January 20, 2006

  • Coaching

    As many of you know, I am now coaching a junior olympics club volleyball team consisting of mainly 16 year old sophomores in high school.  They are a fun group to work with and, for the most part, try really hard in practice.  It is always a stark reminder to myself that everyone is motivated differently, based on how they are wired.  Some of us are goal oriented, some of us compare ourselves to other people and then push to be better than those who we are comparing ourselves to.  Some people need a helping hand to get moving, others will figure it out on their own. 

    As I grow and learn how to motivate this group of 10 athletes, I need to remember to have patience with all of them.  Yesterday we had a practice that was partly good, and then lost focus at the end.  We have a power league coming up this Sunday and we are not as sharp as I hoped we would be going into the power league.  Now, the last time we played in a power league my girls rose up above their practice level and went 3-0.  This time we are being moved up to a higher flight of teams, so we will need to find a new level to stay undefeated. 

    This is all to say, I just want them to get better as volleyball players, and more importantly people.  This means I will play girls who do not always give us the best chance to win, so they can play.  I can usually accomplish this by using them in non-deciding situations, or for parts of games.  It is a fine balance.  Our     club philosophy is to find a role for everyone, some people's roles smaller than others, but none the less, a role. 

    As I sit here waiting for     Leadership Vision to get started today here in Seattle.  I am pondering this and other topics, but really should just get started on my homework for class.  Amazing how many things I will find to do before I start my homework.  JVD