Donata our CIS libero of the year, was officiating a match and the coach sent two players to be captains. After we found out it was because they both wanted to meet Donata. Then after the match the coached asked if Donata would come and be introduced to their team. It was another reminder to our team that they have a huge impact on the volleyball in the area.
In helping coach at this level I forgot how much we have to teach the athletes and parents at this age. For most it is their first real experience competition that they will be a part of for any extended period of time. But also the athletes teach us a lot too. As a coach I am constantly learning, here are some lessons I learned from the weekend that I can take back with me.
Lesson's I learned
1. Assume nothing. The coaches handed out the draw for the players to see, They played their first game at 5:30 on Friday. If you don't state a specific time parents will arrive with their athlete 5 minutes before match forgetting about the warmup time.
2. Educate the parents. We have a large coaches and parents meeting with everyone in the club at the start explaining our philosophy and how communication works. Let them know that at this level our priority is learning. As the season progresses the coaches are encouraged to communicate with the parents let them know the focus of this month. This past weekend we started to use substitutions. We explained before our match to the athletes that we will do some subbing explained reasons why coaches sub. To put a player in that can serve a specific function. Serving sub, blocking sub, or an attacking sub. A coach might sub to slow the match down, instead of using a time out. Trying to change momentum of a strong server. Not always does a coach sub because a player is doing poorly. But the first time a substitution happens though they are shocked. WE had tears even though we told the player she is going right back in after the opposition player loses their serve.
We also convinced one of our teams to run a 6-3 system. The girls love it. When they are asked what position they play we encourage them to say I play volleyball. This is an interesting system for the parents because it is so different than what they have seen before. They have a hard time keeping track of rotations. We have our setter set out of the right front, then the right back.
3. The Wave and High 5's are a big part of the game. I was sitting on the bench as we scored a point the players on the bench started doing the wave down the bench. I also learned you should change your leg cross every 5 pts very important for focus on the bench. The players who weren't in the match were having a ton of fun on the bench. I wonder if some time we take this a little too serious at the university level. I need to encourage our athletes to have fun while being a support, but still remained focused.
4. Keep in mind these girls are just beginning in the sport. I like to compare it to hockey. Parents will go watch a U14 girls hockey game and it is structured and looks a lot closer to hockey we see on tv. But then we remind them that this is their daughters second year playing volleyball. We encourage them to think back to watching a second year athlete playing hockey what did that look like. The growth from the first tournament to the last at this level is incredible. As a coach we needed to keep reminding them where their base position was. the ball is a magnate and they all get drawn towards it.
5. The athletes are more worried about fitting in than having success on the court. Humour is an incredible release of tension for them. It was interesting when I said sometimes you can do everything right and the other team just scores. Teaching the athletes to be great teammates is such an important role for the coach.
