Champs vs Chumps
I've always believed that the quality of a coach comes from a combination of things such as:
- Experience (coaching and playing)
- Exposure to quality coaches
- Self-study
- Ability to relate to players
- Ability to adapt
But I personally believe that the most important aspect of a coach is belief. The belief that, in time, they can improve any player.
I've recently been exposed to a coach that I will refer to as "he who cannot be named". He might end up being a recurring theme on this blog as an example of what not to do as a coach of high school players. Within a private conversation with him after a high school practice, he muttered a comment to me that he found particularly humorous, and I found to be particularly heinous.
While speaking to "he who cannot be named" about what the team needs to work on, and how he could shape practice to improve his players, I was interrupted to the following:
"You ever hear this? And I found it to be true, especially in a 10-week season...your players are either champs or chumps. There's no way around it, they are what they are and you can't change who they are."
I didn't say anything to him at the time, but I walked away appalled. How could someone charged with teaching today's youth, someone who is supposed to be respected by his players, and someone who's job title requires that he put in all the effort he can to improve his players, believe something so negative?
Let's break down his statement piece by piece...
- 10 week season
- The high school volleyball regular season is about 10 weeks long. This discounts the week or two you get for pre-season tryouts/scrimmages and any post-season play. You can augment the amount of court time for your team by participating in any number of weekend tournaments hosted by various schools in your state (many of which do not have results counted in team records...so you can use this time to try new offensive schemes or get more players some playing time they otherwise would not get.)
In the grand scheme of things a 10 week season seems like a short amount of time to work with your players on improving their skills. But take into account the pre-season and any other forms of court time you can fine (tournaments, etc.) there are ways to augment this time-frame. I do not believe that 10 weeks to improve your players in an insurmountable time-frame. In fact, with proper guidance and instruction, any player can improve their skills and knowledge. This leads to the next point... - Champs or Chumps
- First of all, referring to any of your players as chumps is just wrong. These are kids we're talking about and you should never refer to them in such a negative manner. Secondly, you shouldn't pigeon-hole your players into two categories. Surely you will have some stand-out players, some solid players, and others who need a lot of work. But each and every one of these players has the ability to improve their skills. It is your job as a coach to help them do so. - Can't change who they are
- Working off of point number 2, it is quite obvious that certain players have physical abilities greater than others. Others may have more experience than their peers. But the advantage that all of your players have is having you as a coach. You may not be able to change how high they jump or how tall they are, but what you can do is work with them day in and day out to improve their technique. It doesn't matter who they are or how they play now. What matters is their willingness to improve combined with your willingness to help them improve.
As coaches, it is our job to work the best we can with who we have. Though some rules about working with your players in the off-season may limit your time to coach them, it is not out of the realm of possibility that even the least talented player on your squad can make leaps of improvement by season's end. Why any coach would believe that 10 weeks is not enough time for a player to improve is beyond my scope of understanding.
If your players do not improve during your season, I firmly do not believe it is the fault of the players. The blame rests on your shoulders as a coach for not properly engaging your players and not conveying the knowledge they require to improve. Grow up, and stop blaming kids for your shortcomings as a coach.