Jim Stone returns as head coach of the 2009 U.S. Girls'
Youth National Team after leading the squad in 2008. Last year, he led the team
on an undefeated run to the gold medal at the 2008 NORCECA Girls' Youth
Continental Championship in Puerto Rico. In the process, the team also
qualified for the 2009 FIVB Girls' Youth World Championship to be held in
Thailand.
Stone served as the women's Volleyball head coach at The
Ohio State University for 26 years before retiring after the 2007 collegiate
season. Over his final 19 years with the Buckeye program, he established Ohio
State as an annual Top 25 team. During that period, OSU had an overall record
of 394-149 (.726) and a Big Ten Conference mark of 241-135 (.641). He won the
Big Ten Conference championship three times, finishing second five times, third
four times and fourth three times. The Buckeyes participated in 15 NCAA
Tournaments, advancing to the NCAA Championship Semifinals in 1991 and 1994.
His 26-year career record with Ohio State is 531-294 (573-257 per NCAA
listing).
On the national and international scene, Stone was the
head coach for one of the 2007 U.S. Women's National A2 Teams that competed at
the USA Volleyball Adult Open Championships. Last summer, he served as the head
coach for the 2007 U.S. Girls' Youth A2 Team at the High Performance
Championships in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Stone has been part of U.S. coaching staff in each of the
last three decades. He coached the men's team that represented the South at the
1981 National Sports Festival at Syracuse, N.Y. In 1985, he coached the USA
Junior National Team, which toured China and Japan. He served as coach of the
East women in the 1986 Olympic Sports Festival. Additionally, he was selected
to coach the men's East team at the 1990 Olympic Sports Festival. In the summer
of 1993, he was an assistant coach to the United States National "B"
team that trained in San Diego and then played in Germany. In July 1999, Stone
was the head coach for the World University Games team, held in Palma de
Mallorca, Spain.
During his collegiate career, Stone coached 60
all-conference players, 15 Olympic Sports Festival participants, 37 all-region
selections and 22 All-Americans. Four players have played for the Canadian
National Team and two for the United States National teams.
In 2004, Ohio State finished 30-4 overall, improving from
a 11-17 mark in 2003. The Buckeyes were 17-3 in the Big Ten, finishing in a tie
for second in the league. OSU advanced to the NCAA regional championship match
before ending the season. Along the way, Stone was named the Big Ten Coach of
the Year and the American Volleyball Coaches Association Mideast Region Coach
of the Year. OSU's top student-athlete Stacey Gordon was named the AVCA
Co-National Player of the Year and the Asics/Volleyball Division I Player of
the Year. In addition to Gordon, Marisa Main was named to the AVCA All-America
Second Team.
In 1994, the Buckeyes recorded their sixth consecutive
20-win season, finishing with a 29-3 overall record. They won the Big Ten
Championship with a 19-1 record. OSU was honored with two AVCA All-Americans in
Gabriele Jobst and Laura Davis, with Davis being named the National Player of
the Year. The Buckeyes advanced to the NCAA Semifinals for the second time in
four years, losing to Stanford, the eventual national champion.
In 1991, the Buckeyes went undefeated (20-0) in the Big
Ten and reached the NCAA Semifinals with three freshman starters. For these
accomplishments, Stone was named the 1991 National Coach of the Year by
Volleyball Monthly, the American Volleyball Coaches Association's Mideast
Region Coach of the Year and was a unanimous choice by both the media and
coaches as the Big Ten Coach of the Year. In 1989, he was the AVCA Region Coach
of the Year and was the Big Ten Coach of the Year, as his squad won its first
Big Ten championship and made its first NCAA appearance. Prior to Ohio State, Stone coached three years at
Wyoming, taking a team that was 2-23 to winning records in two of his three
years with the Cowboys. He had two 20-win seasons and in the 1981 season earned
18th place in the national polls. He was also named Intermountain Athletic
Conference Coach of the Year for his 20-9 mark in 1981. In addition to his coaching experience at Wyoming, Stone
served as head coach of the 1976 Bowling Green State men's volleyball club
team. In 1975, he served as the assistant coach at Kellogg Community College,
which won the junior college national championship that year.
During his playing career, Stone was named Ball State's
most valuable player in 1975. An All-America selection in 1974, he twice was
named to the all-star team of the Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball
Association (MIVA). As a player, he participated in the 1974 Canada Cup, and he
faced a strong Japanese men's team in a series of matches throughout the United
States in 1975. The following year, he faced the People's Republic of China in
a similar United States tour.
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