Lindsay Allman, the head coach of women’s volleyball at the Indiana State University, sits down with us in this episode of the 35,000 feet podcast sharing how the whirlwind of a season for her team, how she got into coaching, some tips for those interested in pursuing an athletic route in University, and her favorite travel experiences and destinations.

In this episode, we discuss:

• How this past season went for Indiana State Volleyball team (0:18)

• How Coach Allman got into coaching (2:36)

• Lindsay’s favorite travel experience (8:30)

• One thing that no one knows about Lindsay (11:30)

• Lindsay’s advice to athletes wanting to play in college (13:27)

• Lindsay’s next adventure (21:04)

The Past Season for Indiana State’s Volleyball Team

Morgan: Hi, guys. Welcome back. It's Morgan. Today, I'm sitting down with Coach Lindsay Allman. Thanks so much for joining us. 

Lindsay Allman: Thank you for having me. 

Morgan: Yes. We're so excited to get to know you better and listen to your story. So one of the questions I wanted to start off by asking you is, can you tell us about the highs and lows of your season? 

Lindsay Allman: So exciting season, we had six incoming freshmen during the squad, so fairly young. So from a high standpoint, there's a lot of excitement, a lot of learning, just a lot of fresh blood, and they all were getting a ton of experience early off in their playing career. I think any time a freshman can go out and get some quality experience is huge. That kind of sets them up for success as they go through the next three years, right?

Morgan: Yeah. 

Lindsay Allman: The low side of that too, is there was a big learning curve. They're learning. They had to learn quickly to not focus on that end result just yet, because we're not there and they shouldn't be, right? And understanding for us, there was a lot of conversations about who we were playing and what was going on. And just because we weren't getting that end result didn't mean that the team or said player was better. They just maybe were in their system longer, right? They just had a little bit more experience. 

And so we worked a lot through that. We had some growing pains in regards to that, but the exciting thing is we had a lot of great kids get some really good quality experience early. So it's kind of a twofold high and low, but really looking forward to seeing what these girls, how they take this experience into their sophomore year.

Morgan: Oh no, that's awesome. It's always good to have that experience under your belt, because that means you guys are only going to get better and better. So I'm excited for your team. 

Lindsay Allman: Yeah. I mean, they have such a great supporting roles from the upperclassmen who've had a lot of experience as well. We had a sophomore libero that's pretty young. Both of our centers were young, especially from a game experience standpoint. So they're all returning. That's the great part of it. And so now we add a couple more freshmen to that mix and the little level of competitiveness and the shared knowledge that is going to be exchanged is like you said, just going to help us get tremendously better.

Morgan: Oh no. I'm excited for your team because that's always exciting. 

Lindsay Allman: Thank you.

Lindsay Allman’s Journey to Becoming A Coach

Morgan: Yeah. No, I'm super excited. So how did you get to be a coach? 

Lindsay Allman: Oh gosh. Well, I think it's in my DNA, truthfully. My dad is a coach, I'm a coach's kid. I didn't realize that at first though. It took me probably till my senior year of college to understand maybe what my path was going to be. I knew I wanted to be in volleyball and my two options or kind of two paths when I was finishing college was to go be a graduate assistant and start getting into college or college coaching or go play professionally.

I was pursuing both of those because I knew volleyball was going to be a part of who I am and what I do. I wasn't ready to ... I was hanging up my shoes, but I wasn't ready to walk away from the sport. So truthfully, it kind of just, the GA thing came together a little bit quicker than I expected, which just launched me into my coaching career a little bit earlier than maybe going and playing professionally.

Morgan: Wow. Well, I think it's awesome to see where life takes you. Because like you're totally meant to be a coach and you're helping your team so much. So I think that's awesome.

Lindsay Allman: Yeah. I'm a pretty ... I don't know. I guess I'm a spiritual person. There's a side of me that believes kind of the universe provides. I have a great supportive family that understands the world of coaching and understands the demands of it. My brother played college baseball. My dad played college football. I mean, it's what we do, and it's what we talk about. It came together and it felt right. I went from Maine to Mississippi, completely different cultures, completely different worlds truthfully, and mind you I'm from the Midwest. So both were very different from what I grew up around. But those experiences, they're all part of who I am today.

Morgan: I know, I love it. I feel like there's so much you learn from sports in general. So I can't even imagine like coaching, like what's one of the biggest things you've learned while coaching? 

Lindsay Allman: As a head or an assistant?

Morgan: I guess both.

Lindsay Allman: Yeah. I always knew that coaching was so much about the relationships piece, and I understood that as a player. What I've learned as a coach, both probably as an assistant and then now stepping into a head is how much of that you really got to dedicate to and how much effort you have to put into it. It's not always going to be maybe reciprocated and how you have to put in the effort, and you have to kind of be the one to make it better, to salve it, to grow on it, whatever that might be. 

And then you also have to be okay with those relationships are going to look different for each kid on your team. But as long as it's positive and productive, that's okay. Right. And so that's not taking things personal, right. Especially when you're young not taking it personal, being able to take the demands of and fall in line of what your boss is telling you to do while also being able to add your ... You're there for a reason as an assistant, and so adding that personality, figuring out how you can make an impact for the players and your boss in the program ultimately. 

As a head coach, it's just at an even higher level, and now you got to manage and build relationships and give guidance to not only players. You also have to do that with your athletic trainers, and your staff, and your administration sometimes, your whatever, your volunteers. That experience you have as an assistant is invaluable because you're going to have to lean on it and be better truthfully, when you are in the head coaching seat.

Morgan: Yeah. It's like you're always learning. 

Lindsay Allman: Oh, absolutely. I mean, absolutely. I learn from everyone I'm around. I consistently am learning from my players and my staff, and then you got to put in the work. Unfortunately, right now we've all kind of been given a little extra time, I think, to dive into this with being from home and kind of all being self isolating right now. It's kind of evened that playing field and this is all everyone's, this is a first for everybody. No one has dealt with this before, and this is not an experience that you can learn from your ... Everyone's learning together right now. 

Morgan: It's true, and we're all learning something different. I think it's awesome that we're all learning together on this too. 

Lindsay Allman: Yeah, absolutely. But you got to have those relationships to call, and talk, and collaborate with people.

Morgan: It's true. 

Lindsay Allman: No one's competing right now and that's the reality of it. So how are we growing together? But you're not going to have that relationship with every head coach out there, but you know who's in your wheelhouse, you know who you can have those productive conversations with. 

Coach Lindsay Allman’s Favorite Travel Expedition

Morgan: Oh, I love that. No, that is great advice. So thank you for sharing that. What's some of your most memorable travel experiences? 

Lindsay Allman: Most memorable travel with the team. Just two years ago, we went out to Colorado, Colorado states. That was huge. We were able to get the girls a little uncomfortable, which was great. The altitude is a real thing. We talked about it. The girls were prepared. We get out there and they're like, "Oh, it's no big deal." And we're like, okay, great. Right. Fair enough. We're at Colorado state for our first game and the girls are like, "We can't breathe. This is cray." And there it is, you know.

Morgan: Yeah.

Lindsay Allman: I mean, this is coming from girls who are ... I mean, one of them went in to be a marine. I mean, they're in shape. They're doing everything right. But it's definitely, they have something going on out there. It's an advantage for sure. For some of our girls, that was the first time they flew. That's the first time a lot of them had been out to Colorado. And so that was a blast, really, really, really enjoyed that trip. We did some hiking and all that good stuff.

Morgan: Oh, fun.

Lindsay Allman: Yeah. My first year we actually went to the University of Iowa, and this is kind of the volleyball side of it. So Colorado was like the experience, and my first year we went to Iowa and we played four matches in two days. People now would probably think I'm crazy, kind of it came into place that way and it was one of the ... It was so much like play in the locker room, reset, play, locker room, reset. It got the girls ... We had a lot of seniors who had, I'd say suboptimal experience prior. And so it got them to just be able to just flip the page and compete and kind of go again and grind a little bit. 

From a coaching standpoint, I loved that trip, even though it was Iowa, right? It wasn't Colorado or Hawaii, but it was Iowa, but we spent so much ... We spent that whole entire weekend in the locker room and on the court. From a coaching standpoint, it was what we needed at that time. It just worked out so great. So to me, that trip really sticks out for a lot of different reasons. I would not play for in two days.

Morgan: Yeah, usually. 

Lindsay Allman: Pretty much probably ever again. In the first year, it was like second weekend. I mean, it was awesome. 

Morgan: Wow. Well, I'm glad you guys had that experience. I feel like wherever a team travels to, like the team grows closer. So I'm glad that was able to happen for your team.

Lindsay Allman: Yeah. Thank you. I appreciate that.

Getting to Know the Lesser Known Facts About Lindsay Allman

Morgan: What's one thing that no one knows about you that you can share?

Lindsay Allman: One thing no one knows about me. When I was younger and this was ... Now I look back and like, okay, I should have ... I wish I had the self-awareness to know I wanted to be a coach, but when I was younger, so my dad and I are very close. He's kind of the sports junkie with me. He's the one that traveled with me every weekend to these club tournaments, he coached me, all this stuff. Right. I've just always wanted to kind of follow in his footsteps. Lo and behold, here I am coaching at Indiana State where he played football, right?

Morgan: Oh, cool. 

Lindsay Allman: So growing up, I wanted to be the first female head coach in the NFL, which was really funny. Now, I don't know anything really about football, but I loved the mentality. I loved the fact of paving the way and being obviously a female in the NFL, because who does that, right?

Morgan: Yeah.

Lindsay Allman: Now we have coaches out there that are doing it and I applaud them. But yeah, growing up as a little girl, yeah, I wanted to be one of the first female head coaches in the NFL. 

Morgan: Oh, that is so cute. 

Lindsay Allman: So I don't think that's going to happen and I'm okay with that.

Morgan: Well, if it does, I'll think that's awesome. Oh my goodness. That'll be fun for people to listen to it.

Lindsay Allman: Oh my gosh. Don't ask me any football questions though, but that's the coaching like bloodline that I just didn't realize was in me when I was younger.

Morgan: It's true. Well, I think that's awesome that you followed your dreams and your passion and you ended up being a coach, because I've noticed things we're passionate about, we're better at. So I can tell, you're a great coach because of that. 

Lindsay Allman: Thank you. I appreciate that. 

Coach Lindsay Allman’s Advice to Future Collegiate Athletes

Morgan: I'm curious if you were like an athlete wanting to play for a team or university, what would your personal advice be to that student athlete? 

Lindsay Allman: Yeah. I think it's a little bit more challenging right now with the recruiting rules changing. It's slowing the process down, which there's some aspects to it that I think is a really, which is good. Okay. But the big thing is you got to do the due diligence and you got to be able to advocate and communicate for yourself, whatever that looks like. So really getting to know the coaching staff, particularly the head coach, you got to expect that there's going to be some turnover with assistants for the most part, because there should be. They should be going off and getting head jobs.

It's finding the core principles of the program, really building those relationships with the head coach, academic advisor, people who are kind of like the staples within the program, and really being able to have the self-awareness to understand here's what I really truly want in my college experience, and being able to, when we ask you, like, do you have any questions, say when you're on a visit or you're on a phone conversation, like literally like ask a question. It's okay to ask a question and we want you to ask questions because that's going to help us understand who you are.

I kind of laugh with my staff. I'm like, man, and maybe someone may listen to this and hear that like kind of laugh and then I'm going to have to actually do it. But I'm like the athlete that shows up to campus without their parents will be the kid that I offer before the visit is over. You know what I mean? Not that we don't want to have relationships with our parents and we do, and I do. But we are looking at bringing you into our program and it's okay if it's not a right fit. We'd rather know that on the front end, right?

Morgan: Yeah.

Lindsay Allman: So just do the due diligence, have the conversations. Ask the questions, show up, be present, and put your phones away, and take it in, even if it's a place you didn't think you'd ever be interested in. College is supposed to be a great experience and it allows you to go off and do whatever you want to do. You can go far, you can stay close. You can go big, you can go small. 

I mean, you literally have all the choices in the world and you still have a support system with whatever program you choose and your family. So lean into that and just be engaged, ask the questions. Don't feel like it's a stupid question, but just show personality and be yourself. I mean, we see a lot of personality on TikTok videos and we don't see that personality when we're in person. Some of that is okay, that's a maturity piece, but we want that TikTok personality with we're in practice, right? I mean, we got to know who you are. 

So yes, that was probably a very long-winded way to answer that question. But yeah, I mean, it's just basically it comes down to, if you're old enough to make the decision on where you're going to college, then you're old enough to have a conversation with the coaching staff and the players, and to be a part of the conversation. That's really kind of what we're always looking for and enjoy it. Enjoy the process, whatever it looks like, and always know that there's enough people in your wheelhouse, wherever you're at supporting you through that process, club coaches, high school coaches. I mean, the list goes on and on. So why not lean into it and jump in and be a part of the decision basically.

Morgan: No, I've loved that, especially because it sounds like you're kind of describing that you want them to be mature, to be able to handle their own problems, figure out what they want. Kind of be like self-reliant. So I think that's an awesome trait you're describing. 

Lindsay Allman: Yeah. We understand you guys are young, and before the rules changed, I mean, they were really young. Right?

Morgan: Yeah.

Lindsay Allman: So now that we're not going to be able to talk to them until after their sophomore year, we're going to be looking for even more of that because you are older. You're not 12 and 13 anymore. You're 16, 17, 18. Right. And so that piece of it should naturally come a little bit, which is exciting for us because it is hard to talk to a 13 year old kid on the phone. 

Morgan: Yeah.

Lindsay Allman: So, yeah. I mean, hopefully, some of that naturally kind of evolves, but we talk a lot to our players about part of our expectations in our program when they get in there is we do expect you to kind of take care of your things you have going on, but we don't expect you to necessarily take care of them by yourself, right? That means support staff, coaches, teammates, whatever it is, right? We're all here to help, and that's that leaning into kind of your network and people that you have. Yes. You have a responsibility just like everyone else to get some things done. But you got a lot of people to help you along the way. 

Morgan: Oh, I love that. And I love that you brought up networking too, because I think it's like you ... Networking kind of, well, it is relationships. And so I feel like that's a huge thing that we've talked about is like relationships and kind of networking, you know? Getting to know people.

Lindsay Allman: Yeah, exactly. Networking is a trait and it takes practice. I can't tell you how many athletes I've seen who want to go into business or want to go into a people type profession who don't enjoy talking to people at all, or don't feel comfortable talking to people and like, okay, we're going to have to work through that. You're going to have to learn how to advocate for yourself. You're going to have to learn to come in and ask for a promotion, ask for a raise, like all of the pieces of ... Oh, and also be a female in potentially a male dominated profession and speak up when you're at the table. That's all part of it. So hopefully through athletics, we're all competitive, but these kids find themselves in programs that are going to support them and grow with them as humans and as young women. 

Morgan: Oh, that's so true. Yeah, and it's like the sport impacts not only just the sport, but it impacts their life, like those lessons. 

Lindsay Allman: Yeah. A hundred percent. A hundred percent.

Coach Lindsay Allman’s Next Big Travel Journey

Morgan: Well, thank you so much. No, that was like an awesome answer. I love that. Yes, Lindsay, what's your next adventure? 

Lindsay Allman: Next adventure, man. Truthfully, it is so hard for me to look past the 2020 season right now, because obviously we're not training. So I am just so excited for whenever that day comes to get my girls back on campus to get going. So like that to me is like the next adventure. But as a program, we are taking a foreign tour in 2021. So really looking forward to that. I had originally planned to go to Italy this summer, obviously had to make a few changes. And so we're going in 2021, location to be determined, but it will be the first time our program has ever taken a foreign tour. 

Morgan: Wow. 

Lindsay Allman: That is going to be an epic adventure here in the next summer. But yeah, right now I cannot wait for the 2020 season. So I'm crossing my fingers all goes well so that happens for everybody.

Morgan: Yes, no, I agree. I think it'll get better and it'll be great. I'm excited for your team to get on campus, and you guys be able to get a hard go in, but seriously-

Lindsay Allman: Thank you.

Morgan: Yes, no, thank you for joining us on this podcast. It's been so fun getting the view into your team and seeing what's coming up for you guys. I'm just excited for your team.

Indiana State University Volleyball

• Indiana State Volleyball Team Twitter

• Coach Lindsay Allman Twitter

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Theme Song - I’ll Just Be Me by Gravity Castle