Coaching Takeaways from a Season in the Rearview...

 At the end of a long volleyball season, it's not hard to see how they are a microcosm of life. The season;  some good, some bad, filled with memories of grace and fortune and memories of grief and regret. It's the best time to ask coaches who were willing to share, what was their biggest takeaway from the season just ended.

Please enjoy these high school and college coaches who opened up and shared a piece of themselves with you for all of us to learn.

Thank you Coaches!

Never underestimate the power of being flexible. Flexibility can open so many doors for both players and coaches alike. For example: don't pigeonhole a player in one position. If they want to try something new, find a way to let them experiment with it. During our season due to injuries, illnesses and just not working out in certain positions, we had to shift athletes around. Some of those shifts worked out to enhance our lineup better than before the switches. Some found out they were better than they thought and gained newfound confidence.

 My biggest coaching takeaway this season is that bigger isn't always better. After 22 matches, going 14-8, putting our biggest players at the net, we switched to a faster, small-ball lineup that put our two liberos all the way around in six rotations. Our increased ball control allowed us to go 16-1 to end the season, only losing one five-set thriller 17-19 at the state tournament against a 6'4" block. Ball control, defense, and serve receive matter more than hitting and blocking. We may have looked like a middle school team size-wise, but volleyball is just a simple game of don't let the ball hit the floor.

My biggest takeaway is finding a way to train resiliency.

 My biggest take away from this season would be to never look past the importance of each individual athlete and I learned it is good to give your players power. When you empower them with knowledge and give them mindfulness of their own skills, they can move mountains. My team was an amazing group of players who played for themselves and their teammates. They loved each other on and off the court. That is a tough combination to find in our youth of today.

 Players need to believe that they can win any given match and must stay focused throughout the entire match in order to have the best opportunity for success!

 Love my tribe, grateful to be surrounded by a FUN and inspiring coaching staff. Players that are ALL IN, seeking to be the best version of themselves, and looking to Be About Others. Love that we can laugh, grow, and compete together. Without stress there is no adaptation... more controlled chaos... to explore what we are made of we need to be uncomfortable. Seek to expose holes in our game, embrace failure, next point mindset...

 My biggest takeaways from this season are that no matter the talent level in the gym or on the roster, you will not be as successful as you would like to be unless EVERYONE involved buys into the goal of the group. Team cohesion, unity, & valuing each other's contributions are even more important than who jumps 30" and hits straight down.

 The biggest takeaway from this season was that at the end of the day our athletes need to feel loved, valued and appreciated. Whether the team exceeds your expectations or underperforms the relationships between both their coaching staff and teammates will determine how the season went for them. Intentionally cultivating relationships and investing in community seems like it can never truly be overdone.

One of my biggest takeaways was just reinforcement of an idea I try to incorporate every year if at all possible, during playoffs. Basically, it is this; introduce something new before a big match. I do this a lot and whatnot seem to do is convince the players that we have something up our sleeve that is going to give us a competitive advantage. They really buy into it most times. I know they did this year. We beat a team in the quarterfinals that we weren't supposed to beat. They had tremendous size, a 6'7 Florida commit and several other talented players. We moved the lineup around a bit and changed our approach as to how we would serve them. It worked and we punched them in the mouth. The girls played with so much confidence. So my takeaway is, never get complacent with the successes, you can always adjust the smallest of things to help your players with their confidence.