Bates head coach Margo Linton
TULSA, Okla. -- Now entering her fourth season as head coach of the Bates College volleyball team, Margo Linton is currently honing her skills and knowledge at the 15th annual USA Volleyball High Performance Championships.
This is Linton's third consecutive summer of involvement in the USA Volleyball program. At the HPC, she is working with the Select A1 program, which comprises the top 55 athletes in the country born in 2000 and 2001. Earlier this year she was associate head coach of the USA Select National A2 Invitational team in Colorado Springs.
According to USA Volleyball, the HPC has 91 teams with top players from across the country and abroad competing in seven divisions at the Tulsa Convention Center/Cox Business Center July 22-26 in Tulsa, Okla.
"Not only am I learning a lot that I look forward to bringing back to Bates, I am working with top athletes who will likely go on to the Youth National Team and high profile Division I programs," Linton said. "Best of all, it is incredible to coach for Team USA."
Linton guided a young Bates squad in the fall 2013 season to an 11-18 overall record and the Bobcats' first berth in the eight-team NESCAC Volleyball Championship tournament since 2008. Over the previous two years with USA Volleyball, Linton coached young athletes in Colorado Springs, Grand Rapids, Mich., and Las Vegas, Nev.
"We are using the same techniques and training methods that the national team uses, and it is a great opportunity to learn from some amazing coaches," said Linton. "On the Select A1 staff we have two Olympians, Stacy Sykora and Paula Weishoff, who played in three olympics and also coached in London in 2012, when they won the silver medal."
The event features the majority of the best teams from USA Volleyball High Performance pipeline teams, USA Volleyball Region High Performance teams and international squads. The USAV HP pipeline will have 27 teams participating in the HPC. Out of USA Volleyball's 40 Regional Volleyball Associations, 21 will field at least one team in this year's HPC representing 56 teams. Rounding out the entries are eight international teams, including five from Puerto Rico and one each from New Zealand, Canada and Dominican Republic.
HP Championships Draws 91 Teams
