Innovator, teacher, motivator, sports marketer, fundraiser and visionary
Ruth N. Nelson put athletes’ opportunities first and gained over 50 years of experience, including successful coaching (16 years at the collegiate level: George Williams College, University of Houston, Louisiana State University, and the University of Iowa) with over 500 wins. She also had 3 University of Houston Players (Hyman, Crockett, and Magers) start on the 1984 Olympic Team and was the pioneer in recruiting minority athletes in the 70s. 5-time Olympian Danielle Scott was part of her first junior club program in Baton Rouge, LA (Baton Rouge Volleyball Club). In addition, Nelson was a USA National Team Player, USA National Team Assistant Coach, USA National Team Technical Advisor, USA Junior National Team Head Coach, USA World University Games Head Coach, and Dallas Belles Major League Volleyball Professional Team Head Coach. Nelson was the Head Coach of the USA Volleyball Senior A2 Team (now the A2 Collegiate Team).
INNOVATIONS have included the creation and development of the recent GoKids Youth Sports™ (GKYS™) Certification Program for ages 7-and-under and 8-and-up, the Bring Your Own Parent (BYOP®) Program with certifications for Ages 10 and under, the Nelson Aquatics Resistance Training (NART™) Program, the MVP Specialized Training Program (Jump Like an Olympian), and, just recently, the RNN Virtual Sports Gym™ specifically for teachers, parents, and kidz in Pre-K-4th and up to age 10. Over the past 23 years, Nelson has specialized in training 4–to 10-year-olds in her BYOP® Program and GKYS™. Ebony Nwanebu, an All-American starter at USC and Texas, was one of Nelson’s first BYOP® players at age four and a half. Others have included Mary Kate Marshall, PAC 12 Freshman of the Year at Oregon State. Still, others have succeeded at Cornell, Columbia, Binghamton, Barry University, Belmont, Indiana Wesleyan, Newman, UTSA, Georgetown, Stonehill, UMass Boston, Alabama State, Pepperdine, Midwestern State, TCU, UConn, and the University of San Diego.
Abilities
Nelson’s ABILITIES include not only analyzing individual fundamental skills but also teaching effective decision-making and implementing tactics within game strategies; unlocking athletes’ capabilities, developing their self-esteem and self-confidence, and performance under pressure; jump training (yielding increased height in jumps and improved performance without injuries), and evaluating teams at any level of competition. Since her master’s thesis on “Statistical Analysis of Passing and Serving”, she has begun gathering data for ages 4-10 in jumping using the VERT™ technology. In addition, she has tested various sizes, textures, colors, and weights of the new Baden Softlight Series for BYOP® & GKYS™ volleyballs for 10U players. In 2021, Nelson created the RNN Sports Gym™, a website filled with information, videos, programs, certifications, training equipment, and history for physical education teachers, recreational leaders, and youth/kids coaches. This website is powered by the First Worldwide Volleyball Virtual Gym, built within a Google Classroom environment.
Honors
Among her HONORS, Nelson has received three prestigious awards from the USA Volleyball Hall of Fame. In 2015, she received the James E. Coleman National Team Award for her immense influence on the USA Women’s national team programs, and in 2011, the All-time Great Coach Award – Pioneer Division. In 1996, she received the George J. Fisher Volleyball Award for significant service rendered in volleyball for at least 20 years. In 2013, Nelson was inducted into the University of Northern Colorado Hall of Fame as a 5-sport athlete, and in 2014, was inducted into the AVCA Hall of Fame. Nelson was selected to give the acceptance speech for Flo Hyman’s induction into the United States Olympic Paralympic Hall of Fame, the Texas Sports Hall of Fame, and the Southern California Indoor Volleyball Hall of Fame. Recently, Nelson has been part of the AVCA History Commission Advisory Board (advisor on Black History).
PRESENTATIONS
Because of Nelson’s experience, expertise, and honors, she has delivered over 700 in-person presentations at conferences, seminars, and workshops worldwide. Topics have included developing college-bound camps, high school motivational speaking, successfully training youth in volleyball, becoming knowledgeable about the college-selection process, marketing the student-athlete, developing fundraising programs for nonprofit organizations, telecommunications companies, corporate cause marketing programs, and national sports governing bodies. Her most recent presentations have been at the JVA Align Summit, AVCA Conventions (in-person and virtual), Art of Coaching (in-person and virtual), and Volleyball MasterCoaches Clinics. She was the host for 83 Wednesday Weekly News Shows (MasterCoaches Wednesday Weekly BUZZ and BUZZ Reaction), and served as Special Co-Host and Facilitator for the March Celebration “Women in Coaching Series” powered by Todos Somos Voleibol – TSV shown live to over 50+ countries (Spanish and English) with 34+ women. Nelson also hosts a monthly shows BYOP® on the Go, GoKids Youth Sports™ ChatBOX and RNN Sports Gym™ BUZZ ,!, geared toward players ages 10 and under and parents, teachers, and youth/kidz coaches. She also hosts “PAT™ – Picture Analyze and Teach”, a show analyzing skills, tactics, and strategies for kids. In addition, Nelson has authored feature articles on BYOP® (Bring Your Own Parent) in AVCA’s Volleyball Coaching 2.0, Junior Volleyball Association Blog, Sports Imports Blogs, and the first Coaching Wizard book released in 2016. Since March 8, 2020, Nelson has conducted and/or been involved in over 1000 Virtual Zoom and/or Skype Events worldwide. She presented at MiniVolley Congress with the Poland Volleyball Academy which was translated into 5 languages; Volleyball Coaches of Canada with Dave Wildman Show (BYOP® and the Evolution of Kids training); VTS Plus Marathon (Belgium Sport Vlaanderen Volleyball); and featured presentations virtually for the CEV School Project (European school teachers and coaches) and the Art of Coaching Legend Seminar (translated in Arabic to over 140 coaches in 26 countries).
Education
• George Williams College, Master of Science in Physical Education
• University of North Colorado, Bachelor of Arts in Physical Education & Psychology
• Concordia University, Montreal, Canada; studied comprehensive overview of the scientifically based system of sport and physical culture at the Moscow Institute of Physical Culture
