Jeff Butler: Leading with love is a core principle of our academy.

Today we're featuring Jeff Butler, a seasoned volleyball coach with over 30 years of experience across high school, club, and collegiate levels.

Jeff has led teams to multiple district and regional championships, coached a USAV Open Bronze Medal team with Dead Frog Volleyball, and served as Assistant Coach at Western Michigan University.

But Jeff's most impactful work might be happening right now as Founder and Director of the FaR Out Coaching Academy.

We're sharing Jeff's story because it bridges the critical gap between expert knowledge and practical application. What started as six coaches in year one has now blown up, creating a model that's catching the attention of 3STEP leadership and clubs nationwide.

The importance of sharing this story cannot be overstated. While volleybrains.com can provide access to the world's best coaching minds, the real impact happens when clubs like FaR Out, and coaches like Jeff create intentional systems to apply that knowledge.

Here's exactly how Jeff built something special using volleybrains.com as his foundation...

We didn't go for a word by word transcription in the article below, but took the liberty to highlight the most important pointers and quotes. For the full experience, just sit back and check out the clips...you'll love Jeff's enthusiasm.

Enter Jeff...

What happens when a veteran coach decides it's time to give back? For Jeff Butler at Far Out, it started with a simple realization: "I reflect on my early coaching career and there were so many really talented, established coaches that were willing to pour into me... and now it's my turn."

But Jeff's vision went deeper than just volleyball knowledge. During post-tournament sessions with his coaching staff, he noticed young coaches had exceptional technical skills but struggled with the "whole person" components of coaching. "Their volleyball knowledge is just off the charts. They really knew their volleyball, but those whole person components that are so critical in coaching—I felt there was a hole there."

The secret to FaR Out's success lies in Club Director Joe Steenhuysen's exceptional leadership. FaR Out operates on three foundational pillars: Trust, Love, and Family (TLF)—and Jeff's Coaching Academy became the perfect way to "live out trust, love, family to our coaching staff." With Joe's "simply phenomenal" support, they created something unique: an intentional curriculum that prioritizes people skills over volleyball skills.

"I don't want this to just be about volleyball. I want it to be about whole person stuff," Jeff explains. Their academy addresses communication with athletes and parents, understanding player development from ages 12-18, and building team-first cultures. In a club with over 500 athletes, this approach has created genuine connection and community.

Take parent communication—a major challenge for young coaches. "They're like, Jeff, I'm not a very good writer. What do I say?" Jeff's solution? "Let me give you a formula... let me talk to you about parenting kids in this age bracket, they haven't had their own kids yet. Let me give you a little bit of perspective."

Jeff estimates very few clubs in the country have developed such comprehensive coaching development—making Far Out's TLF-driven approach a true model for the industry.

How do you structure a coaching academy that actually works? Jeff Butler brings his classroom expertise to FaR Out's coaching development, but the real game-changer has been integrating VolleyBrains masterclasses as the foundation of their entire system.

"I structured it like I structured my classroom," Jeff explains. "There are a lot of different kinds of learners in a high school classroom and that's no different for adults." His teaching background revealed that variety is essential, but it was a classroom breakthrough that led to FaR Out's most powerful tool.

"About halfway through my teaching career, I was a little frustrated with discussion in class and kids being quiet," Jeff recalls. "I started to journal before we would have discussions, and all of a sudden it just took off." That discovery became the foundation for how FaR Out uses VolleyBrains.

"I knew that VolleyBrains just from my reading and interacting, it was super engaging and these coaches would love it. So that became the base of my journaling activities," Jeff explains.

Now, every single one of their 10 annual meetings centers around a specific VolleyBrains masterclass:

• Strategic masterclass selection - Jeff starts each year with Kirsten Bernthal Booth's "Find Your Why" masterclass
• Targeted journal prompts assigned for each VolleyBrains session
• Structured discussions that begin with 10-minute VolleyBrains takeaways
• Accountability system ensuring coaches implement what they learn

60. Kirsten Bernthal Booth: My ‘why’ in coaching is to help women grow.

Kirsten Bernthal Booth has been building Creighton’s volleyball program for the last 20 years, developing it into one of the top programs (appearing in the AVCA’s Top 25 poll each of the last 10 years).

Volley | BrainsVolleyBrains

"My goal is for the coaches to have 10 masterclasses that they interact with," Jeff notes. The journal prompts drive real implementation: "What were your major takeaways from this masterclass? How could you implement them into your current practices? How do you plan to do that?"

Far Out's flexible approach accommodates every coach's schedule while maintaining VolleyBrains as the core:

• Full curriculum: December to mid-June, 10 in-person sessions, each built around a VolleyBrains masterclass
• Half curriculum: 5 meetings with the same VolleyBrains integration for busy professionals

The results speak for themselves. "Even those quiet coaches, they've written, they've thought about this, they feel like they've got something to contribute as well," Jeff observes. By using VolleyBrains as their content foundation, FaR Out has created an academy where every coach comes prepared to engage and implement.

"It's not just content I'm interacting with and doing nothing with, but there's an encouragement on my side to really get them to take some action on it." That's the power of structured VolleyBrains integration.

What happens when you invest in your coaching staff's development? The numbers at FaR Out tell a compelling story, but the real transformation goes far deeper than enrollment figures.

"First year we proposed this, we had six coaches and I was thrilled," Jeff recalls. This year, they more than doubled that number with just over a dozen coaches participating between their full and partial curriculums. "The growth to me indicates the impact—people are really wanting to be a part of this."

But Jeff sees three critical areas where the academy is making a real difference:

Connection and Community: "When I get these coaches together in a group and we start discussing some of these topics... I see them rallying around each other, helping each other, supporting each other." The academy creates space for coaches to address real struggles in real-time. "If a coach is struggling with something, well, let's just talk about this, you guys. Let's give some encouragement to this gal, to this guy."

Improved Coach Retention: For a club with over 500 athletes, keeping quality coaches is crucial. "I said, Joe, I think we can improve coach retention, which at a club our size is really important," Jeff explains. Better retention means more consistency for athletes and stronger program development overall.

A Replicable Model: Jeff believes Far Out's approach can work anywhere. "I think the model that we have would be super easy to duplicate for a club. The structure of it, you can take it and make it your own." While Far Out focuses on whole-person development, other clubs can adapt the framework to match their specific values and priorities.

The vision for growth is organic rather than forced. "If people see the power of what's happening at Far Out, then I think that happens organically," Jeff notes.

How do you create sustainable growth in coaching development? Jeff Butler's approach at Far Out reveals a powerful truth: start where you are, focus on excellence, and growth will follow organically.

"When you're talking about growth, I think ultimately you have to start small," Jeff emphasizes. "The focus needs to be on helping the people in your organization first." Whether you're a massive club like Far Out with hundreds of athletes or a smaller program with 60 players, the principle remains the same: make an intentional effort to support, encourage, and develop your coaches.

Jeff's formula is straightforward but profound: "If you do that with excellence, if you do that with commitment and you do it with some love, I believe that growth opportunities are gonna come." It's not about having the perfect program from day one—it's about genuinely investing in your people.

As Far Out enters year three of their academy, Jeff's vision extends far beyond their own success. "What I hope other clubs and their leaders take away is that there's a huge need for this. There's a huge need for coach education." He believes this challenge exists everywhere: "I can't imagine that it is any different at any club around the country than it was at Far Out before we started talking about pouring into our coaches instead of just saying, oh, here's your team, and go."

The message is clear: young coaches today need real support, encouragement, and development. But Jeff's approach to spreading this philosophy is refreshingly authentic. "The first step in showing people what's possible, then becomes what you're doing in your organization and sharing the power of what is happening with you."

Rather than pushing a specific model, Jeff believes in demonstration. "If that appeals to other people, then yes, this other club might say, we would love to do something like that." It's about creating something so impactful that others naturally want to replicate it.

The volleyball community needs more clubs willing to invest deeply in their coaching staff—and Far Out is proving exactly how powerful that investment can be.

What would it take to scale coaching development across the volleyball community? Jeff Butler's vision for growth is grounded in authenticity, proven value, and the volleyball community's unique spirit of knowledge sharing.

Jeff's commitment starts at home: "Next level to me has a lot of different meanings. But the first would be continued growth, encouragement, support for all of our coaches at Far Out. That's my first commitment." He's determined never to lose sight of the coaches who inspired the academy in the first place. "I have a commitment to grow that first at home and I don't want to lose that."

The backing from 3STEP, Far Out's parent company, is growing stronger. "The company that owns our club 3STEP is really interested in seeing where this goes. Our club director is on board," Jeff notes. But he understands the business reality: you have to demonstrate clear value before asking for support. "You don't just go in and ask somebody for support just because you think this is something really nice. You have to show value. This is a for-profit company."

Here's where the partnership model gets powerful: Jeff sees massive potential in working with other clubs to showcase practical solutions like VolleyBrains. "Understanding that you don't have to pay thousands of dollars to educate your coaches. Your annual fees are negligible compared to what a single conference might cost, and it's for a year, and you're able to probe into the minds of the best coaches around the world."

Far Out makes coaching development completely accessible—academy participation costs coaches nothing, and they actually receive a VolleyBrains subscription as an incentive. "Hey, you get a subscription to this really killer coach education site called VolleyBrains."

But Jeff's deepest motivation connects to volleyball's core values. Since starting coaching in the mid-1980s, he's treasured the community's "transparent sharing" of knowledge. "These people are sharing knowledge with me as a competitor... I'm sharing this knowledge with you, but I'm still gonna do it better than you." That competitive collaboration drives everyone to improve.

"Doing this has just given me such a sense of fulfillment," Jeff reflects. "Watching these young coaches and their desire to learn, to improve, to grow their games and just keep that special legacy... of transparent sharing is just something that I really treasure."

The volleyball community's greatest strength has always been coaches helping coaches get better—and Jeff's academy is proof that this spirit can transform entire organizations.

Extra resources:

1. Schedule and topics that were covered in Year 1 Academy 2024-2025

2. Two examples of weekly parent communication for the last team Jeff coached at FaR Out.  First one is after our first competition of the season and the            second is after our first major tournament of the year that followed that. 

Thank you, Jeff.

This Sunday we'll be featuring a new Masterclass article with none other than Nickie Sanlin. Be on the lookout for that.