We asked coaches from around the country to weigh in on what lesson they learned this season past.
This is what they learned...
"I always learn a lot but I would have to say that I realized no matter how or what is going on with parents or players I need to stay true to myself and my coaching style, coaching philosophy and mission. In the end people come and go but I have to live with myself."
"Easy question--go back to what's important--loving children, loving the game, and keeping life in perspective. Sounds simple, and usually is. However, when life took over last year, as hard as I tried to stay focused I couldn't see the forest for the trees. We always want our kids to let go of everything when they come into the gym, but I struggled doing that very thing. The harder I tried the worse I did. Funny how that works sometimes. This summer I realized I needed to be true to myself and my kids. My responsibility is to serve them and be committed to their success. I could care less what anyone thought. Thank goodness my girls are so unconditional. They just loved me through it and forgave me without hesitation. We had a great year, made wonderful memories and are looking forward. Life is good. Everyday is a blessing. I am so lucky to be able to have the job I have and enjoy these kids. Life doesn't fall apart--it falls into place if we just let it. It's a great time to be a Lady Tiger!!!"
"The most important thing that I learned this year for my 9-11th grade 'B' team was it was important to let them play through their mistakes to gain confidence rather than sub them out."
"I think I learned that towards the end of the season it is more important for the kids just to play and that we aren't going to make any HUGE changes in their skills-just let them play 3 on 3, 4 on 4, 6 on 6 drills and make it fun. I knew this before but it was really reiterated this season when we had 2 weeks between our last game and Region tournaments. The days I tried to focus a little more on passing or hitting fundamentals were a bust and the girls did not enjoy practice or get much out of it because they weren't invested."
"This season I was reminded that the most important things my volleyball players will learn from playing volleyball has nothing to do with volleyball. We tried something new this year and had a weekly discussion called 'Monday Moments' where we discussed different aspects of what it means to be healthy. Some weeks I had the girls come prepared with short presentations, we discussed the different character traits in John Wooden's Pyramid, we talked about confidence, we discussed the importance of sleep, time management, etc. This started out as a way to use time while we waited for the court, but became an amazing bonding tool. The girls referenced the things we discussed multiple times during matches and games. It was 15 minutes once a week, but they really looked forward to it and taught each other so much."
"Every time they bring something up from our discussions, it reminds me what it's all really about. Keeps me from getting too caught up in the competition and from forgetting that I'm dealing with people. Amazing young people. They may not always be volleyball players, but they'll always be people who I got to have an influence on for a short time, so my goal is to make it count."
"The most important lesson I learned this year was to trust my assistant coaches more. I am very stubborn in my ways especially when a game is going on. My assistant coaches are watching the girls more than the game itself and can see when they are having a bad day quicker then I can. Usually they will tell me to take someone out for another girl and I was quick to say they are playing fine and no sub is needed. Early in the season it didn't burn my team at all to leave the girl in but I always noticed on film the girl struggling and remembering my assistant coaches telling me to sub one in for her. As the season wore on I would trust my assistant coaches and their judgement more because of this early season lesson I learned. It helped us more than it hurt us to listen to them and use their judgement. I wouldn't always listen to them but they were right more times then they were wrong."
"I learned that through injuries and adversity you need to remain steadfast in your beliefs and positive to a fault. We struggled all year and could have thrown in the towel on a less than stellar season, but kept coming to work each day and talking about a team goal that could still be reached. Focus on what lies ahead and do not dwell on things of the past. We were able to play our best volleyball down the stretch and win our district for the 3rd year in a row. We also managed to get to 10 wins when at first it looked as though we'd remain in single digits. Keeping positive and focusing on energetic practices and improving on areas we could improve on each day kept the team together and working towards a very reachable goal at seasons end. Also, not being afraid to take days off late in the season to allow kids to rest and recover both mentally and physically kept them wanting to come to practice."
"I learned the hard way this season: one player who is NOT invested can and will be the downfall of the entire team and its mission. In three seasons, I had established a culture at my high school and a theme that had been our foundation: 'Heart and Hustle.' We don’t have big kids or a big offense, so we’ve had to rely on our defense and our 'never let a ball touch the floor' mentality. I lost my setter this year because of concussions, so I was in trouble at the beginning of the season. When I got word that a 5’10” senior setter AND her 5’10” freshmen OH/MB were moving in, I thought my prayers were answered. They weren’t. This kid became our biggest nightmare because of her moodiness and her lack of commitment to what my other seniors had been working towards for three seasons. They didn’t understand – and I couldn’t seem to coach above this kid’s attitude. I had no other setter, so I had to have her on my court. While we still finished third behind the #1 and #2 teams in our state, we didn’t make it out of our Regional tournament, and for the first time in 3 seasons, didn’t make the state tourney. It was a tough lesson to learn, but the old adage is certainly true: you’re only as strong as your weakest link."
"The most important thing I learned from this season is the power of a true 'Team First' atmosphere. One of our mottos for this season was '14 Strong!' We had 14 girls on the roster, and we called on each and every one of them to make big plays on our way to our first league championship in 23 years. As an example, during one of our matches versus the eventual 2nd place team, we were down 5-9 in the fifth set. My libero was struggling and had a bit of a breakdown. I called on one of my outside hitters (who hadn't played at all during the first 4 1/2 sets) to come in as a defensive specialist for her. My outside hitter came in and did AMAZING. She made amazing dig after amazing dig. We ended up winning the set 15-13. This type of thing happened several times throughout the season. Every one of the girls stepped up in different ways at crucial moments."
"This example shows the power of the team. My bench worked very hard to maintain a positive attitude, even if they weren't playing, and to always stay ready to come in and contribute in whatever way they could for the team. As a team, we celebrated each other's successes and all the girls made sure that they were never bitter or negative if someone they were directly competing with for court time was finding success on the court. We were able to compete and win because we were '14 STRONG' all season long."
As you can see, most lessons weren't on court lessons but lessons about people- trusting, getting them invested and enjoying the process, the 'ride.'
More to come....stay tuned!
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