K A R C H K I R A L Y ’ S V O L L E Y B L O G
SMARTER DATA FOR VOLLEYBALL SMARTER DATA FOR VOLLEYBALL
the Nebraska Huskers on your fourth national title.
Congratulations to Congratulations to
the Nebraska Huskers on your fourth national title.
Don’t lose faith when you lose by Karch Kiraly | Head Coach, U.S. Women’s Volleyball Team
OUR U.S. WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM DOESN’T LOSE VERY OFTEN, BUT WE do have a lot of practice losing. In fact, our players often experience the sting of defeat on a daily basis during our training blocks. That’s by design. We put our players in a position to lose – or win – whenever they walk into the practice gym. In the collective view of the U.S. coaching staff,
repeated competition among teammates helps players become more battle hardened. They have to learn how to lose, and then they have to learn how to quickly bounce back with great resiliency to bring their best to the next game or drill. How competitive does it get? Let me share a story
University of Nebraska 2015 NCAA Volleyball National Champions
University of Nebraska 2015 NCAA Volleyball National Champions
that has been told by Kayla Banwarth, our starting li- bero. Last year, a day before we left for Italy to compete in the FIVB World Championship, Kayla remembers losing five straight games in a competition we were having that day. For the sixth game, we let her rest, and the team that she had been playing with won. It bothered her so much that it brought her to tears. But then in Italy, Kayla played a huge role in helping our team win the first gold medal at a triple crown tournament (Olympics, FIVB World Cup, FIVB World Championship) in the history of the U.S. Women’s program. Clearly, the adversity she faced in her home gym was a good thing. Overall, our 2015 match record at major tournaments was 34-3 (41-6 overall), a great record
by any standard. But those three losses were tough ones. China, currently the second-ranked team in the world behind us, beat us in five sets in the preliminary round of the FIVB World Grand Prix. Later in the summer at the FIVB World Cup, we were defeated twice, once by Ser- bia and then by Russia. Our other three losses in 2015 were two matches to China in the USA Volleyball Cup and once to Brazil at the Pan American Games when the team used mixed rosters. Like I mentioned, tough losses are part of competing. But our goal on the national team is
to handle them like a championship team, and we did just that in 2015. After the World Grand Prix loss to China, we rebounded four days later with a five-day run of consecutive victories over five of the world’s top teams: Japan, Italy, Russia, Brazil and China. That earned us the World Grand Prix gold medal. And after the two losses at the World Cup, we bounced back with big wins, first over China, the eventual World Cup champion, and then over a talented Japan team playing in front of its home fans. One of our strategies for dealing with losses is to confront them by getting together as a team
and talking about them. We don’t shove the pain under the rug. These meetings aren’t forums for the coaches to give lengthy lectures. They’re designed for all
Loyola University Chicago 2015 NCAA Volleyball National Champions
Loyola University Chicago 2015 NCAA Volleyball National Champions
We are proud to serve both 2015 NCAA Champions.
We are proud to serve both 2015 NCAA Champions.
of us to acknowledge a loss, exchange information and remind ourselves that being disappointed in defeat is OK. In fact, it’s good that it hurts because it affirms that we hold ourselves to a high standard and care deeply about maintaining that standard. For our team, another key part of dealing with a loss is recommitting in both words and
deeds to the things we do well, including the little stuff: like forming good platforms and passing the ball a little bit off the net so our setter can run our fast offense. It’s important for all teams to remember their strengths and to stick with those strengths.
One setback on the court or even a few setbacks shouldn’t lead a team into a state of panic. Never make the mistake of thinking that drastic changes are needed after a loss, or that something extra special needs to happen in the next match. In the end, rebounding from defeat is mostly about trusting your body of work and getting
back to what you have been practicing for a long time. Keep the faith. It’s worked before. It will work again.
“ One of our strategies for dealing with losses is to
confront them by getting together as a team and talking about them. We don’t shove the pain under the rug.
24 | VOLLEYBALLUSA • Digital Issue at
usavolleyball.org/mag ”
PHOTO: PETER BROUILLET
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