The Rise and Falls of Culture- Installment II

The last couple of posts are from Coaches and Athletes on culture. The culture of their team that went from one direction to the other, and more importantly, why they thought it did.

We will keep the schools, coaches and players confidential. It is not the intent to embarrass or glorify, it is to see the different components of a culture and how they were perceived by these contributors.

A big thanks to those Coaches and Athletes that took some time out of their busy days to give us their insights.

A Player:

"Last season was to put it bluntly absolute trash. We didn't ever connect as a team and there was INTENSE cliques last year which were detrimental to our team. This year we kind of worked with them. Last year our captains were both seniors, which I am not saying is a bad thing. The only problem is that we had two other seniors who had played for my school longer and were not selected. This caused a power struggle for the entire season which led to our Libero, who wasn't a captain, screaming at my teammate and me to 'play harder, do you even want to win?' And we were not even on the court at the time. This was the last game of the season for us, and it was not a fun experience for anyone."

"This season was just different. Maybe it was the mental condition coach that was hired who was supposed to help us with breathing and serving routines, but ending up becoming our outlet for when we had problems with coach or each other. You can't tell coach I said this but making me a captain was a huge mistake. I am a junior, our best player is a senior. For most of the season it was our best player and I until he finally decided to fix the problem. I know what you're thinking 'where is the issue?' Our star, all-tournament,all-region, all star all around great person middle blocker who is a SENIOR, was NOT selected for captain which caused animosity between her and I. It was resolved after the first game, but not because of coach. The team was just a lot closer this year so we all worked together to overcome these coaching errors. I think if the team has a coach they can connect with then the team thrives." 

"It isn't like that with coach. Not because we didn't want to but because HE didn't want to. We could've made it to the third place match, but instead we crumbled in the quarter finals because honestly nobody cared anymore. We took a set off of the eventual Region Champions, but couldn't beat a team with literally ONE good player. We were all kind of done. Last season, I was excited to start fresh with a new season after such a terrible one. This year, I don't even know if I want to play volleyball anymore. To summarize, you need good captains and good coach/ player relationship to have good culture." 

A Player

"Well, number 1 is that this coach isn't always on her phone like the old coach. #2 we scout every team we play, and know where to hit, and who is getting the most sets on the others side, etc. #3 Our new coach has more spunk and excitement, and wants us to take risks where our old coach always wanted us to play it safe."

Our coach now is more personal and dedicated. She makes sure we get enough sleep, and always checks if we are eating healthy or not. The practices are more meaningful and we get pushed more. After matches at the next practice, we go over what we did well at, or what we need to work on using a stats system."

A Player:

"My first 2 years of high school volleyball wasn’t taken very seriously. Don’t get me wrong, we had tons of fun but that was just it. We had more fun messing around rather than thriving to get better at volleyball and wanting to become the best in the conference/state. We settled for the fact the our little high school volleyball team would never be district champs, win state or even make it to state. Volleyball at my school was the 'fun' sport that every girl in the school tried out for every year cause it was easy. No one ever came to volleyball games in the student section because we were boring to watch. But they aren’t wrong. It was easy and relaxed. Sure we did some summer workouts but we alternated between the same 2 workouts every other day; no weights, just running. My first two years were hard knowing that not everyone was there for the same reason I was. I wanted to be district champs. I wanted to make it to state and place. My sophomore year I was nominated captain because everyone could see the love and passion I had for this sport! I can remember playing my sophomore year and a girl on my team, who was super good at basketball, swung her arms and passed the ball completely into the stands. everybody laughed and thought it was the funniest thing ever. On the other hand I was furious. I’m a competitor! Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like my first 2 years of high school volleyball was hell, it just wasn’t taken as serious as i wanted it to be."

"Priorities lacked and winning was just a plus. At he end of my sophomore year our coach called us all into her office and told us she was done coaching. The team was crying but not necessarily because we were losing a great coach but because we were losing one of our friends. That was another big issue. She became more of our friend than coach."

"Going into my junior year I was anxious to find out who the new coach would be. When I heard who it was, I was super excited yet really scared. The difference between these 2 coaches is HUGE. I knew our new coach was gonna make workouts that would make us throw up and push us to our limits. Yet I found a sense of excitement in that. I was excited to see how my teammates and I pushed each other and motivated each other to get through these trials. It was a different type of team bonding. My first year with her and her other coaching staff didn’t just change me as a player but also as an individual. Never would I have thought that I would have the potential to play college volleyball, nor did I even know who to contact or make how to make film. She gave me a sense of confidence I never had. She pushed all of us to be the best player and person we could be. From throwing up at summer workouts on the track to making memories that would last forever on our retreat, there was never a dull moment with her."

"Everything was sharp and crisp. If we were slacking, she could tell and would call us out. I love that competitiveness about her. We started running a faster offense. I started jump setting. Our team was doing things we never thought we were actually capable of. We became a competitive family that would give anything to win a state title. We loved each other like sisters. We made goals around a campfire at our retreat together. All this little team ever dreamed of was beating our cross town rivals and having a chance a districts, and making it to state if we were really lucky."

"My junior year we had ups and downs. Not the perfect season but ended up making it to districts and making it to state for the first time in years. It was an unforgettable feeling. We were this little school that had nothing to lose going into state. We were just glad to be there. We ended up peaking at the right time and defeated a very good team in the semis to make it the big championship game. The joy I had in my heart for my team and coaches was unreal. I had never felt anything like it. All of our summer workouts, 5 AM practices every Friday finally paid off. We played one of the biggest rivals in our conference in the big game. Our outcome wasn’t what we hoped for but we were all so thankful for the opportunity given to us. We never thought we would be in the state championship."

"After that season I started talking to her about possibly playing volleyball in college and with no doubt she was all for it. She helped me put a profile together to contact coaches, send my film out and was a stable resource for me. If it wasn’t for her I would not be going on to further my volleyball career. Getting second place my junior year made every single one of us players and coaches work extra hard to go back to State and take home that gold ball. We wanted to make school history and knew we could. She was a constant support system for each and every one of us through this journey. Senior year, winning the district championship and playing in the championship game again was an unforgettable season. It was the hard work, commitment, love, joy and perseverance she instilled in all of us that got us right where we wanted to be."