One of a volleyball coach's hardest problems, bench morale will be eternally linked to satisfying players' desire for playing time (PT). Solving this problem you must focus on how to keep the players satisfied and then turn your attention to the parents, who often can spoil the fun. Then you encourage all those happy kids to have a blast (that's the easy part). So, let About.com help you utilize that hidden vein of gold!
Problem #1: Playing Time: How do you satisfy the reserves?
It's important to tell the kids about your PT philosophy from the beginning. The worse thing you can do is try to hide it with false statements designed to satisfy immediate complaints. I'm a believer in coach to win during your high school season. Kids can play to improve during Junior Olympics, camps and other tournaments. So I never compromise winning during our season to accommodate kids' need for PT. The worst moment of junior athletes' careers could be when they are put into a match that the starters thought was won, only to make a few mistakes, give opponents momentum and, regardless of the coach's or starters' efforts, the match is lost. This is the coach's fault and a mistake that coaches never want to experience. One of the nicest coaches I've ever known came into our conference tournament about 10 years ago as the #2 seed. His team came into the semifinals against the sixth seed, and after his team had easily won the 1st game of a best of 3 in the semifinals, he tried to give everyone playing time. The team lost 2 straight games (14-16, 14-16), a loss that he'll never forget. And to the day, the reserves believe that they BLEW the match, thereby costing their team a regional birth.
So let's try to preempt the uproar that's going to occur when you decide to coach to win every game. Hold an opening meeting after school with the girls who'll be trying out for the team a few weeks before the season begins . State, and place on a handout, the coaches' PT philosophy. After tryouts, mail a letter to the home of each girl. Give all the team info, including that PT philosophy. During the season constantly tell the players why the coaches are doing what they're doing, what each person's role on the team is, and what the reserves have to do in order to help the team win. Constantly remind the players how their concentration, preparation, and spirit is key to the team's performance.
Have you ever wanted to a player on your team who you didn't think was athletic enough to help you out? Some coaches say, cut the player in order to save everyone a lot of misery later. But there are some kids who would be satisfied if they just made the team, any team, regardless of their PT. The solution: give the kid the option at the end of tryouts. Ask the player to make the choice by saying, "You can stay with us knowing your playing time may be limited OR you can leave now. Your choice, and no hard feelings." If she stays, she's accepted the deal. Do not accept belly-aching from her (most likely this won't be a problem)!! If she decides not to stay with the team, then see if someone else wants the spot. In the past 5 years, we've invited three players back who were already cut, all three agreed to the deal, and all three made the team the next year also (on their own merits!!).
On the other hand, there are some kids "on the bubble," who, from all your research, seem like trouble from the start. Go ahead and let them go no matter how many promises they make. Do not jeopardize your team for an individual. Most of us have more girls trying out than we need anyway. Let a player go who will disrupt your team.
Now the team has been selected. They've agreed to the PT deal. But we, as coaches, must remain diligent, and here's why:
- Our young teens will say, "Yeah, sure, I can handle lack of PT," because they want to make the team. But for most of them, they equate sitting the bench with failure. The fact that they'd only get into a match once in 2 or 3 weeks didn't really sink in. But trouble may be boiling inside them or their parents.
- On the other hand, some of our players accept the deal believing that THEY WILL show you, not understanding that you've already seen hundreds of players like him/her and you have an idea what their future holds.
So you must instill in them WEEKLY the belief that team is #1, individuals are not. Remind them of the long list of people who are below THE TEAM: yourself, your assistants, the players, the parents, the managers, the principals, etc. Remind them of how many of the JV and Varsity starters were in just that position a few short years ago. Then reinforce the our #1 rule:
No one has the right to disrupt the team.