This is such brilliant information for coaches. I had heard something similar before but this really drove it home back when this article came out. Good refresher for me to read back over it again.
I do find my mind drifts too easily at times. At practice I am trying to keep things moving and active and competitive and i can easily get scattered. Definitely something i've struggled with. In games it can be similar, try to focus on one thing, usually on the other side of the net, but can easily get caught ball watching.
I've found staying well hydrated can have a big impact on my focus. Any other suggestions?
If you know your players are expecting and relying on certain feedback as a coach, that will lock you in. For example, when I set up a drill like Ball-Setter-Ball-Hitter, the middle blockers can expect feedback on every single rep. The feedback might just be me holding up a thumbs-up, but they can expect that I'm watching them on every rep. On the flip side, my setter might also know that she's not getting any feedback in that drill, because I'm looking more at the blockers.
And then, in a drill like 2-Way Hitting, my setters can expect that I'm watching every set for the tempo and the window and am ready to give them feedback if they need it. (In the beginning, I might give them feedback every rep, but, as time goes on, the ideal is they can see the hitting window for themselves and I'm there to reinforce or confirm). And in that drill, the blockers know they are unlikely to get feedback, since I'm coaching up the setter-hitter connection.
Good afternoon Joe, great read as always and appreciate your honestly and transparency especially when you talk about when a player asked you about watching her and you answered with I did not as I was looking at X instead. I believe that type of transparency goes a long way and players in return recreate the situation to make sure you see if there is improvement or not.
As for the development and progress of a young/not as experienced coach (highschool, club, beach), where does one's personal expereince of the game come into play. Not at one point did you talk about your personal experience of learning the skill or implementing it yourself at some point in your playing career (not sure if you played volleyball, actually). Does personal playing experience matter as a coach in your eyes? Is this subjective?
Your personal experience comes into it. I did play... I was good for my local area in high school and was a D3 All-American. My earliest coaching experience was helping my parents out while I was still in high school. So of course, I'm only drawing from my couple years as a player. I think, however, the danger is letting your playing experience become a block. Unless you're the best in the world at a given skill, there's always somebody better than you. And even if you are a world-class player, playing isn't teaching.
The first skill I think I got really good at coaching was passing, but I was actually never much of a passer as a player. Or never considered myself very good, at least. But when I met Carl McGown, and he said, "pass like this," and showed many of the world's best passers passing in that way, I was able to say, "okay, cool," and then pretty much immediately starting teaching players to pass that way. On the flip side, my coaching of attackers probably took longer to develop because I held on to teaching players to, "hit like me," for longer.
This is such brilliant information for coaches. I had heard something similar before but this really drove it home back when this article came out. Good refresher for me to read back over it again.
I do find my mind drifts too easily at times. At practice I am trying to keep things moving and active and competitive and i can easily get scattered. Definitely something i've struggled with. In games it can be similar, try to focus on one thing, usually on the other side of the net, but can easily get caught ball watching.
I've found staying well hydrated can have a big impact on my focus. Any other suggestions?
If you know your players are expecting and relying on certain feedback as a coach, that will lock you in. For example, when I set up a drill like Ball-Setter-Ball-Hitter, the middle blockers can expect feedback on every single rep. The feedback might just be me holding up a thumbs-up, but they can expect that I'm watching them on every rep. On the flip side, my setter might also know that she's not getting any feedback in that drill, because I'm looking more at the blockers.
And then, in a drill like 2-Way Hitting, my setters can expect that I'm watching every set for the tempo and the window and am ready to give them feedback if they need it. (In the beginning, I might give them feedback every rep, but, as time goes on, the ideal is they can see the hitting window for themselves and I'm there to reinforce or confirm). And in that drill, the blockers know they are unlikely to get feedback, since I'm coaching up the setter-hitter connection.
Good afternoon Joe, great read as always and appreciate your honestly and transparency especially when you talk about when a player asked you about watching her and you answered with I did not as I was looking at X instead. I believe that type of transparency goes a long way and players in return recreate the situation to make sure you see if there is improvement or not.
As for the development and progress of a young/not as experienced coach (highschool, club, beach), where does one's personal expereince of the game come into play. Not at one point did you talk about your personal experience of learning the skill or implementing it yourself at some point in your playing career (not sure if you played volleyball, actually). Does personal playing experience matter as a coach in your eyes? Is this subjective?
Your personal experience comes into it. I did play... I was good for my local area in high school and was a D3 All-American. My earliest coaching experience was helping my parents out while I was still in high school. So of course, I'm only drawing from my couple years as a player. I think, however, the danger is letting your playing experience become a block. Unless you're the best in the world at a given skill, there's always somebody better than you. And even if you are a world-class player, playing isn't teaching.
The first skill I think I got really good at coaching was passing, but I was actually never much of a passer as a player. Or never considered myself very good, at least. But when I met Carl McGown, and he said, "pass like this," and showed many of the world's best passers passing in that way, I was able to say, "okay, cool," and then pretty much immediately starting teaching players to pass that way. On the flip side, my coaching of attackers probably took longer to develop because I held on to teaching players to, "hit like me," for longer.