Changing Losing Programs to Winning Programs
By Donna Nieman,
CAP II Coach and Carolina RVA Member
Carolina Storm Volleyball Club - Charlotte, N.C.
The success of taking on a losing program and converting it into a winning program will depend on a coach’s ability to have some flexibility. Not every situation will be the same, so with each situation different methods will be required in changing a program. But with each situation, one can be assured that the players are as eager as you to have a winning season. The road can be challenging at times, but it can also be very fulfilling and rewarding to watch the transformation.
During the course of my 25 years of coaching, I have found myself entering a few programs where players and parents have accepted losing because that is all they know. The focus of a coach should not be centered on winning, but it helps everyone to feel a little bit better at the end of the day if they can walk out of a gym with a victory. Character can be developed from a loss, but when a team losses all the time the players can also lose self-esteem. There are too many kids out there with already low self-esteem because of many other factors in life, so why should a coach become another factor?
I am a teacher by profession, and I have implemented many of the same things into my coaching that I do in the classroom. After all, coaching is teaching players the sport in which they compete. I have tried many different things in my programs, but I have had most success with the following:
- Displaying confidence in my ability to coach,
- Knowing my players,
- Having structure in my program,
- Making sure players feel they are important to my program,
- Building unity, and
- Making sure my goals and objectives are the same as my Athletic/Club Director’s.
Displaying confidence in your ability to coach is very important.
If your players do not feel you are confident, they will not feel confident in their ability to play the sport. You also run the risk of losing their respect as well. I am not talking about cockiness; I am talking about knowing your sport. Find out as much about the sport and its techniques as you possibly can. Read, attend camps, clinics and coaching education courses. Feel confident in teaching each skill. Know what offense and defense you will teach your team. Have a written plan before going into practice. If you emphasize the importance of practice, your players will display the same attitude.
Know your players.
Know their strengths and their weaknesses. Complement and enhance their strengths while helping them to improve their weaknesses. Helping does not mean always pointing out their weaknesses. Put them into situations during practice that will provide a level of success and help them to improve without the pressure of worrying about losing a point from a mistake. I tell my players, “Practice is the time to make mistakes, because with each mistake is a lesson to be learned. Practice is not geared towards perfection.” Learn how to approach each player to achieve maximum results, because each player will respond differently with each approach.
Have structure in your program.
Let each player and parent know your expectations up front. To avoid miscommunications, I have each player and parent sign a copy of my volleyball handbook. Within the handbook, I have a list of expectations and requirements. I am not saying that a player may never break a rule, but at least each player and parent knows how I feel about most circumstances. Most players and parents will work with you, if they know your expectations up front. They also know you care about your program and take it seriously, so they will usually do the same.
Make sure your players feel they are important to your program.
I don’t mean swell their heads with egotistical thoughts. I try to give responsibilities to my top players and allow them to have input to the program. I try to develop as many leaders as I possibly can, as the more I have the more productive my practices will be. If I give players responsibilities during practices, I will have more players producing at a higher level at a faster rate. I teach the more-experienced players (not always your best) specific things to look for in skills and I team them with less-experienced players. This way I have more eyes watching specific things, not just the coach watching.
I give many players responsibilities on the court, not just the acting captains. Setters, outside hitters, middles, defensive specialists, opposite hitters, players on the bench and the libero all have certain responsibilities during a match. I want them to know it takes everyone to win a game, not just the most gifted athlete. As a parent, I have learned that the more I allow my children to have input in certain decisions, the more they tend to appreciate things and communication is always better. I try to establish this same relationship with my players.
Building unity is important, especially with female players.
If the players enjoy each other off the court, they will enjoy playing with one another on the court. Taking time to establish relationships with and between players during preseason is beneficial to the team during the season. I take my practices very seriously, but I also realize how important it is for players to laugh and have fun. I try to implement fun and laughter in every practice. Whether they are putting on shoes, changing, or setting up the system for practice, they are to be together. I do not allow little individual groups.
Have goals and objectives the same as your Athletic or Club Director.
Since volleyball is a “team” sport, players and parents will follow the direction of your program if they see that you can display a “team” effort. Parents and players do not need to hear you complaining about your boss, if you do not want them complaining about your program. The same goes for your assistant coaches and other staff. Project a united front and keep complaints behind closed doors. Show a workable attitude if you want players and parents to do the same with you.
Coaching can be very rewarding and I have enjoyed watching players mature as individuals by using volleyball as a tool to help them learn about some important life lessons. I have also learned plenty of life lessons myself during the course of my coaching career. I try to learn something new from each season, something that will help me grow as a coach and something that will help my program to grow. Success is not always measured by wins. But if you install successful character in your players, then your players will become winners in many ways, on and off the volleyball court!
