Former volleyball standout Allen Allen speaks to NIC Athletics

NIC was fortunate enough to bring in a special guest-speaker at their latest booster club meeting on Wednesday.

Allen Allen graced the coaches, athletic director, and booster club members with his presence at the meeting. The three-time All-American out of the University of Hawaii played for the U.S. National Men’s Volleyball team for four years after he graduated from school in 1989. Allen would eventually turn his attention toward coaching, a move he said was difficult for him because he still had that itch to play.

“I would get caught, instead of teaching them,” he said. “[Just wanting] to say ‘let me show you how to do it’ and that’s not how you coach.”

The volleyball standout’s message was clear. He used the phrase “Good work, good plan, good luck, and a full belly” consistently; a phrase that was passed down from his great-grandfather from their province in China. Allen said it was an expression he carried with him through trial and success, and a motto he was still trying to imprint on his kids.

Athletic Director Al Williams told Kelsey Stanley, NIC volleyball coach, that if she was ever looking to motivate her team, she should look no farther than bringing Allen in to talk to the team.

Booster Club meetings are almost always open to the public, and worth going to, not only to hear the coaches give their updates on the sports teams but also to learn valuable life lessons from notable guest speakers. They occur every second and fourth Tuesdays of the months, hosted by various locations around the community.