As the Arizona Region season has ended, we asked a few first year coaches to give us their best and worst of their first seasons. This first entry is from a coach of a 14's team. There is equal value for both coaches and parents in this and we will post it on both blogs for this reason. Thank you to this coach for sharing with the Region.
As a new coach I was of course very stoked about finally getting to coach and a bit nervous as well. I have been through many seasons with my daughter, but as a parent. So I was not really sure what to expect being on the coaching end of it.
When everything started, it was a bit slow, trying to figure out who is who and where they would play but that worked itself out and things started rolling more smoothly. But of course when the tournaments started and some girls weren't getting equal playing time, the emails from the parents started coming in. I addressed them, being professional of course and told them it is still early and I was still in the experimenting process.
As time went on and the parents began to see I did know what I was doing and I wasn’t some guy off of the street, the emails became fewer but there is always that one parent it seems. She always had to question my methods or ask why her daughter was getting subbed out and other girls weren’t. This particular girl was a decent player but not always consistent. The girl behind her was really improving so I started playing her a bit more. Well of course this Mother didn’t understand this. I just finally explained to her in a nice way that everything I do is for the team. If someone is doing better at a certain time she will be playing. But I really wanted to tell her to please shooosh and that this other girl was really improving and deserved to play over her daughter. Of course I cant say that.
I did speak with this player about her playing time and what she needed to do to improve. So the emails seemed to stop but there were still some here and there asking about playing time and issues with other players. I was at a loss because I didn’t really know what to tell her without her wanting to strangle me. So I did get some advice from a coach who had been around the rodeo a few times and he just asked me, “Are your girls having fun and improving?” I said yes. He said, “That's all you can do.”
That really helped me with coaching because when you hear so much white noise going on around you, you can become distracted and then you can start second guessing yourself. That is death for a coach. So that advice truly helped me to stop hearing all of the negative and just to concentrate on my team. The director was very supportive of me as well.
The thing I most enjoyed this season was watching the girls bond, new friends made, and their volleyball game improve. As an older male coach with a daughter of my own, sometimes I find myself being Dad because I really started to care about these girls. They were all really great kids! Sure there were times when they messed around or some drama would happen, but overall they were an awesome group of girls!
The season is long and I can definitely say coaching club isn’t for everyone. It can really be draining physically, mentally and emotionally but I can honesty say I loved every minute of it, good or bad, and I am looking forward to next season. I am already thinking of things I can improve on and what I can do to make myself a better coach. I love this sport and hope to be coaching for a very long time.
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