The Japan Volleyball Association appointed 58-year-old Gary Sato as the men's national team head coach in February. Sato is a fourth-generation Japanese-American and is the first foreign volleyball coach for Japan, men or women.
Sato was a longtime assistant coach for the United States men's volleyball team and helped it win the gold medal in the 1988 Seoul Olympics and bronze in the 1992 Barcelona Games. In addition, he served on the staff for the U.S. team that tied for fifth at the 2012 London Summer Games.
He was a men's assistant coach at Pepperdine University from 1978 to 2005, and the school's women's team head coach from 1979-82.