Ball Control

Volleyball is a great game when it is played off the net. Observe the ball control in this amazing rally. Nothing is over passed or over dug. They run the middles and every hitter from 4-9 feet off the net. Its only when a hitter tries the ill advised low seam shot against a solid double block that the rally ends. Enjoy the hustle and ball control. It's statistics if you can keep your median pass off the net the balls that are not perfect are still on your side. When I first got to City Beach I had a team that lost by 2 or 3 points all the time. They also targeted passes right to the net and they over passed/dug 5-11 balls in those losses. What if we got to hit those balls instead of the other team.

Locus of Control

I recently learned about how to take the first step in becoming a person who is ready to change and grow. This first step requires a change in your emotions and logic at the same time.  Learning requires that we take responsibility for our actions. We have to stop blaming others when we are unsatisfied.

What are the forces that make a player successful or unsuccessful? What or who is responsible for reaching a goal or the failure to achieve a goal? Answer: You are. When coaching there is only one way to motivate a kid. We have to do our job and teach kids they are empowered and successful results are earned. At City Beach we train players that the Locus of Control is internal. We coach from a cause and effect perspective, your action will directly equal your results. This mean that the player has just as much responsibility as the coach.

Locus of control is a theory in personality psychology referring to the extent to which individuals believe that they can control events that affect them. Understanding of the concept was developed by Julian B. Rotter in 1954, and has since become an important aspect of personality studies.
One's "locus" (Latin for "place" or "location") can either be internal (meaning the person believes that they control their life) or external (meaning they believe that their environment, some higher power, or other people control their decisions and their life). Individuals with a high internal locus of control believe that events result primarily from their own behavior and actions. Those with a high external locus of control believe that powerful others, fate, or chance primarily determine events.


So what or who do you believe is in control? Test your perspective click here

Here are a few quotes we like:

Put your future in good hands - your own  ~Author Unknown
I was thinking of my patients, and how the worst moment for them was when they discovered they were masters of their own fate.  It was not a matter of bad or good luck.  When they could no longer blame fate, they were in despair ~Anaïs Nin

Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy.  ~Norman Vincent Peale

Do your thoughts serve you well? ~ Jim McLaughlin
It took me a long time not to judge myself through someone else's eyes.  ~Sally Field

It's not who you are that holds you back, it's who you think you're not.  ~Author Unknown

Whether you think you can or think you can't - you are right.  ~Henry Ford
Confidence comes not from always being right but from not fearing to be wrong.  ~Peter T. Mcintyre

Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt.  ~William Shakespeare

Perspectives & Motivations: Growth vs Fixed Mindset

As the season moves forward I have found that the excitement of the new team and trying to impress the coach always fades. It’s no shocker that for the player who on their own challenge themselves to change old habits or learn new ones have more good practices than bad.  Unfortunately not everyone on the team has this ability to internally motivate yet. The question is why not? I often work with the players own strategy for learning by having them define what aspect of the technique they will put their attention too. I then focus my feed back to the area they wish to emphasize. This is part of my effort to get them to leaner how to learn and to build confidence from finding success under their own power. But this strategy it's not enough to keep everyone focused from practice to practice. I find the process of learning motivating and I guess that can be said for the players who are always changing. So what is not motivating about try to change? I think part of the answer is not believing it possible or not always keeping change in perspective.

When I can give the girls a speech about growth to start most of them have a good practice. But if I don’t start with a perspective tune up I have a few people who drift into being unproductive after a few bad reps. The ultimate goal of course is that they lead themselves and each other to be productive in practice. So what thoughts do these kids have that slowly leads them to being unproductive? What can you do if your kid’s internal monologue doesn’t support the idea that change is possible? Just because I am saying growth is real and we tell them how research says that it's possible does not mean the players’ inner voice shares that understanding.

I am finding it comes down to personal perspectives. The likely hood they will find success vs. what they predict will be inevitable failure.  One of my mentor’s has a phrase he writes every where for his players to read. "Do your thoughts serve you well?" and as I get better as coach I keep gaining a better understanding of how powerful a force personal perspectives are.

A big issue I find is when players compare themselves to each others. I have talked to them about the process of change and the days that I don’t remind them that each skill is highly specific and that each person will learn and adapt at their own unique pace. I have a few kids drifting into their own default mind frame that they are just not good enough.

I got lead from Tom B. on a lesson plan that is designed to help kids learn to identify what their internal monologue.  It helps them identify what kind of thinks they tell themselves and the discussion you have will help the players understand what fixed mindset thoughts cause and it helps them learn to change it to a growth mindset.  The article and lesson were written by Jennifer Maichin and it has a power point to lead you through it with your kids.
Click here for the article

Coaching the body & mind

Here is an article about Belgian football "soccer" coach who really gets what it means to teach a player how to take ownership of their own learning. We strongly agree with Bryce Courntenay when he said "the mind is the athlete the body is simply the means it uses". I can tell this coaches does as well. In this article you can see that coach Bruyninckx has a deep understanding of progressing the stimuli players experiences as well as teaching them how to learn to solve problems them self. Often coach focus only on movements of the game or physical strength.. I believe that this has happened in part because we don't have a lot of training out there on how to train learning and how to plan practices that progress what player is mentally attentive to. This coaches is getting some great results training movements and thinking. Enjoy the read and to coach Bruynickx I say well done sir.
Click here to read the article

Hitting

Transition footwork and mechanics make or break hitters. Here are a few clips that are in a controlled setting which allows for a great look at the basics of a four step approach. A for step approach is our weapon of choice here at city beach. We have found that the 1st step (timing step) is a great way to get hitters on time and is much simpler read than waiting for the peak of the set. Take your 1st step (right foot) as you see the setter pushing the ball and the ball will get to the peak as your starting your left step. This will help you from being to early which is an epidemic in young players.

Getting a good angle of approach is immensely important. Here is a clip of players shuffling wide and driving towards the ball not the net. When you approach at an angle you gain the following.
1. Increased Range
2. Easier adjustments to balls set inside or outside
3. It's easier to hit at the peak of your jump (you become less dependant of set quality)
4. It's easier to hit it back the direction it comes from vs. clipping it from the air as it is flying past your face
5. Increased vision of the block
6. More torque in your swing

When its not possible to get wide because of the pass quality or if your just running a faster attack here is a look at a pass to hit footwork pattern.

You can also see these players attaching slow to fast and that they have no wasted arm movements

A Feel Good Video

Here is a clip of our 15 Black team winning an Open medal. It is fantastic because this team worked so hard to improve and they really improved. The camera angle is a bit wierd but I was trying to catch the emotions not the game. The camera gets alittle shake as the emotion hits me. Great job Chris, Dave & Roxy

Personal Traits

Personals personality is a huge factor in coaching. Getting to know your kids and what motivates them and what discourages or stress them is very important. Last season one of our guys Jason did a personality profile with the team as a bonding exercise and as away for them to better understand how to get the best of each other. Tom B. and I had a chat about his strategy and Tom forwarded on to me a profile test they used at his work. He thought it was pretty accurate even the things he didn't want to hear, but it was mostly correct. So I tried it back in March and I tried it again today to see if time would produce a different result. Well it came back the same and now I am left to wonder why I have so much in common with Napoleon Bonaparte, Hillary Clinton, and Margaret Thatcher. I am not sure if I will have my current team take the test (my concern being they are to young for it to be relevant) but I also don't see why I should not. If there is a chance to increase effective learning, I will take it. I would love to know what improves their drive and how to avoid being the source of frustration. So I think we will give it a try. Again I found it about 95% accurate the good and the not so good.

Click Here to take the test.