“
Equally important to giving players an activity is giving them a purpose – they should feel like each ball contact is a chance to make progress towards a certain end, and that every ball contact matters.
and convincing the two combatants to make peace, you run the risk of wearing yourself out before the start of the first drill. Worse, you’re directing your energy and attention away from the actual volleyball and the players who are quietly dedicated towards learning to sport. Instead, try something like this as a response to quarrelers: “Wow,
you both seem really frustrated. I want to help, but right now, I need to run this drill. If you just go sit over there and over there –” (point to two opposite corners of the gym) “– I’ll get back to you as soon as I get a chance.” Then leave them for five minutes or so, before returning to ask if they’re ready to join the drill. The answer will almost always be posi- tive, and if they do still want to argue, give them another five minutes to watch all the other kids engaging in the sport. Certainly there are conflicts too big for this method, or children who
repeatedly seem to be picking on other players. These situations will re- quire more serious conversation and intervention. However, this method will handle the vast majority of squabbles, freeing up your mental energy for the real reason you’re there – to coach and pass on a love of the sport. This method will also start to discourage disputes before they happen, because it sets up a certain expectation: The priority in this gym is vol- leyball and the team members who want to give their full attention and effort towards learning and playing.
Help players construct a narrative of collaborative learning In the end, in spite of the lack of tournaments and matches, the ultimate goal is to develop a sense of teamwork amidst the wide mixture of personalities. All other forms of court management are there to make space for this transformation to happen, and once it does, the other
methods can start to take a backseat. The seeds of teamwork will already be planted throughout the practice – working with a mixture of partners, struggling through tough drills, exploring strange and unfamiliar move- ments, watching the progress others make, and finding exhilarating moments of perfect collaboration. The last piece is to guide the players towards assembling these moments into a narrative of shared learn- ing, where they, as a unified group, face challenges, support each other through error and frustration, and ultimately grow in their knowledge of the sport and their ability to work as a team. This process can be incorporated into practice with a few minutes of discussion at the start and end of practice. Before practice, you might mention something you want the players to keep in mind throughout the day – ways they see others supporting teammates, or situations where someone handles frustration well, or instances where someone has shown marked growth with a particular skill. Early in the season, you might generate these prompts, but as your
”
team develops, you might ask them for suggestions for the topic of the day. Then, at the end of practice, ask for 3-5 observations from what players noticed. This brief reflection helps build a sense of community as players recognize each other’s strengths and hard work. Beyond this, it reinforces the connection between effort and improvement. This is especially important in a sport with such an initially steep learning curve, where it often takes a full season to develop a consistent 3-contact serve receive. Once your players have bought in to the idea that shared exertion will lead to shared growth, the hardest battle is won. After that’s in place, you can kick back and coach some volleyball.
USAVOLLEYBALL.ORG | 69
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78