GREAT FALLS — Arunas Duda is about to enter his 22nd season as head coach of the Providence volleyball program, but for the first time in his long tenure he was selected to lead an Evergreen Region high school all-star team.
Starting Wednesday, Duda will be coaching a group of 10 athletes to the nationwide 2025 USA Volleyball All-Star Championships taking place in Wisconsin. The Evergreen Region team which Dude will be coaching includes players from Montana, Idaho and Washington.
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"What an honor and what a fun experience it's going to be," Duda said last week at Providence's McLaughlin Center. "We get to play against some of the best players in the country in their age bracket, so we're really excited about that. And then internationally, as well, you get to see some of that competition."
With international competition comes different styles of play.
"I certainly had to go back and reread the rules because international volleyball is so different," Duda said. "Then teaching the girls those rules, as well, like our liberos can't even serve. So just some of those things are going to be really different.
"We rely on six rotation players a little bit more, and so your philosophy and approach to it has to be a little different, and it certainly was when selecting our team."
While he's seen a lot of success at Providence during his tenure, Duda said he expects to learn a lot from this experience.
"Just seeing how different coaches throughout the country coach differently, and some of the techniques and tactics and how we can apply some of those international rules maybe to our philosophy here and just kind of see how it helps," Duda said.
His coaching companion is current Gonzaga assistant Klaire Mitchell, and Duda said he expects to take in a lot from her, as well.
"She was a wonderful player at the NCAA Division I level at Grand Canyon," Duda said. "(Mitchell) set all sorts of setting records, so just being able to pick her brain for the week that we'll be in Wisconsin will be cool, too."
Additionally, Duda said he hopes this could lead to recruiting athletes to play for him at Providence.
"I think this is such a cool opportunity for the players and for coaches, too, just to be able to kind of see that level and see where kids want to go," Duda said. "I think we have a great thing to offer here and maybe we can attract one or two over here."
The tournament runs Wednesday through Sunday in Madison, Wis.
