...The first and last song...

Think of the last concert you were at.

What do you remember about it? What was the opening number or two? Was it a completely new song that you had never heard before or was it something you could sing along with, dance to; something familiar?

Think of how that show ended. Again, was it with a song you didn’t know or was it something you were again familiar with? In fact, was it one of if not their biggest hit: the encore?

We go to concerts to hear our favorite singers and bands play not only our favorites, but also listen to their new songs from their newest releases. Sometimes we like to hear them play another bands song in their unique style, and sometimes they will even improvise the music or lyrics of a song.

Check out this set list for the Beatles; first US show in Washington D.C. in 1964. You will probably recognize most of these songs but imagine at the time as the curtain opened and the Fab Four started into Roll Over Beethoven…one of their staple songs and they finished with the year’s #2 and #1 hit songs, “She Loves you” and “I want to hold your hand.” 

So how do you go about putting together a great set list? In a guest blog written by Mason Hoberg for the website Tunecore, he offers the following when putting together your set list for the show. First, tempo. He says, “You shouldn’t have four slow songs followed by four fast songs. All that happens when you do that is that you cut the effect of every song in your set. Your fast songs don’t seem as intense, and your slow songs seem boring and drawn out.”

Next Hoberg says you need to know your keys. “Just like tempo, you want to make sure that you don’t play every song in the same key.” He follows that up by knowing your time allotment. “Knowing the length of your songs is super important because you’re never going to play a show without a set time slot. You’re generally going to have one to two hours at the most, and you’re going to want to make the most of them.”

Finally and most important, Hoberg says that, “90% of the audience’s impression comes from the first and last song. The harsh reality of being a musician is that the impression you make on your audience is made up of a million small moments. The most important of which is how they feel after hearing your first song, and how they feel when they feel at the end of your show.”

So now the inevitable question: What does this have to do with coaching volleyball?

Imagine tonight’s practice scripted like your favorite concert.

You open with something that will engage and energize the team: get the team rocking…consider it the ANTI-butterfly drill. Starting with some kind of game or mini tournament that gets their competitiveness drummed up and has lots of touches for the younger teams. 

Then waltz into the middle of practice where you may have to instruct and teach but they are in a good space: happy and IN 'the process'. Sprinkle your practice with some improvisation, mixing up the goals and focuses of a drill they know to keep it fresh, keeping score, competing and dancing in the process of getting better. Maybe adding video or station work or bringing in a guest coach to help share their expertise. Again, limiting slow drills and mixing with faster game like play. 

Finally, at the end of practice you unleash their favorite court activity: maybe a mini tournament or finishing the one you started at the beginning of practice. Maybe it’s just queen of the court or a 6 on 6 drill that brings out the beast in them all. The ‘encore’ of practice leaves them sweating, tired and excited for the next practice.

The U2 set list above has to encompass 30 years worth of music. Bands like Aerosmith are over 40 years of hits. Newer bands as opening acts may not have any hits and are just going on stage with the 12 songs they have been rehearsing and know they can play live. So it goes with coaches.

Experienced coaches have a plethora of drills and games and situations to pull from where new coaches will use the drills they used as players: productive or efficient don't matter, these are drills they KNOW how to do.

Like these bands, they expanded from their limited opening set lists in those bars they played in when nobody knew who the "Feedback" or the "Hype" was, (both names preceded U2). They experimented, sometimes tragically, and found a sound that worked for them, that entertained and energized and engaged.

When putting together your practice 'set list,' reach beyond your self imposed limits and experiment. Sure, you'll have some clunkers of drills. There will be some that don't work. But there will be some that the team loves and a tweak here and there can make them part of your new set list.

Remember your favorite concert and use that as inspiration for your next practice. Chances are your athletes will find it music to their ears....