LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The experiment might have backfired with any other group: A decorated former player-turned-coach asked a team of world-class athletes to share candid feedback about each other through peer reviews.
U.S. women's volleyball coach Karch Kiraly would have considered scrapping the idea altogether had his players said no way. Instead, they embraced it, and discovered their teammates' words made them better as individuals and as a whole. Now, the Americans are heading into this summer's Rio Olympics in search of that elusive gold medal with a stronger sense of what makes each one of them so valuable.