Last weekend's trip to Orlando" Power League was a huge success regardless of our teams who won their pools (17’s and 15S) and teams who did not fair as well. It was a huge success because we had the opportunity to play the best teams right off the bat. I have enclosed a fantastic article in this weeks edition of “From Wheatley’s desk” that explains what should be focused on at the beginning of club season. We all want to win right off the bat BUT is that what is important this time of year. Do we want to stress the win column while maybe sacrificing doing things the right way or do we want what is best in the long run and beat those teams when the season is winding down? What can you do as a player? Believe in our system and trust our coaches. Try new things and be comfortable while being uncomfortable. What can parents do? Be energetic, encouraging, and supportive and enjoy the process.

Here is an example from my past. In 2006, Our high school team had just won the Class 5A State Championship and I decided to coach a 14’s team with kids on the team who had very limited playing experience. As we struggled early on in just the “club” divisions, most of the time we would not even make it out of pool play but parents were excited and supportive, players were soaking up volleyball IQ and getting better by the practice. By the end of the season, we were getting to the gold division from pool play and beating those teams that had humiliated us at the beginning of the year. It was an extremely refreshing year to see that team come so far. Now, those same kids are playing 17s and are disappointed if they do not come in 1^st place out of their open division pools. They are consistently in the top 3 or 4 teams in the state, they are now playing in older divisions at the open level and will compete in the open divisions in National Qualifiers around the country. Why? Players believed in the system and parents were patient, encouraging, and supportive. Enjoy the article!

How to Approach the Start of a Club Volleyball Season.
Segment 1: Priorities and Perspective
Written by Ed Gohen, Golden Bear VBC Tuesday, 13 January 2009

There is an old saying in sports, if applied to the club volleyball calendar, that goes something like this: "You can't win a championship in January, but you can lose one."

While every team has its own goals and many do not include championships, there are things everyone has to do at the beginning that are essential to success at the end. Some of those things are physical, but many of the challenges are mental and emotional. These challenges are often the most difficult, and I believe dealing with them productively is a prerequisite to physical skill development and competitive success.

This is the first in a seven-part series aimed at making the early season more productive and positive.

Priorities and Perspective

Let’s start with a premise:

At this point in the season, a foundation for long-term success is more important than immediate gratification.

As a starting point for any team working towards that end, I would look for these four things:

1. Skill development as the top priority.

2. Encouraging moments when the team shows its potential.

3. An understanding that this stage is a very difficult but essential part of the growth process.

4. Morale is not tied to results.

Much of the rest of this is about #3 and #4.

Early in the season, there should be a lot of technique on which to concentrate. If that’s happening, everyone will seem a little mechanical and generally too wrapped up in trying to perform a skill correctly. At some point, however, things start to click and all the work pays off. This is not only true for individual learning, it applies to team development.

Coaches need to be mindful of the relatively flat beginning of the learning curve. It is the job of coaches to do what needs to be done, even though it means some slow progress early on.

For players, the job is to work hardest through the tough times -- they need to have faith this process is not only normal, it's necessary. Building a solid foundation through improved technique will pay off.

Parents can help with the hardest part for all of us: patience. Expectations and goals are appropriate but can be a heavy load to bear, especially when the plan is not focused on immediate gratification.

While some teams focus on results and competition early and often, others accept that they are not going to win as much as they’d like at the beginning. This is a continuum, and all teams have some of both. Clearly, I advocate more of the latter approach. But for all teams, the goal is to stick to the plan with effort and enthusiasm, so you will still be improving when others are burning out. This, I believe, is easier to achieve with patience and perspective.

The segments that follow are aimed at showing the wisdom of a long-range vision, while maintaining a sense of urgency and purpose. Coaches will find perspectives on individual and team development from a variety of sources. For players who find themselves on teams where a forward-looking perspective is missing, I hope these pieces will help you get through the early season with your confidence and enthusiasm intact.