We just returned home from another road trip, this time it was to Calgary to play the Dino’s. The Dino team is an older team in the league and fairly deep in talent so we knew it was going to be a tough weekend.
The union has allowed the head coaches to travel so we can monitor the athletes, help drive them to and from the gym. Not an ideal situation but better than nothing for now. We have gone 41 days now without being able to be fully engaged with our teams.
We had a tremendous recruiting class last year and are very excited about our young players. The weird part of this year is that I really feel disconnected from our first year players. If we were teaching classes and in a normal routine the athletes traditionally stop by the office and we have a chance to discuss their development athletically, mentally and socially. But being away from them for this length has hindered this.
This weekend for us will go down as lost opportunities. We played fairly decent volleyball for most of the weekend. But unlike last weekend against Trinity this weekend we had trouble closing. Two sets we had 24-22 leads but were unable to win that last point. This really wears on a team. We also would go on big runs, just to watch the Dino’s edge their way back.
Being in the crowd was a tough time for me to sit and watch us lose confidence in our team concept and ourselves. Winning in those situations is about playing for the people around you. The power of helping a teammate will stand out in any situation. Since I couldn’t be in the gym during our serve and pass practice in the morning, I went for coffee with Rod Durrant the Dinos men coach. He said something that really sticks with me. An athlete has to give back to their team in some way. It is your responsibility to make sure the group is functioning smoothly. It can be as small as telling the setter the last couple balls were tight, or a large as helping a teammate through a tough family situation.
Communication is a life skill, there is no way a person would survive in the workforce without being able to communicate. In the sporting situation it transfers directly. When the team is in trouble or a teammates confidence is down it is the entire teams responsibility to help that teammate out. As a coach we spend a lot of our time evaluating the athletes and we talk in such a way. That was a really tough time for that error or that error is unacceptable. As a player we can’t judge our teammates actions. Too often in post game talks we hear judgment statements about our teammates. We should just accept it as an error and then do everything in our power to make the next ball better. Helping the error become just a blip on the day. Losers assign fault, winners accept blame.
We talk with our team about the few times we have to give a free ball that we run to the net and are in a strong position. We want to commit to our team that we will get the ball back. Instead of going to the net tentatively and be back on our heels expecting the other team to score.
Body language is such an important part of being part of a team. From the crowd I could see the teams shoulders sag, head drop to the floor, and our walk slow down. We were up 20-15 in a set when Becky called a timeout because of a 3 point run the dino’s went on. We walked to the time out like we were already defeated. I don’t think I could notice that if I was on the bench being part of the competition. Head up walk into that timeout with a sense of purpose. Create the difference.
I understand that this is hard to do when you’re struggling personally, but Fake it till you make it. People who look confident and talk confident will often be confident. Run on the court with sense of purpose. Run off to the timeouts with pride. Give energy back to your teammates.
We played well enough to win for most of the weekend. This is encouraging, we just need to play 2% better for this upcoming weekend. No drastic changes, just have a purpose and trust our teammates.
This is the fun time to be a competitive athlete. We still have a chance to be 6 and 6 at the xmas break. 8 -9 wins traditionally get a team in the playoffs because there are so many split weekends in Canada west. So opportunity is still there.
Highlights.
Meaghan had 19 kills on Sat out of the Middle
Chloe maintained her 11 kills
Lexi came in and had 3 stuff blocks
Shanlee came in and had 4 kills on 7 swings.
Lindsay is starting to look comfortable in the Libero spot and made some huge digs for us.
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