Arie Selinger is a Polish-born Israeli-American volleyball coach whose career helped shape modern women’s high-performance volleyball in both the United States and Europe. Born in Kraków in 1937, Selinger survived the Holocaust, moved to Israel and became a national-team volleyball player before turning to coaching and academic study. His early work already showed the technical curiosity that became a hallmark of his career, including the use of faster combination offenses and more systematic training methods.
Selinger’s longest defining national-team period came with the United States women from 1975 to 1984. He helped transform the program into a consistent international contender and led the team to the silver medal at the Los Angeles 1984 Olympic Games. He later coached the Netherlands men and guided them to Olympic silver at Barcelona 1992, giving him major Olympic results with both women’s and men’s programs. Selinger also coached extensively at club level and became known as an influential teacher of the game, with a strong connection between sport science, technique and tactical organization. His career crossed several national systems rather than remaining tied to one federation. The International Volleyball Hall of Fame inducted him in 1995, recognizing a coaching record that combined innovation, long-term program building and elite results across different countries and forms of the game.
Coach Information
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Arie Selinger |
| Date of Birth | 5 April 1937 |
| Born | Kraków, Poland |
| Nationality | Israeli-American |
| Career Status | Retired coach |
| Former National Teams | United States Women; Netherlands Men |
| Selected Coaching Achievements | Olympic silver with United States women (1984); Olympic silver with Netherlands men (1992) |
| Hall of Fame | International Volleyball Hall of Fame, Class of 1995 |