“Our pasts prepare us for our present.”
Brandon Higa, the head coach of women’s volleyball at California Baptist University sits down with us in this episode of the 35,000 Feet podcast and gives us insight into his journey as a volleyball coach. During our interview, Branden tells us about how the 2019 season went, his nontraditional route of becoming a volleyball coach, his favorite travel experiences with the USA Volleyball Collegiate National Team, and taking his team at Cal Baptist on a foreign tour to Japan.
In this episode, we discuss:
How this past season went for Cal Baptist (0:19)
How Coach Higa got into coaching (4:18)
Branden’s favorite travel experience (8:38)
One thing that no one knows about Branden (17:36)
Branden’s next adventure (19:55)
Branden’s advice to athletes wanting to play in college (22:34)
The 2019 Season for Women’s Volleyball at Cal Baptist
Shianne: Can you kind of tell us about your last season and how it went?
Coach Branden: Yeah, last season was an interesting one for us. We ended up 14 and 16, we dealt with a lot of injuries, and a lot of just unexpected things that happened throughout the season. It's really interesting. With us, we are transitioning from a Division II program to a Division I program. This is our second year competing at the DI level and over the last two years it's been a lot of lessons of transition, of change, and of stepping up a level in terms of competition and this past year was definitely a new experience for us. You know, we're used to winning and winning a lot, and this past season we had some injuries happen, it was all about improvisation and people stepping up and filling roles that maybe they weren't accustomed to. And sometimes doing that on the fly right before a match, we have to tell players, "Hey, we need you to fill this role for us, this match."
And it was an amazing experience for us as coaches to just have a team that was willing to just say yes. It was never a question of, "Well, I've never done that before," or "I'm a little bit out of my comfort zone." It was always just a, "Okay, that's what we need. Here we go." So, in terms of record, yeah, we want to win more. In terms of how the women on our team stepped up and adapted and trained and competed, it was a really, really cool experience. I've had the good fortune to have coached a lot of really good teams and we've had a program over the last, you know, ever since I've been here and beyond, of just really great high character women that come in here and put the team first. And last year was a really great illustration of all of that.
So, last year in terms of record, it wasn't our best season, but in terms of how we weathered through that and the team that developed from that, it was spectacular. And so I'm really proud of what we did last semester and really looking forward to the future with the team that we have going forward.
Shianne: Wow, that's awesome, I think that's so cool. I think that speaks a lot, if your girls can kind of step into whatever role, especially as you're moving from that DII to that DI, it's a lot different level of challenges and play, and it's probably really hard for them. So I think that's awesome that they're just like, "Yep, I can do this, wherever you need me. Let's go." I think that speaks a lot to your team and your girls.
Coach Branden: Yeah, I know, it absolutely does. We talked to them, going into this transition, to kind of paint a picture of just what was required and their position in the legacy of CBU volleyball. We've been around for a long time, we've won national championships here, All-Americans, the whole deal, all at different levels. But this group that committed to play for us through this transition, I think, is going to hold a really special place in the history of our program and the legacy that they have a chance to create and leave is going to be something really, really special. And they've really embraced that. There's been no hesitation for them to just go all in and just say, "Look, we're going to compete, we're going to do it without excuses, and we're ready for the jump in competition. So bring it on."
And as a coach, you just want to be with players that are down, that are committed, and that are up for the challenge. And it's just a joy and so fun every day to walk into the gym or in the weight room, in the team meeting just knowing that you've got a group of players that are just down for each other, down for the challenge, and down to compete.
How Coach Higa Started Coaching Volleyball
Shianne: Can you kind of tell us how you got into coaching volleyball?
Coach Branden: Yeah. I took a pretty nontraditional route. I started playing when I was in high school, came pretty late to the sport of volleyball. I was a basketball, track guy earlier on, and then I started playing my sophomore year in high school, and immediately it was love at first sight. So I pursued playing volleyball, ended up playing at Pierce Junior College, and then at Pepperdine after that. And then after I was done, my number one goal in life was to travel, and so I was fortunate enough to get a job that allowed me to travel the world and I did that for six years. At that point, my wife and I started a business together, so we ran a business for six years, and then at that point I was still a little bit in the volleyball world, coaching high school level, club level, girls.
It was at that point where I volunteered to coach at Loyola Marymount University in Southern California, and through that experience, I just kind of knew. I was like, "Okay, this is the next step. I still really love this sport and I love coaching." And that was the big moment where I decided, "Okay, I'm going to go full out into this." I've been so blessed with a wife who's been very supportive of my dreams and allowed me to pursue that, and it was at that point that I got my first professional job as a college coach at Mississippi State University and spent three years there.
So, I did some living in between my playing days and when I decided to fully commit to coaching, which was awesome. It was a gift, and to be able to have those life experiences, travel, and the challenge of being an entrepreneur, I think it prepared me really well for coaching. And it's funny how things work out the way they're supposed to and how you are sometimes being prepared for something without knowing it. Because I fully believe that your path is directed in life and through the travel, through the entrepreneurship, I think it prepared me specifically for this job here at CBU, of going through transitions from the NAIA to Division II NCAA and now to Division I NCAA. And so many of the lessons that I learned from my two previous work experiences play in directly to what we do here every single day. So it's pretty cool.
Shianne: Yeah, that's awesome. I totally agree with how you think our paths are kind of already set and you don't really know what it's preparing you for, but you kind of see it all come together as you kind of go down and you experience new jobs and new things and you're like, "Oh, that's why I was doing that because it kind of ties into this somehow." And that's a really cool journey that you kind of went through to become a coach.
Coach Branden: Yeah, it's amazing. And it's really funny because I've been blessed with becoming a head coach pretty quickly in terms of my career, but I don't think I would've been ready for that without the experiences that I went through, both exciting and exhilarating and really hard and difficult and with a lot of questioning of, "What am I really doing?" And I think it's important that we all remember like, "Hey, whatever's going on today, whether it's really great or really awful, you just have to really lock in and do your best at what is right in front of you because you don't know what it's preparing you for. You don't know where this path is leading." And really it's up to us to work hard, to just be the best who we can, today. Do your best to follow your plan, but at the end of the day, you may be being prepared for something that you know nothing about, that's over the horizon.
Coach Higa’s Favorite Travel Experience
Shianne: You kind of mentioned that you traveled. Can you kind of talk about how travel has played a role in your life as a coach and then also in your personal life?
Coach Branden: Yeah. You know, as a coach, I've had two really cool international travel experiences coaching. Two years ago I went with the USA Volleyball Collegiate National Team. I worked under Dan Busboom Kelly at Louisville, and we took the team to Slovenia and Croatia and it was some of the top college players in America that we got to coach and work with for a couple of weeks over there. I had that experience and then this last summer we went to Japan with our team here at Cal Baptist. And the coolest thing from a coaching standpoint is seeing the different styles of play. I'm someone who believes that cultures come through, they come out in their sport, and when you go to Europe, there's just a different style of play, a little bit different vibe, how the players act and react, and so we were able to see that over in Croatia and Slovenia.
And then when we went to Japan this summer. Japan has, I think, it's probably the most distinct culture in the world. Before we went, we spent time studying culture and traditions and to be able to get there and get into their gyms and compete against their teams and really see the flavor of the culture come through in how they play, how they train, how they act when they're in the gym, it's a really amazing thing. And from a coaching standpoint, I learned a ton about what people are capable of and what's possible through culture. And when we're talking about other countries, it's the culture of their society, but when we're talking about our program, it's the culture that we get to build here in our gym, in our program. And I know culture is a really buzzy word right now, but it's truly something that sets a tone for how your program is and what kind of legacy you want to leave when you play and when you coach at the university.
Shianne: Yeah, I agree with you, I think culture has a huge impact on your program, on your girls, I definitely agree with you. That's really cool that you were able to go with the USA volleyball team and you took your team to Japan last year. Can you kind of tell us more about maybe some of the highlights of that trip last year?
Coach Branden: We picked Japan specifically. We have a player on our team now who is a first-generation American, so her parents came from Japan, so she speaks Japanese, she grew up going to Japanese school on the weekends. And so we thought it would just be a really cool deal to be able to go back there and kind of have her as our intermediary or our guide to help us through. So that was part of the decision. The other part, my first international travel experience was with a sports team. I played on a basketball team of Japanese-Americans and this was in high school, we went over and spent two weeks playing basketball over in Japan. And that was the moment where I fell in love with international travel and culture.
So to be able to introduce someone to something entirely new is really cool and I think the neatest thing about Japan is that it's a culture and a society that is way, way different from America, but it's still a very first world, very modern country, very safe, very structured, and very organized, so it feels like a really safe entry point into Asia. And I know their volleyball is great and I know that culturally how they play and their style is way different from us as well. And so that was kind of the reason why we chose Japan. It was just a phenomenal experience. We decided to go pretty stripped down, so we wanted to take public transportation everywhere the moment we arrived, and so we did a ton of walking, we did a ton of riding on trains and subways and public transport. I wanted to feel as much as possible like we were training and living and playing like our counterparts over there, the women that play over there. So that was phenomenal.
I think some of the highlights, in terms of just sightseeing, Kyoto was absolutely, I think for me the highlight, just how old and ancient that city is, how intact it is, and just how beautiful that was, was amazing. And then we spent time at Tokyo and Osaka as well. So in terms, culturally, just the differences in how Japanese society functions as opposed to American society functions. And one thing I know that all of our players here took away from that trip was just how much pride every person in Japanese society takes in what they do. And so we would go into hotels and there would be valet bag attendants that would come up to us, take our bag, mark it, put it in a certain spot, cover it with a net to make sure that everyone knew that that was a separate group's stuff, and then be right back to us, just attending to whatever we needed. That just says a lot about doing your best at whatever your job is. And how many people are really motivated to be the greatest bag attendant at a hotel possible?
In American society, that's not something that seems highly prized or highly valued, but in the Japanese culture, you do your job to the best of your ability and that's your function and that's how you operate in that society. And that's a beautiful illustration that we all need to understand, that we can all learn from, is whatever your calling, it might not be the most glamorous thing, but that's where you're at. And so it's your job and your responsibility to just do your best with where you've been placed.
So to me, the highlight of the entire deal was just being immersed in a culture that has some different values, but whose values are worthy and significant. And we, as a team, and I personally, just learned a lot from that and just the idea of you don't have to be starter All-American person to really give your best. And really what matters is just the complete commitment and buy-in to whatever you've chosen to do. Whatever you do, do it to the best of your ability. And I think that was, to me, that was for sure the highlight of it, was just being immersed back into Japanese culture and just seeing what they value and see them execute that. Yeah, it's beautiful and it's such a different deal than America and yeah, it's really cool to see.
Shianne: Yeah, I think that's such cool insight you shared because it's so true. Sometimes I think it's easy to kind of get down on yourself or maybe you're not in the starting position that you want or maybe you're not in the job you want. I think sometimes it can be hard to be like, "Give it your all," but I really think what you said is, you have to give your best in whatever you're doing and you saw that in Japan and I feel like that's so cool. I feel like your team had some really cool experiences there.
Coach Branden: Yeah, well, American culture, it's so different from that because we kind of live in a culture, in a time and age, where maybe intended or unintended, we're taught that value comes from how important you are, how many followers you have, how popular you are, and that's just way different. There's a different way to live and I always wished that value could be determined by how hard you work, how committed you are, how true your heart is, how much you care and love for others, because I truly think that's where value lies. But in our society, you don't get a lot of love for being the best volunteer down at the homeless shelter, you know? You get a lot of love for how many followers you have on Instagram and how cool your posts are, and it makes it hard for people to truly buy into something that like, "Hey, I'm getting no credit for this, but I'm doing it anyways because it's the right thing to do and it gives me value from my eyes."
Yeah, and Japan was just a starkly different feel from that. So for me, it's constantly a fight to hold onto, "Hey, have some perspective, have some understanding, and just do your best at where you're called."
Something No One Knows About Coach Higa
Shianne: Okay, this question I like to ask everyone, it kind of puts you on the spot, but what is the one thing that no one knows about you that you could share with us?
Coach Branden: I've traveled a lot, well probably not compared to you guys over there, but I've been to 48 different countries, spent a lot of time outside the US, yeah, and have had some of the greatest experiences in my life traveling and it shaped who I am. But yeah, traveling is a passion of mine and I've been fortunate to be able to go to a lot of different spots, so that's probably what some people don't know, is that they see me as a coach, but if there's ever a chance for me to get up and leave and go someplace new and have a new experience, I'm itching to take it.
Shianne: Wow, that's so fun, you've been to 48 countries? That's awesome. Okay, this is probably another hard question, but what are some of your favorite places you've been?
Coach Branden: I was actually just talking about this. I think if there's one place that has blew me away more than anywhere else, I think Petra in Jordan. It's an amazing experience to go there. It feels like it's been set up like a theme park, like the entrance to Petra is magnificent. You walk through this wash, through this Wadi, with these really high Canyon walls and then right at the end of it you turn a corner and you see the treasury, which is the building in Petra and it just hits you like ... It's almost like when a bride comes out for a wedding, it's this stunning moment of like, "Oh my gosh, there it is. I'm here." You know, Petra was probably one of my favorite travel sites, but Japan, I've been a couple times, and the combination of culture and technology and everything that makes that country unique is really, really amazing.
But yeah, I could probably go on forever, I loved Argentina, Uruguay-
I just think the vibe that's there, they feel like countries and cities that are kind of lost in time. It's just beautiful. And then I actually really love the Middle East. I went to Israel a few years back and it was just ... Like to be around things so ancient and so significant is just amazing. So yeah, I've got a million places that I could probably talk about.
Coach Higa’s Next Travel Adventure
Shianne: That's awesome, I love it. Do you have any places on your bucket list or like what's your next adventure you have planned?
Coach Branden: Gosh. Next adventure, we're actually planning on going to Italy, and my wife has been talking about an anniversary trip to go to Italy. We have two kids, they're nine and 12 right now, and they're incredible travelers and it's always been a dream for us to go and to take our kids. So we've been, you know, kind of low key prepping them to go to Italy and enjoy the art and the food. So that's probably the next trip on the list, we want to do the whole deal.
In terms of bucket list places that I need to go still, Machu Picchu is probably the one place that I haven't been that's on the grand tour of all the really cool places to go. So, Machu Picchu is one of them, San Michele, France is another one. I'd love to go to Angkor Wat in Cambodia. I think India and Pakistan have kind of surfaced again as a place that I want to go. I'm fascinated by the culture and history of those two countries and what happened to them at the end of imperialism and how two countries can just be arbitrarily, I guess not arbitrarily, separated, and the history and conflict between them. But what draws me most is just the mystery of those two countries. They feel so foreign to me. The only experience I have with them is through the food and through friends that I've made who are from India. That, and then the last one is probably the Faroe Islands in Denmark. I have this screensaver that comes up, like almost every day, of the Faroe Islands. I would love to go check those out.
Shianne: That's awesome, just keeps reminding you like, "Hey, you need to go here, you need to go here." Those all sound like such amazing places. I haven't been to any of those either, but those are all places ... I would just want to go everywhere. So I'm with you.
Coach Higa’s Advice for Athletes Wanting to Play in College
Shianne: Okay, last question I kind of want to ask you as we wrap up, if you're an athlete wanting to play for a team in a university, what would your advice be to them?
Coach Branden: Well, my advice is always the same. It's just be passionate about what you do and at the end of the day, you are competing against other people who have the same dream. The question is how strong and how passionate do you feel about your dream and you need to know that it comes at a cost. You will have to make sacrifices in order to get to where you want to be. I think that's the biggest thing. We spend a lot of time dreaming, and I think that's a key element, but wrapping your mind around, "Hey, if I really want to get to where I want to go, I want to be as prepared as I can possibly be. It's going to require sacrifice." And so for any young athlete that has dreams of playing college volleyball or professional volleyball or college or pro sports in general, the sooner you realize that, "Hey, I'm going to have to give up something to get this," I think the better off you're going to be.
It might just feel like, "Hey, I'm following my passion and this isn't work," which is the absolute best place to be. So, you know, realize there's going to be some sacrifices and some exchanges of what you do and what you don't get to do in order to be great. Be passionate about what you do-
Shianne: I think that's great advice. I love that.
Coach Branden: ... and go for it a hundred percent.
Yeah, I mean, that's what it's all about, is invest your whole heart into it, you know? And I think the other thing, there's a skill that's really, really important that people don't talk about and it's the ability to buy in and to truly commit and believe in something. And that's a choice. I think people want to be won over. I think America is filled with skeptics, "Show me and then I'll believe," but it doesn't have to work that way. I think you can choose to be bought in and be committed a hundred percent and that's a skill that is really rare to find, of just someone who's going to say, "Look, I'm all in for this sport, for this team, because it's my choice and my commitment. And that doesn't waiver and it's because I choose this. It's not because of anything that they've done, it's because of who I am and what I believe and the value of the choices that I make and of my work." Yeah, that's my advice.
Shianne: I love it, I think that's such great advice. Have passion, but also you have to know it kind of comes with the cost of whatever you're going to be doing in this sport or what pro sport, college sport, whatever, requires your sacrifice, but also to buy in. I think that's really, really good advice. I love it.
Coach Branden: Yep. And the beautiful thing is that I never like talking about rewards, but there is a reward on the other side of that commitment and that work and it's called success. It's called the satisfaction of knowing that you did your very best to achieve your dream. And at the end of the day, that's what I want to be able to say that I did, is that I left it all out there and come what may, whether my goal was reached or not, I did my very, very best every day.
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Theme Song - I’ll Just Be Me by Gravity Castle