We are officially on our Christmas Break. With the strike this was a different December. Traditionally we would practice till the Desks would go in the gym around Dec 8thfor final exams. Then we would focus on weights and some plyometrics. This year since the strike went 45 days the school has decided to push exams until Jan 23-30th. Which gives us a bit more time with the gym, but it is a crazy time for students.
As everyone who remembers university life the end of semester are crazy and busy. It is a weird time for a coach. We found that the athletes are so focussed on their school that it is hard to teach new things or to fix some technical flaws. We decided a few years ago that we can use this time to teach competition. We have since then started to have Queen of the Gym tournaments. This is a tournament where you play with different people every game. If your team wins then you get positive points. If you lose then you get negative points. That way every point is worth two. Lose 25-23 your down two but your opponent is up 2. That is a 4 point difference. We hope that teaches our team every point is important. Even if your down you need to battle till the end.
We had two good tournaments, 3 on 3 full court the first day, which Chloe won. She is our leftside that was our libero at the start of the year. She has strong ball control and found ways to win. We talked in between each match about trying to be more strategic. They have been playing with and against each other for a semester. What are their strengths and weakness? How can your group use them to your advantage?
Second tournament we ran was 4 on 4 tournament. We had Sara and Becky from our coaching staff put on their gear and competed to give us 4 teams of 4. It is fun to see them play. Both Becky and Sara played last year so still are very skilled. Becky ended up second in the tournament. Our first year letfside Shanlee won the tournament. Different than the 3’s tourney, Shanlee really cut down on her unforced errors and scored when she had too. At the start of this tourney we reminded them of what we are trying to do as a group, cut down on the unforced errors especially on the red trouble ball.
In this time we also do individual meetings with the players. We created mid term report card that we work through together. We get the athletes to grade themselves on everything from individual skills to understanding and executing game plans, understanding their role and the acceptance of it. We find that most athletes are very self aware. They have a good understanding of their level of skill and their role on the team. The team has a great feel about it right now. Everyone is fitting in a feels like they are a valuable member of the team. As a coach, my past teams always creep into my mind, I have had some very upset players in these meetings. Even though I try to touch base with the athletes at least once or twice a month with a casual conversation in the gym, on a bus or in the airport I sometimes get surprised in the meetings. I know we preach that we are this year’s team and the statement is one of our standards. I still remember the bad experience and try to avoid them. For this reason I worry about some of the athletes who don’t get a lot of playing time. I am happy they are all working hard and understand when they get their opportunity to make the best of it.
Lastly we fitness test. We test three times a year. We test in September when they arrive, then again in December, and then in May before the go home. We usually get some big growths from the May to September from our first year players. Over the Christmas break they still lift and work on a circuit. We have found that the fitness test helps motivate people during this time. Usually they see improvement from Sept till now. Or they realize they need to put more effort into this part of their game.
We have a tournament at home from Dec 29 to 31. WE have told each of the players what their role is. We need to get some players quality contacts. It is a good chance to reinforce our team character and have an opportunity to play some of the younger players in some different situations. This is a fun time for us as we are able to put the younger athletes in different situations without the pressure of league.
http://www.gobobcats.ca/2011/12/07/conferences-of-canada-challange-set-for-december/ is a link to the tourney. We are not charging for this tournament hoping to get as many youth teams out as we can. It is a good chance to see the different styles of teams from the different leagues.
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