Coaching is a hoot. So, I've not only played volleyball with a ladies team this past week, but I've coached the Â鶹ÊÓƵeast Vipers as well and pushed to have a skills day for a few younger players who had bugged me about doing something with them after I coached them in their 2013 high school season.
This turned into volleyball for seven of eight days in a row. Now this past Sunday session didn't really have to happen, but I had given the younger girls my word last year that we would have a couple of sessions before they'd enter grade 10 and I like to stand by my word.
So, I roped Eugene Brown into helping out because my knowledge is just of a player and an inexperienced coach, though I try my best, Eugene does have level three coaching credentials. I was just kind of there to help with what I could and interject a couple pointers about performing skills.
What I realized, however, this week is that I thoroughly enjoy coaching. My Monday volleyball experience was simply working with a couple of hitters, but I chose to do that over going to a recreational volleyball night in the area in which I could have played.
I love playing, but there's something quite amazing about watching as young players reach new heights. Sharing what bit of knowledge one might have with them and watching them excel is amazing. In fact there is a setter on the Vipers who I would have considered about as good as I was in high school, when I was training consistently and in shape, but she's easily surpassed me now.
I simply had a few tricks up my sleeve thanks to an assistant coach, Jesse Baron, from when I was in grade 10. He was a setter in university, so before team practices he would hold a half hour setter's session for the three setters we had. These couple little tricks to make a setter more sneaky and aggressive were the only things missing in this young Vipers skill set that I could teach her anyways. I'm sure she'll continue to develop and learn, but as I watched the team play in the Arcola Ladies' Tournament I was pleased to see her taking swings, tipping, teeing the ball up for hitters, squaring off to the power hitter every time, and even blocking an overpass.
These were all things we covered in our own setter sessions over the past month and it was awesome to see it all come together.
Not only had she improved, but so had our other setter who had quite often been setting from too low who was now setting from her forehead. Though someone jokingly called me a dictator after I mentioned how I was glad to see the one girl setting from her forehead, it was still satisfying to see her make the change and improve. Not only does setting from your forehead stop calls implying carrying the ball, it also opened up back setting to her.
Watching these improvements and seeing how quickly they caught onto everything amazed me. The season hasn't really even started yet, but I have high expectations for the Vipers because the girls we're working with show such promise and the only way to get better is to be challenged.
Each one of the girls on the team are exceptional people and I'm glad that I've been able to meet them and help with practices because of this. In fact people mention other jobs to me that are closer to home, which would be really amazing to be closer to my family; but, in addition to salary and work load something they can't offer me elsewhere are the young athletes I've been coaching.
Obviously other jobs elsewhere would likely let me volunteer my time to coach, but I would feel like I was abandoning those that I've been coaching here. From the girl that told me I was like the big sister she never had to, yes, the girl who just the other day called me a dictator jokingly, from those I've coached club volleyball to as well as those I've coached high school ball to, they along with other factors have actually influenced my decision somewhat to remain in Carlyle.
