Hugh played Volleyball for New Zealand national Junior and Senior teams before transitioning into coaching. He started as an Assistant at Brigham Young University and was part of the team when it won the the NCAA championships in 1999 and 2001.
He became a head coach for the first time in 2001, leading the Austrian Hotvolleys, In his first season there, the team won the Inter-Liga, the Austrian Cup and the Austrian League championships. In 2005 he was appointed as Head Coach of the USA men’s team and the team went on to win gold medals at the America’s Cup in Brazil, the NORCECA Continental Championship in Canada and then ultimately the Gold medal at the Beijing Olympics. In 2008 he was appointed coach of the USA womens team, and led them to three World Grand Prix golds and a silver medal at the 2012 Olympics. And in 2011, he was named head coach of the University of Minnesota’s volleyball team.