives in the Dutch town of

Vinkeveen Vinkeveen is a village in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is a part of the municipality of De Ronde Venen, and lies about 18 km south of Amsterdam. Vinkeveen used to be a separate municipality. It merged with Waverveen in 1841, to form t ...

References

1951 births Living people Dutch men's volleyball players Dutch volleyball coaches People from Ooststellingwerf Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the Netherlands Sportspeople from Friesland 20th-century Dutch people {{Netherlands-volleyball-bio-stub