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The 2012 season marks John Corbelli's 20th
year as the top assistant at Texas A&M. The mastermind in volleyball training,
analysis and strategy provides more than 30 years of overall coaching experience
to the Aggie volleyball program, having coached at the Olympic, national and collegiate levels throughout his career.
John and his wife, Laurie, came to Texas
A&M in 1993, when Laurie was named head coach of the Aggies. John was promoted
from assistant coach to associate head coach in 1995.
Aggie volleyball teams have reached the NCAA tournament 15 times with the Corbellis at
the helm and have tallied a combined 399-194 record and a .673 winning
percentage over the last 19 years. The Corbellis directed the Aggies to within
one match of reaching the Final Four in both 1999 and 2001 and have led A&M
to the NCAA regional semifinals six times, including a Sweet 16 appearance in
2009. Furthermore, the Aggies have reached the 20-win milestone 13 times during
the Corbellis' tenure, and A&M has been ranked in the final Top 25 Poll 10
times in the last 16 years.
In addition to coaching the Aggies, John also
has served two stints as assistant coach for the
U.S. Women's Junior National Team, including the 2008 team that won the gold
medal at the NORCECA Women's Junior Continental Championship at Saltillo,
Mexico.
Prior
to coming to A&M, John was at San Jose State, where he spent three years as
the head women's volleyball coach and five years as an assistant coach. He was
hired as the head coach prior to the 1991 season after serving as the interim
head coach in 1990.
In
his first season at San Jose State's helm, John guided the Spartans to a 21-8
record and their ninth-consecutive postseason appearance. After the Spartans
went 12-14 in 1991, his 1992 squad posted a 14-17 record and placed fifth in
the competitive Big West conference race.
Born
in Denver, Colo., and raised in Hawai'i, John earned a bachelor's degree in
economics in 1979 from the University of California at Santa Barbara, where he
was a four-year letterwinner for the nationally ranked Gauchos. John also
excelled on the international level as a member of the U.S. Men's National Team
for the 1978-79 seasons. He also competed at the 1979 World University Games.
Upon his graduation from UCSB, John made his
collegiate coaching debut at his alma mater, serving as the assistant coach for
both the Gaucho men's and women's volleyball teams for a season. He then spent
a year playing professionally for Savonlinnan Ajo in Savonlinnan,
Finland, before returning to the coaching ranks in 1981, serving as an
assistant for the Big Eight Conference champion Nebraska Cornhuskers.
In
1982, John was named an assistant coach for the U.S. National Women's
Volleyball Team. During his tenure, the team - including his future wife, Laurie
Flachmeier - won a silver medal at the 1983 Pan American Games, as well as at
the 1984 Olympics.
John
joined the coaching staff at San Jose State in July 1985 and also served as the
head coach of the Chrysler Women's Volleyball Team that won USVBA national
championships in both 1987 and 1988.
Before
coming to A&M, John and Laurie earned recognition for being the only
husband and wife to serve concurrently as head coaches of Division I volleyball
programs. They coached against each other in California, with John at San Jose
State and Laurie at Santa Clara. They coached against each other four times,
with John leading the head-to-head series, 3-1.
With
their elite playing experience and coaching knowledge, John and Laurie continue
to be one of the most highly respected coaching duos in the country and one of
only a handful of husband-wife coaching tandems.
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