New Year's Resolutions: Volleyball Coach Edition
The New Year is one of my favorite times of the year. Reflecting on all the great (and not-so-great) things that happened over the past year can offer tremendous insight… that is, if you’re brave enough to dig in!
New Year’s resolutions are a fantastic way for volleyball coaches to review what worked for them, identify where they struggled, and create a plan to get better! But New Year’s resolutions don’t have to all be about self-improvement where you’re hunched over a notebook. There are plenty of activities where you can get up and out of the house, while still bettering yourself as a coach!
In today’s article, I’ll review a list of New Year’s resolution ideas for volleyball coaches, plus share a few tools throughout the article to help you achieve these goals if they’re right for you!
Ideas for New Year’s Resolutions for Volleyball Coaches:
Track (More) Stats
Tracking stats is one of the quickest ways to elevate your coaching. Whether you’re starting out with tracking team stats or adding something more advanced like a game graph to your coaching toolkit, stats are an easy way to level up for new volleyball coaches.
Use Your Stats
This one goes hand-in-hand with the previous resolution. Tracking stats is one thing, but using them is something that can overwhelm coaches with busy schedules. However, once you start analyzing the stats you worked so hard to track, you’ll see that the payoff is worth it.
In my book, “Coaching Volleyball: A Survival Guide For Your First Season,” I discuss the importance of using stats. I even dedicate a whole chapter (chapter 6) to using your data collected through stats to plan better practices. You didn’t put all that work into tracking stats just to let the papers collect in your backpack, did you?
Go To A Coaching Clinic
Dedicate yourself to expanding your knowledge through first-hand learning. Immerse yourself in the volleyball coaching world by attending a coaching clinic near you, or make it a fun getaway and travel to a fun location to get your volleyball on.
Attend A Local School Match
Do you coach middle school volleyball? Go watch the high school program! Coach at the high school level? Make an appearance when the middle school is playing their rivals!
Take along another coaching friend (or go alone… it’s not that bad!) and watch what is going on in the local world of volleyball. This always motivates me to help in building a cohesive program locally, plus it gives you some cool points with the parents of the players you’re watching.
Bonus points if you organize your team and take them along with you. Not only is this a great team bonding experience… your players can see what they have to look forward to, or build bonds with players who look up to them!
Drive To Watch The Nearest College Program
Take the previous resolution one step further and go watch the nearest college team in a home match. This could be a community college program or Division I team… regardless of the level, watching a college program is going to be a great experience for your players.
Encourage players to dress up in the school’s colors and be ready to cheer for the home team! Even if the school charges admission, many will often give complimentary tickets to groups of players if they are coming to watch as part of a youth program. Reach out to the ticketing office ahead of time to arrange this.
Not only will your players be pumped to watch some high-level volleyball, you can also use this time to educate family members, your players, and if we’re being honest.. yourself too! Finally, be sure to bring along a few chaperones and keep track of your players. College facilities are an easy place to get lost!
Introduce Yourself To Another Coach
The next time you face off against a team who fights hard or who has a great energy level, go up to the coach after the match and let them know! Introducing yourself to coaches in your league or division is not only a fun way to meet like-minded people, but it could also open doors for you in the future.
Even if you’re the shy, quiet type, try to step out of your comfort zone and compliment someone at your next match or tournament. You’re sure to feel great after doing so!
Expand Your Coaching Network
Introducing yourself to new coaches in person is a great way to start building your circle of coaching friends. But with all of the technology we have today, why stop there? Reaching out through LinkedIn or joining a coaching group on Facebook (like the Volleyball Coaches Corner group for Get The Pancake readers) is not only fun, but it’s pretty easy, too! Expanding your network gives you a chance to not only learn from others, but share your experiences as well!
Learn More About Your Players
I can’t be the only one who is guilty of forgetting that I’m not the only person who has something to say! Asking your players about their experience and being genuinely interested in their opinion on a range of topics (What’s your favorite drill? What do you want to get better at? What do you think about being on this team?) is a great way to identify things you should focus on in the future and things about your coaching style that you can improve. Learn more about the individuals on your team by sending a simple Team Questionnaire home with them over winter break. Once it’s returned, you can hit the ground running!
Get Better At A Skill You Struggle With
Want to know what I struggle with? It’s setting. Well… I’ve gotten better over the years, but this is the skill that I know I could improve the most with. It’s ok.. everyone has something they struggle with! But as a coach, you’re expected to be able to teach all parts of the game.
Teaching gets a lot easier when you can show technique (versus having to explain something). Take some time at home to work on the skill you struggle with most, or get to the gym early and do a couple of reps of your own. This sets a good example for your players, too! If they see you trying to improve, they might even join you!
Dedicate Time To Learning Online
Immersing yourself in a coaching clinic will probably help you improve your skills the most overall. But learning online has a ton of benefits that you don’t get in person. For example, being able to pause the video, rewatch concepts that confuse you, and revisiting articles on technique, for example, allow you to continue learning over time. I try to watch a few videos online every week (YouTube, of course, is full of short educational videos) and this helps me stay on top of my craft. Constant education helps you notice trends in what is being taught nationally and helps you stay up-to-date on the latest developments in the coaching world.
Set Goals With Your Team Throughout The Year
Setting goals with your team is a great personal goal to set for yourself! Goal setting works, that’s why it’s so popular. BUT. You have to do it right. We all know how easy it is to come up with resolutions and then abandon them two weeks later. That’s probably because you don’t have a system or rituals in place! Build these into your weekly practice schedule and you’ll be amazed at what your team achieves. Using goal setting worksheets is an easy way to incorporate goal setting into your daily and weekly habits! Read more about the importance of goal setting here.
Sign-Up For An Adult League Near Your Home
These goals don’t all have to be so serious! Let yourself have a little fun and get out there on the court! Whether you’re signing up as a free agent, getting a group of friends together, or joining forces with other coaches in your program, playing in an adult league is sure to be a ton of fun!
As an added bonus for youth volleyball coaches, you will get those hard hits and tough serves out of your system so you won’t feel the urge to go up and smash one down against your little 12u players. ;)
Run Team Bonding Activities With Your Team
Strength and conditioning, position practice, high rep drills… these are all things that many coaches view as important to improving their team (and frankly, they’re correct)! But these aren’t the only things that matter!
Improving techniques and getting stronger only help your team so much. Volleyball is a special sport that requires a tremendous amount of teamwork for teams to be successful. I can tell you as a former player and as someone who has coached virtually all ages of volleyball, a sideways glance between players is enough to derail a match, as meaningless as it may seem to someone on the outside.
Team building and team bonding activities are critical (especially early in the season) to avoiding a blowup between players or groups of players that hurts the team and their chances of a successful season.
Do Volleyball Workouts So YOU Get Better
We’ve all heard that working out releases endorphins and just makes you feel good. Combine this with the fact that we enjoy activities that we’re naturally good at, and volleyball workouts make total sense for coaches! Improve your vertical, increase your speed, work on your agility… these are all things that will make you feel more confident in your coaching abilities and help you build a little “street cred” with your players.
Which coaching resolutions are you going to focus on this year? Pick one or two long-term goals (like doing volleyball workouts and analyzing your stats on a deeper level) and one or two short term goals (introducing yourself to 3 coaches at your next tournament).
Once you start on this path, you’ll be amazed at the steam you pick up! Bookmark this page so that once you get started, you come back a get new ideas for goals and resolutions you can set for yourself!
Remember… don’t lose the motivation for self-improvement by January 12th! Choose a resolution and set rituals in place so you keep up with your goals for the new year!
Whitney Bartiuk is the creator of Get The Pancake, a website for volleyball coaches. What started as a fun side project in 2011 grew into her life’s mission… To help volleyball coaches educate themselves and improve their coaching skills, in turn helping young volleyball players have transformational experiences on the court.
Originally a place to share fun volleyball drills, Get The Pancake is now an ever-expanding educational resource for volleyball coaches. This includes original volleyball drills, articles on coaching philosophy, a volleyball podcast, and digital downloads to help coaches elevate their game.