Beach Volleyball Adds Hennings to Sidelines as Volunteer Assistant
2/18/2021 3:31:00 PM | Women's Beach Volleyball
MALIBU, Calif. – Head Coach Marcio Sicoli announced the hiring of Anna Hennings as volunteer assistant coach to the #10 Pepperdine beach volleyball sidelines for the 2021 season on Thursday afternoon.
"We are stoked to be one of the pioneer programs in bringing a mental skills trainer on staff," said Sicoli. "Anna's skillset will help our team tremendously, with the ability to help our athletes process the high-performance demands of being a NCAA Division I athlete on and off the court.
"She checked all the boxes when we were determining a solid fit for our program and the Pepperdine community."
Hennings brings a unique perspective to the program, having worked as a coach, trainer and mental performance expert throughout her career. Most recently, she worked as a private mental performance coach, guiding indoor and beach volleyball players in the development of evidence-based mental performance skills through one-on-one sessions, in an effort to help them achieve performance success and enhance personal wellbeing. She worked with athletes primarily in areas of playing consistently under pressure, defeating performance anxiety and managing student-athlete demands among other mindset skills.
"I am so excited to join such a respected beach volleyball program," said Hennings. "I look forward to guiding the team to be as mentally strong as they can be. To me, this means helping each player develop the tools she wants to become not just a better volleyball player, but also a more resilient human-being."
She also worked as an assistant coach for SandLegs Beach Volleyball Club. While there, she developed practice plans geared towards strengthening the players' physical and mental skillsets, facilitated group discussions and worked with individuals to personalize each player's mental performance plans and goals.
Hennings also served as the Lead Resilience Trainer and Mental Performance Expert with Magellan Federal as a civilian contractor for the U.S. Army at Fort Hood, Texas. She coached warrior-athletes on the sitting volleyball team and focused on teaching resilience and mental performance enhancement techniques to service members, families and civilians.
From 2007-16, Hennings has also served as a writer, editor and executive communications professional, working as the director of training and coaching operations for an executive communications firm in San Francisco.
Hennings graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Textiles and Clothing from University of California, Davis. She then went on to pursue a Master of Arts degree in Sport Psychology from John F. Kennedy University. Prior to her professional career, she played indoor volleyball with City Beach Volleyball Club, St. Francis High School and was an intramural volleyball champion at UC Davis.
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