John Forman enters his second season with the Midwestern State volleyball program in 2017 following a stint coaching professional volleyball in Sweden leading the Svedala team.
During his tenure there, Svedala qualified for Gran Prix for only the second time in club history, eventually taking the bronze medal. The team was one of the top squads in the Swedish Elitserie, and led the league in both blocking and serving. It was also one of the top teams in the combined Danish/Swedish Oresund Liga.
Prior to Sweden, Forman spent three seasons at Exeter University in the UK, coaching both the men and the women and working with players from about 25 different nationalities. He led the program to historic success in BUCS, the rough UK equivalent of the NCAA. On the women’s side, Forman took charge of a team which had just earned promotion up to Division I the year prior and led them to the first of three straight trips to BUCS championships (akin to the NCAA tournament). In 2013-14, they reached the national semifinals, which is believed to be their best ever finish. On the men’s side, he took charge of a squad which had just narrowly avoided relegation to Division 2 the year before. They reached BUCS Final 8s that first season, and the next two as well. Exeter finished the 2013-14 season as the overall third ranked volleyball program in the UK – best among those not offering any volleyball scholarships.
While coaching at Exeter, Forman also led a local National Volleyball League (NVL) Division 1 women’s team (Devon Ladies) at the halfway point of the 2012-13 season. They were at the bottom of the league at that point and at risk of relegation to NVL Division 2. Under Forman’s guidance, the team won all but one match the rest of the year, with that single defeat a 3-2 affair to the league champions. He then coached them to victory in the regional championship tournament, including a win over that same NVL 1 champion team in the finals.
Forman’s previous NCAA coaching experience includes a year as an assistant at the University of Rhode Island (2000) and six as an assistant at Brown University (2001-2006). At Brown, he was the primary setting coach and worked with the 2001 Ivy League Player of the Year, her successor who broke most of the school setting records, a third who earned All-Ivy recognition, and another who went on to eventually play professionally in Europe. The five classes Forman was involved in recruiting included players who earned a total of 10 All-Ivy awards, including three who were also Academic All-Ivy selections.
Before making the move to NCAA Division I, Forman began his collegiate coaching career at then two-year Dean College in Franklin, Massachusetts. He assisted there for two seasons, during which time they went 32-10 overall including an undefeated 1999 league season for the program’s first-ever championship.
Forman began his coaching career at the high school level when he was still in school himself. Along the way he has coached a number of juniors teams, co-founded and directed the largest juniors club in Rhode Island, coached a boys’ team to gold in the Massachusetts Bay State Games, and worked with top division professional teams in Germany. He has also helped out at the youth national team level for Volleyball England.
An active writer and publisher, Forman authors the globally respected Coaching Volleyball blog (
http://coachingvb.com), and has had several articles published in American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) magazines. His Volleyball Coaching Wizards project - for which he partners with the coach of a top level team in Poland - sees Forman interviewing highly successful coaches from all over the world.
Forman holds USA Volleyball Coaches Accreditation Program (CAP) Level II and beach IMPACT certifications. He is also a Volleyball England Level 3 certified coach.
A native of Rhode Island, Forman graduated from the University of Rhode Island, earned a master’s from the University of Maryland, and holds a PhD from the University of Exeter (UK).
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