Today we’d like to introduce you to Thong Do.
Thong, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
It was very unexpected. My only experience with volleyball was just playing at church. I fell in love with the sport once I went to college at GA State Univ, where I had a lot more freedom to pursue my passions. I entered in all the Volleyball Intramurals every season and won every one. There was no volleyball club at the time, so I decided to create one and became the president of the club.
I met a lot of new people through volleyball and in my junior year of college, a player that was from Tsunami Volleyball club asked for my friends and I to come help her practice. It was there that a director of the club asked me and my friends to scrimmage one of their top teams. We were not very skillful compared to the girls, but our athleticism made up for it and we ended up beating them easily. The director asked all six of us if we were interested in coaching there after the scrimmage. I devoted my time and heart to Tsunami for the next seven years. Last year was a roller coaster of a year. I blew up on TikTok (now 125k followers) but was also struggling financially. It was then that I asked Tsunami Volleyball Club to pay me in return for me to take over their social media and help them with their brand and online presence. Now I can use all my time and energy on something I love to do for the company that I love. And this is just the beginning.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Definitely not a smooth road. Coaching club does not make a lot of money. It is definitely something you do for the love of the game and athletes. I took a year off coaching because I worked as director of operations for a restaurant two years ago. Even though this new job had security, I couldn’t keep working there because I had no passion for it, so I returned to coaching and tried to open up an online business. My online business failed and it was then that I tried to get into coaching full time. My goals have now changed. I now want to eventually open up my own athletic performance facility where I train athletes to express their full athletic potential. I will also coach volleyball of course, but that is not my main goal.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
Tsunami Volleyball is a very family-oriented volleyball club. I am most proud of Tsunami for providing high-level coaching, but still keeping and a lot of times growing the athletes’ love of the game.
I am a Head Volleyball Coach at the Elite level at Tsunami. I specialize in Jumping. I am one of the few people in the world that can call themselves a certified jump coach with a jump technique certification from Project Pure Athlete. I am known for being a high jumper and also a coach that cares a lot of his athletes. What sets me apart of others is my understanding of jump technique and the methods I use (PPA Methodology) to improve my athlete’s jump technique.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
My definition of success if happiness.
Pricing:
- $50/month for online jump coaching
Contact Info:
- Phone: 404-513-5152
- Email: thejumpstar@gmail.com
- Instagram: the_jumpstar
- Other: Youtube: The Jumpstar, Tiktok: the_jumpstar
Image Credit:
Bien Nguyen
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