Step Forward....

Step ahead…

WE have just returned from the Lea Marc tourney at University of Winnipeg.  We finished a respectable fourth.  The tournament was a good opportunity to see how we have progressed from last weekend.

We had a large focus on blocking with the middles and Right sides this past week and into the weekend.  The left sides we focused on serve reception and out of system attacking.  Ashley Creighton was able to make most of the practices this week so she spent a large portion of the time working with the blocking group.  She would attack off the hitting boxes early to get them to feel the power in the block.  Most young athletes try to use arm swing to create the block.  Instead we want a nice stable block with a position of strength, feeling it all the way through the core to the tip of their fingers. This is what creates the stuff block, not the swinging of the arms.  Next she had them attack against each other.  Once they understand what a blocking posture feels like then we work on vision.  Vision is everything in blocking, especially middle blockers.  Situations will happen that will eliminate or make it hard to set certain players so then life is easier.  The sooner players can recognize the situation the easy blocking becomes for them.  Too often as coaches we stand behind the blocks watching their footwork when really we need to see their eye patterns to determine blocking. We were much better at blocking.

We lost Kellie Baker our starting setter to an injury late in the week, so this would be Jenna’s show this weekend.  To be honest Jenna must have been exhausted by the end of the weekend.  5 matches and some very average passing, she probably ran the Boston Marathon twice… It was a good thing for us to work with Jenna, we had a chance to clear up some vocabulary I use that she had a different definition for.  We also had a chance to work together on the creation of different types of game plans, getting her to think a bit more the Bobcat way.  There was a lot of learning happening fast.

We still worked out hard all week, four practices three weight sessions and two different circuit-training sessions. We noticed by the last few matches the players were starting to show fatigue.  We started missing lots of serves.  When you are jump floating and the legs start to go the net seems to get higher.  We also noticed the fatigue in blocking.  It is normal under fatigue and stress to go back to what is comfortable.  So the middles hands started to get lower and lower.  We used the term having your hands in your pocket.  Opposition middles would contact the ball and our hands wouldn’t have reached the top of the net yet.  So we had to relearn the skill of high hands in a tough way.  But hopefully this lesson has stuck.

We also wanted to cut down on our unforced errors, but as fatigue kicked in our errors went up. We average over 40 errors a match.  WE talked to our team, it is like we are playing a match to 25 and the opposition are only playing to 15.  Handicapping our selves some times.  If we can move our opponents serving aces to under five percent of our total passing I believe that will be a big difference in the 23-25 matches, and we played in a lot of them this weekend.

We have a break this weekend for Thanksgiving so we will train hard and give the athletes four days off.  This should bring them back ready to fly for the remainder of the pre-season.

Becky again went undefeated this weekend.  I went 1-3 starting to feel a bit of pressure to get a few W for my own sake. Plus her uncle is my athletic director…

Weird and muted

Weird

We are still on strike so this was a difficult weekend for me personally as we played University of Regina Cougars in our last preseason matches.  The strike meant that I wasn’t allowed to be in the gym at all this week.  I haven’t been at any of the prep sessions for this.  So I was really nervous about this weekend.

The worst part about the situation is it is totally out of my control.  There is absolutely nothing I can do to remedy the situation, except cross the picket line, and there is no way I would ever do that.  I am out until this is settled.

Lucky for me the match was televised by our local Westman Cable channel, so I was able to watch the team perform.  It helped relieve some of the stress I was feeling.  We started our more experienced line up together for the first time.  The first set we fell down 18-11, then Becky made a double sub.  Jenna and Niki came in and turned the match around for us.  When we double subbed back the score was 19-17.  It was a great come back.  The team then limited their errors and we ended up winning a tight on 26-24.  That was exciting for us. Claire played right side for us again and did a great job, she is starting to get comfortable there.  After 10 years in the middle this has been a good challenge for her.

We came from behind again and won the second set 25-23, then the third 25-19.  Tori played extremely well for us.  We have been working on her hitting the ball harder and having different shots.  She was able to use them all and kept the opposition off balance.  Plus we served very well and had them out of system a lot.

Becky and Ashley did a great job of keeping the team focussed.  We had talked before the match about different situations that they could be proactive for.  We also agreed that I wouldn’t text in anything.  The team needs to be about that group at the moment and can’t be worried about different things that I am saying.  I am not there in the emotion of it all so t
he coaches have to be able to make the decisions on the fly.

Sunday’s match was a different type of match. The match wasn’t as streaky for both teams as Saturdays was.  Regina is a well coached team and they made some good adjustments to their game plan.  We fell behind again early but a strong run of 4 stuff blocks in a row brought us back into the lead and built confidence in our game.  Ashley has worked a lot on blocking with our middles and rs the last two weeks and she should be proud of the result from this weekend.  This level of blocking will make us a good defensive team.  Our middles we very good blocking against their mids today.  We lost the second set and Becky put in an alternative lineup that we talked about.  It is a strong ball control line up.  This line up is meant to wear the opposition down and get our mids going.  We won that set 25-11.  They again made some subs in the fourth and we were tied at 18.  Then  our defense gell into place and we were able to pull away and win 25-20.  This is a good way for the preseason to end. 

The weird part was not being there with the team.  Sunday’s match wasn’t on tv or streamed on the web, so a friend set up his computer on the stage and I was able to watch the match through skype.  It was a good view.  The problem I forgot when on skype the other computer can hear me too.  So one play there was a miscommunication and the ball fell.  I yelled out loud thinking I was alone at my house, but they heard me on the stage. So Matt had to mute me.  A little embarrassing but still funny.

The strike continues on Monday and so do the negotiations between the two groups.  I am hoping that it is settled soon.  I am missing the team a lot.

Strike Day 3

Well I walked 10km today on the picket line. Actually the pace is relatively slow, but it saves my feet extra wear and tear.  We are waiting to see how the negotiations are going and hoping for some positive updates. The two sides agreed to have a conciliator come in to help with the bargaining. A conciliator meets with the two sides separately and then takes their point of view to the oppositions. Ironically in volleyball we call this position the captain. Bit usually between coaches and officials or athletes and coaches.

The team has our last exhibition games this weekend.  University of Regina is coming here to play.  This is going to be a tough weekend as I cannot be in the gym.  I mentioned to Becky and Ashley if Bailey the Bobcat (mascot) looks a little heavier than normal and starts signalling things go with it...

The coaches have done a great job and the team is working hard at getting better.  I really hope that this situation will create some leadership skills for the athletes, and bring the team closer together as they need to lean on each other more.  My dad taught me there is a positive in every situation, just some you have to search a bit harder for.

I have no idea of when the strike will end.  I am at the mercy of the negotiators.  I just have to figure out ways to help the team without being in practice.  Walking 10km a day will make me fit, so that my full time job and commitment to the girls.  GO CATS!!! Miss ya and Cheering for ya!!!

On Strike!

It happened Brandon University Faculty Association is on strike. As a member of the Union all the coaches are on strike too. That means we have to walk the picket line for 3 hours a day. Some forced excercise and a chance to meet other instructors at the univerity are the positives in what is happening.

Luckily we met as a coaching staff and all understand where we are headed in the next couple weeks. I am very comfident in our coaching staff. Becky and Ashley have a strong understanding of the game and understand the systems we are trying to implement. Also this forces the athletes to help each other understand situations.  This week of practices are filled with situations and the athletes need to figure out what is the best option. example would be leftside involved in a triple block. Ball is dug should they stay inside and try to hit a shot, do they have time to get outside, or should they call for an inside outside set.

By having them problem solve together research says the proper technique will eventually come out and transfer better than just giving them the solution and repping it.  This is difficult for a coach, we have to give up some power to the athlete. Well this strike has me giving up all power, tough on me.  When the team is practicing I find myself counting down the practice, waiting to find out how it went.  6:15 they should be in the middle of ball control, 6:30 splitting into two courts mids are working on transition and the outsides are working on inside sets, 7:45 starting wash....I hope the strike doesn't last too long, my clock isn't that attractive to look at.

Coaching Rewards

Coaching is an interesting position and career choice.  When you coach younger athletes you get a lot of feedback and rewards as you see them develop and improve. Coaching at a higher level is sometimes a tougher situation.  A coach will pour all their passion and energy into the team for the hope of developing players to reach the next level, or become great members of society.  Of course coaches also do it for the rush you feel when you win. Unless you're Russ Rose of Penn State or Doug Reimer of UBC, the last few years have ended on a loss.  Only one team gets to win it all, so the rest are battling to improve with the hope of being the one to up end their run of championships. So for elite coaches their personal rewards must be more than wins or they will go crazy.

One year I was coaching provincial team, we had a good summer but as the head coach sometimes you had to push the athletes for them to achieve their levels. At the end of the summer when we arrived back at the airport I noticed that some of the players were giving the assistant coaches some fun gag gifts. It bothered me that they had a relationship with the players that they would give them gifts.  In hind sight, we had lost a match  I felt we could’ve won so it was probably a good thing  that I didn't get anything. At the time though I was pretty down.  It wasn't until a few years later when I was invited to one of the players weddings that  I realized that it wasn't about the gift, it was about the level of respect the athletes had for me.  Being invited to the wedding was the best gift I could ever get.  The athlete still was in contact with me and wanted me to be there on their special day. She said it was important for her that I was there.

So coaching rewards often come later. Coach Wooden was once asked if he felt that a certain team was the best he had ever coached.  His answer was “Ask me in ten years.  Then we will know how these young men turned out.”

This past weekend I was on a recruiting trip to Alberta to watch some of their top teams compete and was able to connect with a bunch of Alumni.  If you Consider that our team is only in our 7^th year of existence we have quite a lot of Bobcat women alumni that are coaching volleyball.  I think this is one of the biggest type of reward for any coach.  It is a big pat on the back for our coaching staff and the other coaches who helped build the alumni’s love of volleyball. In order for a player to reach the university level they had to have some quality people invest in their lives as well so we can't take all the credit.

The two most obvious alumni are Becky Young and Ashley Creighton, as they are assistant coaching with us at BU.  Sara Grona is coming on to help the university team this week during our potential strike.  Erin Henning is the head coach of Grande Prairie Comp High School and assistant coaching at Grande Prairie College in the ACAC.  Nicole Ban, who has just returned from playing pro in Norway is assistant coaching at Grant MacEwan University in the ACAC.  Joely Hanke is head coach of Ponoka Comp High School in central Alberta, Ashley Melnyk is head coach of Vegreville Comp High School in central Alberta. Nicole Clemons is assistant coaching at Neelin High School.  Kelly DeRoo is coaching at Vincent Massey in Brandon.

When I realized how many former athletes are still involved in the sport I was a bit overwhelmed.  I think this is the one biggest thank you any coach can get. I am still in contact with all of these former players and help them out when I can, and they help us out when they can.  They are our biggest supporters and recruiters, without them our jobs would be a lot tougher. 

When I was interviewed for this position I was asked "what do you hope to achieve?" My answer was a national championship and a team full of coaches. It looks like I have accomplished some of that... now that darn national championship

Recruiting the love and hate relationship.

This weekend I am heading on a recruiting trip to Edmonton.  Spruce Grove hosts a large international tournament and Grant MacEwan University host a large ACAC tournament as well the same weekend.  This gives me a chance to see most of our potential recruits on one weekend.  It was this weekend last year I feel helped solidify my relationship with Shanlee and Niki.  Both were competing at the Spruce Grove tourney and I travelled there to watch and support them. Niki and Shanlee are very important recruits for our ability to remain a top ten program. 
At the MacEwan tourney I had a chance to see Lexi play again.  I originally tried to recruit Lexi out of high school from Winkler. She chose to go to a College for her start of school.  So 1 year later I was able to meet her at MacEwan and being the discussion of attending BU in one year.
Recruiting is an ongoing thing.  It never stops.  We have to identify athletes in grade nine and ten and then follow their progress throughout their high school.  CIS has very different rules from the United States.  Mostly this is because the head coach of most CIS programs does most of the recruiting for the program.  Compared to the NCAA where a lot of program has a national and international recruiting coach on staff.  The Head coach only gets involved at the end of the process.
In Canada and the US we rely an awful lot on friends and acquaintances to help us with recruiting.  We will receive emails from athletes that are interested in playing in the CIS, but often we won’t be able to watch the athlete until club season.  I will often ask a friend or a coach I have met to go and watch a match and give me an opinion.  As a coaching staff we borrowed an idea from junior hockey.  WE created a rubric that we can send out to coaches to help with their evaluations of a player.  It shows the level of athleticism that is necessary.
Quiet often I will get asked about what a coach wants in a video.  Most coaches will watch a video only for a short time. Introduce yourself on the video and then grab a basketball rim. If a girl can touch the rim the coach will then continue to watch.  I would personally rather watch a set of a player playing rather than a highlight video. A set allows us to see the athlete make some errors, and then watch their reaction to the errors.  It lets us see how the athlete handles the match after 20. Do they play safe, or do they find away to score (make something out of nothing)?
The next point on recruiting is athletes be honest with us.  WE have very limited time to actually get out and watch athletes play, and even more limited budget to bring athletes in to visit the campus.  We like to only bring an athlete in if we know it is down to us and one other school.  Then meeting the team is the final factor for them. Coaches talk to each other.  Most of the University and college coaches get along incredibly well.  WE know who each person has as their top recruits.  We all end up going after the same athletes most of the time.  Ryan Hofer from TWU and I seem to like the same style of athlete, because it always seems to come down to Trinity or Brandon for the athletes we recruit. So if an athlete tells us one thing and them another we tend to find out.  Ultimately most coaches have plan A, B,C. So if an athlete chooses to go elsewhere it stings but we have another option.
Explaining recruiting to my friends outside of coaching I often equate it to a high school guy trying to date a girl.  We called last week, should I call again? Too soon, don’t want to hound her?  Wonder if Ryan has called her today? I sent her an email update on our weekend, wonder if she read it? I talked with one recruit and her team won a tournament, so I called her on Monday to congratulate her.  I asked her did anyone else call? She told me I was the 7^th University to call that day. She is that talented. So imagine she talked with each of us for at least 15 minutes. 90 minutes with coaches in that one day. As a coach you need to find something that will make you stick out or above the other Colleges and Universities.  So we meet them and try to build a bit of a relationship with them. We want them to feel extremely welcome and wanted on the team.
This year is different; I am trying to meet some different athletes that we are looking at.  We haven’t had the chance to formally meet them and throw our hat into the ring.  This will be an interesting weekend.

Step Forward....

Step ahead…

WE have just returned from the Lea Marc tourney at University of Winnipeg.  We finished a respectable fourth.  The tournament was a good opportunity to see how we have progressed from last weekend.

We had a large focus on blocking with the middles and Right sides this past week and into the weekend.  The left sides we focused on serve reception and out of system attacking.  Ashley Creighton was able to make most of the practices this week so she spent a large portion of the time working with the blocking group.  She would attack off the hitting boxes early to get them to feel the power in the block.  Most young athletes try to use arm swing to create the block.  Instead we want a nice stable block with a position of strength, feeling it all the way through the core to the tip of their fingers. This is what creates the stuff block, not the swinging of the arms.  Next she had them attack against each other.  Once they understand what a blocking posture feels like then we work on vision.  Vision is everything in blocking, especially middle blockers.  Situations will happen that will eliminate or make it hard to set certain players so then life is easier.  The sooner players can recognize the situation the easy blocking becomes for them.  Too often as coaches we stand behind the blocks watching their footwork when really we need to see their eye patterns to determine blocking. We were much better at blocking.

We lost Kellie Baker our starting setter to an injury late in the week, so this would be Jenna’s show this weekend.  To be honest Jenna must have been exhausted by the end of the weekend.  5 matches and some very average passing, she probably ran the Boston Marathon twice… It was a good thing for us to work with Jenna, we had a chance to clear up some vocabulary I use that she had a different definition for.  We also had a chance to work together on the creation of different types of game plans, getting her to think a bit more the Bobcat way.  There was a lot of learning happening fast.

We still worked out hard all week, four practices, three weight sessions and two different circuit-training sessions. We noticed by the last few matches the players were starting to show fatigue.  We started missing lots of serves.  When you are jump floating and the legs start to go the net seems to get higher.  We also noticed the fatigue in blocking.  It is normal under fatigue and stress to go back to what is comfortable.  So the middles hands started to get lower and lower.  We used the term having your hands in your pocket.  Opposition middles would contact the ball and our hands wouldn’t have reached the top of the net yet.  So we had to relearn the skill of high hands in a tough way.  But hopefully this lesson has stuck.

We also wanted to cut down on our unforced errors, but as fatigue kicked in our errors went up. We average over 40 errors a match.  WE talked to our team, it is like we are playing a match to 25 and the opposition are only playing to 15.  Handicapping our selves some times.  If we can move our opponents serving aces to under five percent of our total passing I believe that will be a big difference in the 23-25 matches, and we played in a lot of them this weekend.

We have a break this weekend for Thanksgiving so we will train hard and give the athletes four days off.  This should bring them back ready to fly for the remainder of the pre-season.

Becky again went undefeated this weekend.  I went 1-3 starting to feel a bit of pressure to get a few W for my own sake. Plus her uncle is my athletic director…