Response

In regards to my latest post I feel the need to defend myself and my decisions. Perhaps this unmerited, but it is the way I feel.

An anonymous reply to the post said ,"As the line in Miracle to coach Herb Brookes, or maybe in Remembering the Titans: "There's a fine line between punishment and insanity" be careful you don't lose the team (if you ever had it). They are young, and at a very insecure age. Don't beat them. Drive your point home, but remember the goal is not to have a mutiny, but to develop volleyball players. The consequences should be appropriate to the offense, and within a time frame that amplifies the conduct. Just my dime's worth. BTW, Listening is a skill I am still trying to improve."

My reply to that is I do believe that the punishment is appropriate to the offense. Not only that but I am leaving a loop-hole for the girls, I understand that they are young and so they might not catch it. The push-ups are a team punishment for a team failure. True, some failed more than others in this particular challenge, but the fact remains that when one person fails on the team the entire team fails. So, if they catch the loop-hole they only owe 50 push-ups. This is not unreasonable, even for 15 year-olds that have started weight training on their school teams. As a secondary issue, if this punishment does drive a wedge between the team and the coach a part of me says good for the team. It will give them a cause to rally behind, hatred or resentment of a coach. While this is not a good motivational tool (speaking from experience...Doc.) it does work. I would give up my "friend" status -which I don't think a coach should have anyway- to bring the team together. I feel, not only from experience but in my own philosophy -which I suppose is derived from my experience- that a club team should be able to play, win, work together, overcome obstacles, and communicate with each other without active coaching. The coach is there for strategic purposes, and guidance.

This particular club that I'm coaching for is a farm system. They cultivate players from within the school district that they practice at. To me that means these girls have played with each other, or against each other (depending on the age). This club also starts at 12 years old. By the time these young ladies are 15 they've had at least three years of experience with the sport, and with the higher caliber expectations that are associated with club ball. If at this point they think that 50 push-ups is ridiculous, they need to rethink sports. A secondary issue is that I don't get a weight room, I don't get time to have conditioning practices because the folks that run the club don't see the need for conditioning in an anaerobic sport. From my vantage point, a consequence that incorporates body-mass exercise and conditioning at the same time is a very good thing.

The second reply to my post was from my sister, " I agree with Anon about the fine line. The thought of doing that many pushups makes me want to cry and barf simultaneously. As far as new and creative ways to encourage listening...well, how many days of your life do you think you've heard it? And how many times a day? The second part of the saying is pretty important. A skill isn't something you just change (Today I'm going to be a great painter!) it's something to practice your whole life. If you want to try something completely unsporty for different perspective, there were some good theater warm up games (improv stuff mostly) we did to focus on listening and not being nervous to talk. Could be fun?"

My response to that is a little convoluted. First, I agree with the sentiment that skills are cultivated throughout a lifetime. I disagree with the second part of the comment though. During my tenure in college I had my fair share of "team building" moments. Hell, throughout my life I've had my fair share of "team building" moments. The only thing that I took away from them - the staged get-to-know-you ones were different kinds of fruit or breakfast entrees. In college I had to come up with multiple activities that could be used at team-building exercises and then present them to the class. Imagine an entire two weeks of nothing but team-building. I cam to the conclusion during those two weeks that the activities only worked if the leader was a believer that the activity worked.

Knowing what I took away from those activities I feel unfit to lead them. I don't think they work. I've never thought they worked. Even in high school I viewed those activities as time I didn't have to do anything, or make sure I had all of my AP Psych note cards done. Either way, I wasn't actively participating because I thought and still think they are a waste of time.

Having said that, I realize that not everyone shares my unique outlook on the world. Yet I still believe that those activities do not work. I could be wrong. Since there is that possibility I should not short change my team by denying them the opportunity to become closer. I readily admit that. What I won't admit though is that I'm willing to give up 10-20 minutes of a practice to incorporate those activities. We have too much work to do in only 3 hours a week.

If I had been on top of my game we would have already done this. We would know all about each other a month before our first tournament. But...in my eyes, because of how I came through the system, that's what tournaments are for. That's when you get to know your teammates. Practice is when and where you get better. Tournaments are where you prove yourself to your team, your coach, and yourself; then you get to find out about each other.

That's my take on it, on club ball. Maybe I'm wrong, it wouldn't be the first time. But, just maybe, my expectations for these young ladies are not too high.

Buck