An interesting question from one of our readers:
Hello again coach,
I'm curious about how much information coaches share with each other during the recruiting process. How often do coaches refer other players to each other? For example if a certain player looks good in their DVD but the school it was sent to doesn't have a need for that position, is it freely forwarded or shared with another coach at a different institution or just end up in a 'dead file' box? My hope of course is the former action being done to provide additional exposure for my daughter. Is that something which should be included in the cover letter to the 1st coach, e.g. "Please feel free to share this with another institution should you have no fit for me with your program"?
Thanks , Mark
By and large, Division I schools do not help each other much. There may be certain cases where a couple of coaches are long time friends and keep an eye out for each other, but this is the exception and not the rule.
What is more common place, is having Division I coaches help non-Division I programs. Late in the recruiting cycle, I will receive a few calls from Junior College and NAIA coaches that are looking for a last minute player or two. It also happens occasionally with Division II coaches that I have known for a bit of time.
I think the reason it is rare to share Prospective Student-Athlete information between Division I coaches, is that we don't want to help someone beat us later. Of course this sounds a bit extreme and there are over 300 Division I Women's Volleyball teams, but the basic idea is sound. When a Division I coach helps a non-Division I team, there is nothing that will come back later to haunt them.
Unfortunately, most of the DVD's do go into the "dead file" box or as I call it, the round file (trash). Each DVD will get looked at, but forwarding this to another coach in Division I is not going to happen.
My suggestion with DVD's and information send to Division I programs is to have a 'fire and forget' mentality - send it off, but forget about that information going anywhere else other than that address.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Collegiate Beach Volleyball
There has been recent support and enthusiasm for the idea of a NCAA sport called Women's Beach Volleyball. This enthusiasm has now reached the level that the AVCA is pushing to have the NCAA recognize Beach Volleyball as an "emerging" sport for women.
I had written about this topic in an earlier post - A very bad idea for NCAA Womens Volleyball. This emerging sport will be funded at the expense of indoor volleyball. Even with the addition of NCAA funds because of the "emerging" title, the mass majority of schools are not going to create new funding for beach volleyball. The funding will come at the expense of indoor volleyball.
Just take a look at the national economy - we are in a recession and oil seems to be going nowhere but up. The housing market in not good, the stock market is in a bear period and unemployment is on the rise. When this is the economy of the country, donations to athletics tend to shrink, and those donations which come to an athletic department are going to be spent on football and basketballs.
Let's be pragmatic about this sport - Beach Volleyball is going to be supported by current indoor players and staff. An athletic department will not create a full time position called Beach Volleyball Coach. A current assistant coach will probably be given a small stipend and a title, then be in charge of Beach Volleyball. Will this new position be empowered to recruit all across the USA and the world evaluating talent? No, they will just find the best couple of players on the team to play Beach Volleyball. The money spent on this new sport, will be money that should have been provided to indoor volleyball.
The AVCA and all coaches should be pushing for better support of NCAA Women's Volleyball, not the emergence of a hybrid sport. We need better marketing support, coaches need more money, assistants should be paid well enough that they don't have to coach club and work way too many camps to pay the bills. I guarantee you that money which could have and should have been earmarked for Women's Volleyball, will now be split into Beach Volleyball. With today's economy, both Volleyballs will not be increased - only one.
Beach Volleyball is great to play and to watch. So is Frisbee, so is Over the Line, I love playing flag football, synchronized swimming is huge in the Olympics, rhythmic gymnastics draws full stands. If you are a Beach Volleyball fan, then this a great thing - more beach volleyball.
If you are a supporter of making NCAA Women's Volleyball into a Flagship sport, then this should be the last thing you support. It just illustrates our provincial attitude when it comes to the sport that pays our bills and supports our employment future. Exactly how many "new" female athletes will Beach Volleyball bring into the NCAA realm? Again, current athletes will just slip into the Beach Volleyball uniform.
My greatest fear is that Beach Volleyball will be supported by the NCAA and actually become wildly popular. We will be like the USA National Teams - relegated to second place behind beach volleyball. It would be ironic, that the emerging sport becomes the most popular sport and the traditional sport of indoor volleyball will be enjoying even less television time (because the networks would rather show beach volleyball - just like with the National Team), even less funding (the member schools have to support the "emerging sport" within this tough economy), the coaches will be working more hours (again, the Beach Volleyball coach will come from within the current indoor program) and there will be even less females coaching in volleyball (the Beach Volleyball coach will not be a supported employment opportunity and if an assistant gets assigned this job, he/she will now have even more duties for proportionately less money).
Amazing how we are our own worst enemy - Does anyone see Football, Men's Basketball or Women's Basketball supporting any "emerging" sports? NO - they are ONLY concerned with making their sport the best it can be!
I had written about this topic in an earlier post - A very bad idea for NCAA Womens Volleyball. This emerging sport will be funded at the expense of indoor volleyball. Even with the addition of NCAA funds because of the "emerging" title, the mass majority of schools are not going to create new funding for beach volleyball. The funding will come at the expense of indoor volleyball.
Just take a look at the national economy - we are in a recession and oil seems to be going nowhere but up. The housing market in not good, the stock market is in a bear period and unemployment is on the rise. When this is the economy of the country, donations to athletics tend to shrink, and those donations which come to an athletic department are going to be spent on football and basketballs.
Let's be pragmatic about this sport - Beach Volleyball is going to be supported by current indoor players and staff. An athletic department will not create a full time position called Beach Volleyball Coach. A current assistant coach will probably be given a small stipend and a title, then be in charge of Beach Volleyball. Will this new position be empowered to recruit all across the USA and the world evaluating talent? No, they will just find the best couple of players on the team to play Beach Volleyball. The money spent on this new sport, will be money that should have been provided to indoor volleyball.
The AVCA and all coaches should be pushing for better support of NCAA Women's Volleyball, not the emergence of a hybrid sport. We need better marketing support, coaches need more money, assistants should be paid well enough that they don't have to coach club and work way too many camps to pay the bills. I guarantee you that money which could have and should have been earmarked for Women's Volleyball, will now be split into Beach Volleyball. With today's economy, both Volleyballs will not be increased - only one.
Beach Volleyball is great to play and to watch. So is Frisbee, so is Over the Line, I love playing flag football, synchronized swimming is huge in the Olympics, rhythmic gymnastics draws full stands. If you are a Beach Volleyball fan, then this a great thing - more beach volleyball.
If you are a supporter of making NCAA Women's Volleyball into a Flagship sport, then this should be the last thing you support. It just illustrates our provincial attitude when it comes to the sport that pays our bills and supports our employment future. Exactly how many "new" female athletes will Beach Volleyball bring into the NCAA realm? Again, current athletes will just slip into the Beach Volleyball uniform.
My greatest fear is that Beach Volleyball will be supported by the NCAA and actually become wildly popular. We will be like the USA National Teams - relegated to second place behind beach volleyball. It would be ironic, that the emerging sport becomes the most popular sport and the traditional sport of indoor volleyball will be enjoying even less television time (because the networks would rather show beach volleyball - just like with the National Team), even less funding (the member schools have to support the "emerging sport" within this tough economy), the coaches will be working more hours (again, the Beach Volleyball coach will come from within the current indoor program) and there will be even less females coaching in volleyball (the Beach Volleyball coach will not be a supported employment opportunity and if an assistant gets assigned this job, he/she will now have even more duties for proportionately less money).
Amazing how we are our own worst enemy - Does anyone see Football, Men's Basketball or Women's Basketball supporting any "emerging" sports? NO - they are ONLY concerned with making their sport the best it can be!
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Club Volleyball Championship Play
The Club Volleyball Championship season is upon us. With the separation of a number of Club Volleyball teams into another group, we now have four events that can be classified as championship events. The AAU Championship in Orlando which begins first, followed by the Volleyball Festival in Reno and the USAV Volleyball Championships in Dallas, plus the JDVA Championship in Louisville (I can't remember the exact initials, but this is the breakaway group) run approximately the same time and conclude the Club Volleyball season.
In terms of how these championships are viewed by the College Volleyball Coaches, there is really no difference - we just want to recruit volleyball players. In a perfect world, these events would be held in Honolulu or Miami so I could go to the beach at the end of the wave (no pun intended). For College Coaches, I feel the championship events have lost a bit of the relevance in the recruiting process.
The 18's class has long been committed and College Coaches are making courtesy stops on the court to watch their incoming class (the non-flattering term is baby sitting). The 17's class is maybe 1/4 to 1/2 done with its commitments, and College Coaches know who they want to come to their schools. With this group, the coaches are trying to spend as much time as possible on each offered Prospective Student-Athlete's court. There is really not much evaluating going on with this group, it is just more 'face time' for the player and parents. The 16's group is probably where most of the scouting and building of the recruiting database is happening. One of the down sides of the very early recruiting commitment cycle is that many College Coaches are doing a best guess on a player's ability.
I have always found that there is a huge jump in the ability of college level PSA's from the 16's to the 17's club year. Of course, the Alex Klinemans and Beth Hodges of the volleyball world are an easy pick for a great future college player; but for the rest of the junior level players, this one year is the separation year. This is the physical development time frame of the players; where the future Division I college players separate themselves from everyone else. I will routinely mark a number of 16's level players for our recruiting database; players who I feel could have the ability to mature into a NCAA Division I volleyball player. Then, come the next club season, it is easy to see who has elevated their ability and who has leveled out.
The current recruiting trend of securing commitments from 16 year olds is a bit unnerving because College Coaches are making offers before I believe the physical and volleyball development of a PSA has entered the critical year. Unfortunately we are seeing a number of 'de-commits' and an even larger number of freshman year college transfers because of too early commitments. I have yet to offer a 16 year old and unless there is an absolute stallion of a player that is beating down my university's door, I don't plan on offering a PSA who just got their driver's license.
How does this relate to a current club player? Well, for simplicity's sake, we will skip over the 18's level and those 17's age that have accepted an offer or have a few offers on the table.
We must remember that this is the Championship season. This is the part of the year that goes into the record book and the culmination of a lot of time and energy. Can you remember how you did in the first tournament or the fourth or the Holiday Round-Up tourney? You will remember how you did at the Championship.
Focus is probably the number one piece of advice that I can provide. Now is the time for focus - on every match, on every game and on every play. This is the one tournament, when losing a tie breaker to go to the Gold Medal round, because you lost a points for versus points against calculation will really sting. Every play in important - Don't 'play' your way into the match - be prepared to play hard even before the first whistle.
Positive attitude is a key component to Championship success. If you stay positive with your body language, in your conversations with team mates and with your opponents, then good things will happen. I know that sounds a little cosmic feel good, but I have just seen it come true too many times to doubt good karma. Don't get negative if you are struggling in a match - that happens; focus on lifting up your teammates by not getting down on yourself. Don't become critical of a team mate who is having a terrible match - they are not doing it on purpose and if you give them the stink eye, that is just not going to help.
Remember good technique - Good technique is reliable and will not falter during a pressure situation. Don't get fancy, don't be lazy with things that you know should be done a certain way. Rally score volleyball games are won by those teams that make the least amount of mistakes, not those teams that make the most great plays. If you make sure that you are using good technique, then you will make less mistakes - you may not make as many great plays, but good technique will pave the way to team victory.
Invest emotionally - This is one area that I think American players are getting 'beat' by international players. A criticism of Club Volleyball has always been that maybe too many matches are being played. This means that since there is always another match coming up or by the end of a tournament, most players are fried, kids have a very short term emotional memory; the system conditions them not to emotionally invest in matches. International players of the same age, seldom, if ever, play more than one match a day - most 'tournaments' last a month. Because of this, international players take these opportunities very seriously from an emotional perspective. They sincerely celebrate the victories and they cry when they lose - they are emotionally invested. I believe that if you emotionally invest in a match, if you open yourself up to allow the match to be important, then you will play at a higher level. This will make the victory sweeter, but it will also make the loss hurt more.
Even though it is the Championship, that is no excuse not to enjoy what you are doing. Basically, you should be having fun. If you enjoy what you are doing, then you will do it better - this is just human nature. If I did not enjoy being a volleyball coach, they I would not be a very good volleyball coach.
Each of these things that I have listed above, will also make a significant positive impression upon those College Coaches that are evaluating you. Focus, technique, being positive and playing with emotion are all things that College Coaches look for when considering athletes for their program. The Championship is the absolute best place to illustrate to your future coach, that you are a great volleyball player.
Good luck and have fun!
In terms of how these championships are viewed by the College Volleyball Coaches, there is really no difference - we just want to recruit volleyball players. In a perfect world, these events would be held in Honolulu or Miami so I could go to the beach at the end of the wave (no pun intended). For College Coaches, I feel the championship events have lost a bit of the relevance in the recruiting process.
The 18's class has long been committed and College Coaches are making courtesy stops on the court to watch their incoming class (the non-flattering term is baby sitting). The 17's class is maybe 1/4 to 1/2 done with its commitments, and College Coaches know who they want to come to their schools. With this group, the coaches are trying to spend as much time as possible on each offered Prospective Student-Athlete's court. There is really not much evaluating going on with this group, it is just more 'face time' for the player and parents. The 16's group is probably where most of the scouting and building of the recruiting database is happening. One of the down sides of the very early recruiting commitment cycle is that many College Coaches are doing a best guess on a player's ability.
I have always found that there is a huge jump in the ability of college level PSA's from the 16's to the 17's club year. Of course, the Alex Klinemans and Beth Hodges of the volleyball world are an easy pick for a great future college player; but for the rest of the junior level players, this one year is the separation year. This is the physical development time frame of the players; where the future Division I college players separate themselves from everyone else. I will routinely mark a number of 16's level players for our recruiting database; players who I feel could have the ability to mature into a NCAA Division I volleyball player. Then, come the next club season, it is easy to see who has elevated their ability and who has leveled out.
The current recruiting trend of securing commitments from 16 year olds is a bit unnerving because College Coaches are making offers before I believe the physical and volleyball development of a PSA has entered the critical year. Unfortunately we are seeing a number of 'de-commits' and an even larger number of freshman year college transfers because of too early commitments. I have yet to offer a 16 year old and unless there is an absolute stallion of a player that is beating down my university's door, I don't plan on offering a PSA who just got their driver's license.
How does this relate to a current club player? Well, for simplicity's sake, we will skip over the 18's level and those 17's age that have accepted an offer or have a few offers on the table.
We must remember that this is the Championship season. This is the part of the year that goes into the record book and the culmination of a lot of time and energy. Can you remember how you did in the first tournament or the fourth or the Holiday Round-Up tourney? You will remember how you did at the Championship.
Focus is probably the number one piece of advice that I can provide. Now is the time for focus - on every match, on every game and on every play. This is the one tournament, when losing a tie breaker to go to the Gold Medal round, because you lost a points for versus points against calculation will really sting. Every play in important - Don't 'play' your way into the match - be prepared to play hard even before the first whistle.
Positive attitude is a key component to Championship success. If you stay positive with your body language, in your conversations with team mates and with your opponents, then good things will happen. I know that sounds a little cosmic feel good, but I have just seen it come true too many times to doubt good karma. Don't get negative if you are struggling in a match - that happens; focus on lifting up your teammates by not getting down on yourself. Don't become critical of a team mate who is having a terrible match - they are not doing it on purpose and if you give them the stink eye, that is just not going to help.
Remember good technique - Good technique is reliable and will not falter during a pressure situation. Don't get fancy, don't be lazy with things that you know should be done a certain way. Rally score volleyball games are won by those teams that make the least amount of mistakes, not those teams that make the most great plays. If you make sure that you are using good technique, then you will make less mistakes - you may not make as many great plays, but good technique will pave the way to team victory.
Invest emotionally - This is one area that I think American players are getting 'beat' by international players. A criticism of Club Volleyball has always been that maybe too many matches are being played. This means that since there is always another match coming up or by the end of a tournament, most players are fried, kids have a very short term emotional memory; the system conditions them not to emotionally invest in matches. International players of the same age, seldom, if ever, play more than one match a day - most 'tournaments' last a month. Because of this, international players take these opportunities very seriously from an emotional perspective. They sincerely celebrate the victories and they cry when they lose - they are emotionally invested. I believe that if you emotionally invest in a match, if you open yourself up to allow the match to be important, then you will play at a higher level. This will make the victory sweeter, but it will also make the loss hurt more.
Even though it is the Championship, that is no excuse not to enjoy what you are doing. Basically, you should be having fun. If you enjoy what you are doing, then you will do it better - this is just human nature. If I did not enjoy being a volleyball coach, they I would not be a very good volleyball coach.
Each of these things that I have listed above, will also make a significant positive impression upon those College Coaches that are evaluating you. Focus, technique, being positive and playing with emotion are all things that College Coaches look for when considering athletes for their program. The Championship is the absolute best place to illustrate to your future coach, that you are a great volleyball player.
Good luck and have fun!
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Summer off-season Volleyball
In today's world of volleyball, the summer "off-season" is not really off anymore. It used to be given that the summer months were a time to let the body rest, recharge the competitive juices, get a job and enjoy the lazy days of summer. Back in the good old days, coaches would hope/expect that the players would stay in shape and not do anything unintelligent that could cause an injury.
Expectations and demands, for many different levels of volleyball, have certainly changed. High school volleyball, maybe because of the start time of the season, has come to expect attendance of multiple individual camps, along with a team camp. With the addition of summer physical conditioning, it makes for a very busy off-season.
Club Volleyball has grown to such a degree, that the players will not really have an off-season. Examine the calendar for most high school age Club Volleyball players - High School Volleyball starts in early August and continues until just before Thanksgiving (if you are in a state the values the sport). Before the high school season has finished, club tryouts have occurred (and I am now hearing of club tryouts in late July!), then multi-week training begins immediately upon the completion of the high school season. Club Volleyball will run from November to the last week of June/first week of July - an eight to nine month season!!! Amazing. This means the "off-season" is July - but, with the High School Volleyball routine; it is time for camps.
College Volleyball can have more of an off-season because of NCAA rules, but this down time is quickly disappearing for many players. When I was coaching professionally, I had a conversation with one of my players, who had just graduated from a top 5 NCAA program. I was curious to see what their 'off-season' program entailed and according to the player, there was no off-season. Since this program was in a power conference, they had the funding to provide full summer school scholarships for all their athletes and demanded that each player stay on campus for all summer school sessions. According to her information, the team worked out 6 days a week and played 2 days a week all summer. With the gap between the end of the last summer school session and the beginning of pre-season training, they had 5 days of an "off-season".
This is an unique example simply because not every NCAA program has the resources to provide full summer school scholarships for each player and not every coach has the philosophy of constant training. But, this is a current trend in college volleyball - micromanaging the summer months. I believe this is an influence which college basketball has had upon college volleyball. For many, many years, men's and women's basketball have fully funded the summer scholarship to ensure and demand that the players remain on campus and play basketball. To my disappointment, too many Athletic Directors have turned a blind eye to NCAA violations that occur within this segment of time - mandatory training attendance, observed pick-up games, individual trainings, attendance taken, reservation of athletic facilities, etc. When I had casually asked one of my previous administrators about such situations, I was told that this was just basketball's summer training; i.e., it is basketball and they can do it if they want.
I guess my bigger disappointment is hearing of college volleyball coaches following this trend - demanding that players stay on campus for summer school, requiring attendance at all work out sessions and reprimanding those athletes that miss a work out and mandatory open gym attendance. Ultimately I believe that intrinsic motivation is better than extrinsic and trying to recruit and develop this self determination is a better philosophy. For me, the incremental gains in physical strength and even smaller incremental gains in ability are not worth the risk of individual player burn-out and kids just getting tired of each other. What volleyball coaches don't see with basketball players is their all too common loss of love for the game.
Over the years, I have moved away from the desire to focus on lifting for the summer and more into a combination of healthy workouts and/or playing volleyball. It is no secret in college volleyball that coastal California players tend to be at the upper levels of ability in our sport. Sure, there are elite level players that have never spent a day in Redondo Beach (just look at our current national team), but coastal California produces so many quality volleyball players. This is one reason that you find so many "no-name" colleges and universities (by no-name, I reference how these schools would be viewed by non-volleyball people outside of the west coast) that produce very good volleyball programs. Santa Clara, Cal Poly, Sacramento State, San Diego, UCSB, UC Irvine and many more, all are talented and accomplished volleyball programs that routinely beat the "name-brand" schools of the mid-west and east coast of the United States.
Why? Is it the sunshine, the avocados, the smog? I believe it is as simple as volleyball being a part of the community. By being part of the community, young and old players have the opportunity to play volleyball at many places and all year long. In Laguna Beach, young female players have the chance to play beach volleyball against old male players that are a wealth of experience, professional female players that don't mind having a warm-up game against some younger kids and against their peers for pure competition. In El Cajon, the players can go to open gyms at the high schools and recreations centers to play against any and all comers of abilities. And both of these examples happen all year long - not just during the summer. It is an unique experience in volleyball that any person, of any gender, of any age can realistically find a place to just play volleyball.
To a similar degree, we see this type of opportunity and community support in international volleyball. Again, this is probably why there are so many good international players. I understand that some college volleyball folks are not supportive of international players, but the ones that are coming over to the USA to play are the C level players. The A level players are in the respective national team programs and the the B level players are playing professionally. By international standards, only the average players are coming to the USA to play. Like California, countries such as Germany, France, Brazil, Serbia, etc. all support volleyball (men's and women's) and because of this support there are many varied opportunities for anyone to just play volleyball. Of course, Brazil has the beaches that we all know about, but you would be surprised to know that in Europe, as soon as the weather gets warm enough, the different cities immediately build multiple sand volleyball courts that stay up all summer for people to just play volleyball.
The other thing that I have observed, when examining the volleyball culture in California and internationally, is the importance of fitness over strength. I think too many college programs are unduly influenced by the Football lifting mentality. I have come to believe that speed is more important than strength and that playing is more important than training. In a broad statement, the California players are playing volleyball more and exercising more than non-California players. It is not uncommon to hear kids asking when they are meeting at the beach or the gym to play, and what they are doing to work out - running, cycling, stairs, etc. The strength coaches put an emphasis on explosion and reload, versus static weight pushing.
The weight training facilities of international teams and non-football sponsoring California schools are a shadow of what the NCAA Division I football schools have in place. Having played overseas and recruited internationally, the lifting routines are almost comical when compared to the USA - but what is not funny, is how much better the international players are when placed against USA players. Like the California kids, the international players play more volleyball because they have the opportunities to play. Playing and staying in good physical condition through a proper diet and exercise are the priority, not gaining enough strength to power clean a Volkswagen.
In my world, the best thing we can do as coaches to provide playing opportunities and positively encourage physical fitness - not demand lifting and mandating play. College coaches would do better to allocate funds towards the building of a couple of quality sand volleyball courts than mandate lifting. For me, I would trade a daily 1 hour lifting session for a daily 1 hour beach volleyball session. The volleyball play will burn calories, strengthen the volleyball muscles and improve the volleyball abilities of players. The same thing can be applied to high school programs - instead of arranging for summer lifting sessions, arrange for summer playing sessions.
Along the same avenue, I would rather have my players run, cycle, stair climb, etc. for one hour rather than lift for one hour during the summer. Most of the time, the summer lifting sessions are not monitored as closely as during the school year and the corresponding the gains will not be as big; this is more pronounced when the player is lifting away from campus. When players report for pre-season, they can be very strong but also out of shape. Many kids can squat or bench press personal bests, but will become seriously fatigued during an explode and reload training session. Small injuries happen (sprains, strains, pulls) from conditioning being poor rather than strength being poor. The mind is saying "go", but the cardiovascular system is saying "no".
In a perfect summer work out environment, my players would be able to have a quick lifting session that focuses on core strength and large muscle groups, a conditioning time that developes speed and endurance and many opportunities to just play volleyball. But having this trifecta available is tough and too many coaches have tended to overdo the lifting segment. Lifting is great, but if a team can't pass, then nothing they did in the weight room will matter come November.
Encourage your players to be like Cali kids - play volleyball and work out. Encourage this by reminding them that they don't need anything to go for a run, they can always find some place to climb stairs, push-ups and sit-ups still work, they can return to their club teams to play volleyball or find a grass volleyball tournament or man made beach court somewhere. The International kids play volleyball year round, but is a low key, year round existence that keeps things positive and fresh.
Expectations and demands, for many different levels of volleyball, have certainly changed. High school volleyball, maybe because of the start time of the season, has come to expect attendance of multiple individual camps, along with a team camp. With the addition of summer physical conditioning, it makes for a very busy off-season.
Club Volleyball has grown to such a degree, that the players will not really have an off-season. Examine the calendar for most high school age Club Volleyball players - High School Volleyball starts in early August and continues until just before Thanksgiving (if you are in a state the values the sport). Before the high school season has finished, club tryouts have occurred (and I am now hearing of club tryouts in late July!), then multi-week training begins immediately upon the completion of the high school season. Club Volleyball will run from November to the last week of June/first week of July - an eight to nine month season!!! Amazing. This means the "off-season" is July - but, with the High School Volleyball routine; it is time for camps.
College Volleyball can have more of an off-season because of NCAA rules, but this down time is quickly disappearing for many players. When I was coaching professionally, I had a conversation with one of my players, who had just graduated from a top 5 NCAA program. I was curious to see what their 'off-season' program entailed and according to the player, there was no off-season. Since this program was in a power conference, they had the funding to provide full summer school scholarships for all their athletes and demanded that each player stay on campus for all summer school sessions. According to her information, the team worked out 6 days a week and played 2 days a week all summer. With the gap between the end of the last summer school session and the beginning of pre-season training, they had 5 days of an "off-season".
This is an unique example simply because not every NCAA program has the resources to provide full summer school scholarships for each player and not every coach has the philosophy of constant training. But, this is a current trend in college volleyball - micromanaging the summer months. I believe this is an influence which college basketball has had upon college volleyball. For many, many years, men's and women's basketball have fully funded the summer scholarship to ensure and demand that the players remain on campus and play basketball. To my disappointment, too many Athletic Directors have turned a blind eye to NCAA violations that occur within this segment of time - mandatory training attendance, observed pick-up games, individual trainings, attendance taken, reservation of athletic facilities, etc. When I had casually asked one of my previous administrators about such situations, I was told that this was just basketball's summer training; i.e., it is basketball and they can do it if they want.
I guess my bigger disappointment is hearing of college volleyball coaches following this trend - demanding that players stay on campus for summer school, requiring attendance at all work out sessions and reprimanding those athletes that miss a work out and mandatory open gym attendance. Ultimately I believe that intrinsic motivation is better than extrinsic and trying to recruit and develop this self determination is a better philosophy. For me, the incremental gains in physical strength and even smaller incremental gains in ability are not worth the risk of individual player burn-out and kids just getting tired of each other. What volleyball coaches don't see with basketball players is their all too common loss of love for the game.
Over the years, I have moved away from the desire to focus on lifting for the summer and more into a combination of healthy workouts and/or playing volleyball. It is no secret in college volleyball that coastal California players tend to be at the upper levels of ability in our sport. Sure, there are elite level players that have never spent a day in Redondo Beach (just look at our current national team), but coastal California produces so many quality volleyball players. This is one reason that you find so many "no-name" colleges and universities (by no-name, I reference how these schools would be viewed by non-volleyball people outside of the west coast) that produce very good volleyball programs. Santa Clara, Cal Poly, Sacramento State, San Diego, UCSB, UC Irvine and many more, all are talented and accomplished volleyball programs that routinely beat the "name-brand" schools of the mid-west and east coast of the United States.
Why? Is it the sunshine, the avocados, the smog? I believe it is as simple as volleyball being a part of the community. By being part of the community, young and old players have the opportunity to play volleyball at many places and all year long. In Laguna Beach, young female players have the chance to play beach volleyball against old male players that are a wealth of experience, professional female players that don't mind having a warm-up game against some younger kids and against their peers for pure competition. In El Cajon, the players can go to open gyms at the high schools and recreations centers to play against any and all comers of abilities. And both of these examples happen all year long - not just during the summer. It is an unique experience in volleyball that any person, of any gender, of any age can realistically find a place to just play volleyball.
To a similar degree, we see this type of opportunity and community support in international volleyball. Again, this is probably why there are so many good international players. I understand that some college volleyball folks are not supportive of international players, but the ones that are coming over to the USA to play are the C level players. The A level players are in the respective national team programs and the the B level players are playing professionally. By international standards, only the average players are coming to the USA to play. Like California, countries such as Germany, France, Brazil, Serbia, etc. all support volleyball (men's and women's) and because of this support there are many varied opportunities for anyone to just play volleyball. Of course, Brazil has the beaches that we all know about, but you would be surprised to know that in Europe, as soon as the weather gets warm enough, the different cities immediately build multiple sand volleyball courts that stay up all summer for people to just play volleyball.
The other thing that I have observed, when examining the volleyball culture in California and internationally, is the importance of fitness over strength. I think too many college programs are unduly influenced by the Football lifting mentality. I have come to believe that speed is more important than strength and that playing is more important than training. In a broad statement, the California players are playing volleyball more and exercising more than non-California players. It is not uncommon to hear kids asking when they are meeting at the beach or the gym to play, and what they are doing to work out - running, cycling, stairs, etc. The strength coaches put an emphasis on explosion and reload, versus static weight pushing.
The weight training facilities of international teams and non-football sponsoring California schools are a shadow of what the NCAA Division I football schools have in place. Having played overseas and recruited internationally, the lifting routines are almost comical when compared to the USA - but what is not funny, is how much better the international players are when placed against USA players. Like the California kids, the international players play more volleyball because they have the opportunities to play. Playing and staying in good physical condition through a proper diet and exercise are the priority, not gaining enough strength to power clean a Volkswagen.
In my world, the best thing we can do as coaches to provide playing opportunities and positively encourage physical fitness - not demand lifting and mandating play. College coaches would do better to allocate funds towards the building of a couple of quality sand volleyball courts than mandate lifting. For me, I would trade a daily 1 hour lifting session for a daily 1 hour beach volleyball session. The volleyball play will burn calories, strengthen the volleyball muscles and improve the volleyball abilities of players. The same thing can be applied to high school programs - instead of arranging for summer lifting sessions, arrange for summer playing sessions.
Along the same avenue, I would rather have my players run, cycle, stair climb, etc. for one hour rather than lift for one hour during the summer. Most of the time, the summer lifting sessions are not monitored as closely as during the school year and the corresponding the gains will not be as big; this is more pronounced when the player is lifting away from campus. When players report for pre-season, they can be very strong but also out of shape. Many kids can squat or bench press personal bests, but will become seriously fatigued during an explode and reload training session. Small injuries happen (sprains, strains, pulls) from conditioning being poor rather than strength being poor. The mind is saying "go", but the cardiovascular system is saying "no".
In a perfect summer work out environment, my players would be able to have a quick lifting session that focuses on core strength and large muscle groups, a conditioning time that developes speed and endurance and many opportunities to just play volleyball. But having this trifecta available is tough and too many coaches have tended to overdo the lifting segment. Lifting is great, but if a team can't pass, then nothing they did in the weight room will matter come November.
Encourage your players to be like Cali kids - play volleyball and work out. Encourage this by reminding them that they don't need anything to go for a run, they can always find some place to climb stairs, push-ups and sit-ups still work, they can return to their club teams to play volleyball or find a grass volleyball tournament or man made beach court somewhere. The International kids play volleyball year round, but is a low key, year round existence that keeps things positive and fresh.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Title IX Lawsuit at U. of Tennessee Martin
There is an equity and discrimination lawsuit that has been filed by the former coach at U. of Tennessee Martin. You can read the actual court filed document here.
I had heard about such a lawsuit via the professional rumors, but I did not know the details until taking time to read through the court documents. Before going into my opinion, I would like to applaud Coach Draper for having the courage to not go quietly into the night. Regardless of how this lawsuit turns out, regardless about the facts and who may be right or wrong, it takes individuals who have a conviction that they and the sport of volleyball deserve better treatment. If it is an unfounded lawsuit, then the plaintiff will pay the financial and professional costs.
After reading the details contained within the court papers, this will be an interesting trail. We must remember that we are only hearing one side of the story - a story volleyball coaches are sympathetic too, but still just one side.
By a casual reading, many of the program negatives that Coach Draper illustrates are all too common within Women's College Volleyball - unequal staffing, sub par facilities, unequal access to facilities, false promises, etc. Should these accusations be correct, I hope that improvements are provided for the volleyball program and restitution for Coach Draper. A victory within this section of the lawsuit could go a long ways towards helping other programs which continue to suffer from these inequities. All too often, it takes the threat of a lawsuit or an actual lawsuit to bring relief.
Some of the other court paper examples trying to support the lawsuit may be a bit tougher to classify as discriminatory - not being complimented for a good season, getting the cold shoulder, Athletic Director involvement with players and families, etc. This could just be a personality conflict between the Athletic Director(s) and a coach. Unless you are the men's basketball coach or football coach, you will always lose this battle.
The retaliatory aspect of the personality conflicts do carry the potential for discrimination. By not following established university policies, by not fulfilling the terms of the employment agreement and by holding the coach to a different standard than her male peers, the athletic department treads upon the grounds of discrimination. Again, we are only hearing one side of the story.
I believe that the recent lawsuits in Women's College Volleyball (Fresno, Florida Gulf Coast and UT Martin) are similar to what women's basketball went through a number of years ago. Back then, a few coaches reinforced their demands for equality by bringing Title IX and discrimination lawsuits. Without a doubt, these lawsuits, along with the proactive nature of the women's college basketball coaches association have elevated women's basketball to the premier women's college sport and the envy of all sports, save two.
Within all of this, there is something that has been overlooked - football, men's basketball and women's basketball coaches rarely file lawsuits. Each of these three sports have multi-year contracts, with specific severance clauses. Out of professional respect and the threat of a lawsuit, when a coach is relieved of their position; either through lack of success or personality conflict, this coach receives a significant severance package. If these coaches were walking away from positions empty handed, you can be absolutely sure that lawsuits would be filed.
That may well be the most important item we as college volleyball coaches have overlooked - the safety net. Volleyball coaches do not have one - the other NCAA Head Count sports enjoy a very large net. The reality is that very few coaches leave programs on their own terms, in any sport. The difference is when the big three leave, even when they retire, they depart with their pockets full. Without bringing up specific individuals, think about how many big three sport head coaches have make serious personal and professional mistakes that led to the ending of their employment, but still walked away with substantial monies.
What women's basketball accomplished by their demands for equity was a safety net. Until volleyball coaches make termination more expensive than severance packages, we will have no safety net. Right now, it is just a simple business decision for an AD to not provide a comparable severance package. Either because of a personality conflict or lack of program success, the Athletic Directors are able terminate volleyball coaches with very little cost. Too many coaches are on employment letters or one year contracts, which may be just at-will employment agreements.
If a volleyball coach has engaged in systematic and major NCAA rules violations, committed a crime or behaved in demonstrated way detrimental to the health and welfare of the student-athletes, then they should be terminated for cause and receive no compensation. But, until more coaches have the spirit to step up and demand better treatment, volleyball coaches will continue to be relieved of their positions and exit campus with nothing more than memories.
I had heard about such a lawsuit via the professional rumors, but I did not know the details until taking time to read through the court documents. Before going into my opinion, I would like to applaud Coach Draper for having the courage to not go quietly into the night. Regardless of how this lawsuit turns out, regardless about the facts and who may be right or wrong, it takes individuals who have a conviction that they and the sport of volleyball deserve better treatment. If it is an unfounded lawsuit, then the plaintiff will pay the financial and professional costs.
After reading the details contained within the court papers, this will be an interesting trail. We must remember that we are only hearing one side of the story - a story volleyball coaches are sympathetic too, but still just one side.
By a casual reading, many of the program negatives that Coach Draper illustrates are all too common within Women's College Volleyball - unequal staffing, sub par facilities, unequal access to facilities, false promises, etc. Should these accusations be correct, I hope that improvements are provided for the volleyball program and restitution for Coach Draper. A victory within this section of the lawsuit could go a long ways towards helping other programs which continue to suffer from these inequities. All too often, it takes the threat of a lawsuit or an actual lawsuit to bring relief.
Some of the other court paper examples trying to support the lawsuit may be a bit tougher to classify as discriminatory - not being complimented for a good season, getting the cold shoulder, Athletic Director involvement with players and families, etc. This could just be a personality conflict between the Athletic Director(s) and a coach. Unless you are the men's basketball coach or football coach, you will always lose this battle.
The retaliatory aspect of the personality conflicts do carry the potential for discrimination. By not following established university policies, by not fulfilling the terms of the employment agreement and by holding the coach to a different standard than her male peers, the athletic department treads upon the grounds of discrimination. Again, we are only hearing one side of the story.
I believe that the recent lawsuits in Women's College Volleyball (Fresno, Florida Gulf Coast and UT Martin) are similar to what women's basketball went through a number of years ago. Back then, a few coaches reinforced their demands for equality by bringing Title IX and discrimination lawsuits. Without a doubt, these lawsuits, along with the proactive nature of the women's college basketball coaches association have elevated women's basketball to the premier women's college sport and the envy of all sports, save two.
Within all of this, there is something that has been overlooked - football, men's basketball and women's basketball coaches rarely file lawsuits. Each of these three sports have multi-year contracts, with specific severance clauses. Out of professional respect and the threat of a lawsuit, when a coach is relieved of their position; either through lack of success or personality conflict, this coach receives a significant severance package. If these coaches were walking away from positions empty handed, you can be absolutely sure that lawsuits would be filed.
That may well be the most important item we as college volleyball coaches have overlooked - the safety net. Volleyball coaches do not have one - the other NCAA Head Count sports enjoy a very large net. The reality is that very few coaches leave programs on their own terms, in any sport. The difference is when the big three leave, even when they retire, they depart with their pockets full. Without bringing up specific individuals, think about how many big three sport head coaches have make serious personal and professional mistakes that led to the ending of their employment, but still walked away with substantial monies.
What women's basketball accomplished by their demands for equity was a safety net. Until volleyball coaches make termination more expensive than severance packages, we will have no safety net. Right now, it is just a simple business decision for an AD to not provide a comparable severance package. Either because of a personality conflict or lack of program success, the Athletic Directors are able terminate volleyball coaches with very little cost. Too many coaches are on employment letters or one year contracts, which may be just at-will employment agreements.
If a volleyball coach has engaged in systematic and major NCAA rules violations, committed a crime or behaved in demonstrated way detrimental to the health and welfare of the student-athletes, then they should be terminated for cause and receive no compensation. But, until more coaches have the spirit to step up and demand better treatment, volleyball coaches will continue to be relieved of their positions and exit campus with nothing more than memories.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Juniors - Don't Panic. Seniors - Panic!!
With June upon us, unsigned Seniors need to be making some tough decisions and working very hard to secure a college roster position. Juniors still have plenty of time and do not need to get caught up in the false pressure of finding a school.
Seniors: Statistically speaking, all the Division I scholarship spots are gone - Yes, there may be just a couple left, but chasing them will be a poor use of time. Division II, while funded as a combination of athletic, academic and merit/need based scholarships is in the same position - the scholarship spots are gone. While I don't know as much about Division III, I would think with the academic slant of these member schools, the challenge would be to gain acceptance to the institutions because of the date. This late in the process, there are two avenues left - Scholarship and Non-scholarship.
If you must have a scholarship to attend college (this is a reality for many folks - the parents make too much to obtain need based scholarships, but not enough to pay for college), then Junior Colleges and NAIA schools must be your focus. Junior Colleges will continue to recruit right up to the beginning of their training and because of they way they are funded, many schools have substantial scholarship support available this late in the process. With NAIA schools, the funding tends to be a bit more scattered, as each school determines the value of volleyball and funds to that value. Some NAIA schools have been done recruiting for months, while others will stay active right through the summer.
With both JC's and NAIA schools, the key is to be aggressive in your efforts to promote yourself. You should be sending out e-mails to any and all JC's and NAIA schools that you feel could meet your needs. Go to www.njcaa.org and www.naia.org to get the complete list of schools that sponsor women's volleyball. Make sure that you either embed a playing clip or link to a playing/skills clip in your e-mail or you are able send our some video ASAP. There are still scholarship spots available with NAIA/JC programs and this must be where your efforts are directed, not at finding the needle in the haystack with a NCAA program. The great thing about JC's is that you still have the opportunity of going to the NCAA level and being prepared with two years of playing experience and academic units in the bank.
If you don't need scholarship support and want to play college volleyball at the NCAA level, then you would be looking at being a Walk-On student-athlete. For men's volleyball, a great number of players are walk-on student-athletes because the NCAA only allows 4 scholarships per team (which can be divided). If you are pursuing a walk-on position, you must make absolutely sure that your selection of a team is based on the school. Academics are going to take up the majority of your day and will provide the avenue that may well bring you the most fulfillment.
Being a walk-on can be tough because of the dynamics of NCAA athletics. By and large, you will just be a practice player and not someone who gets a bunch of playing time in practice. Most NCAA conferences have a limit on the number of players that can travel for matches (as do schools for non-league matches). In addition, the reality is that a scholarship player will be given the first chance in practice and match situations before a walk-on. As tough as this sounds, the program has made an investment in the scholarship player, thus wants to develop that player. A walk-on player is free and does not carry the pressure of a scholarship student-athlete. These real world examples should illustrate the importance of selecting your future home based on academics, not athletics.
That being said, the best way to secure a walk-on position this late in the recruiting cycle is very similar to if you were going after a scholarship: Contact attractive programs and get them your information along with a video tape/link. But, here is the main difference - Make sure they know immediately that you are looking to join the program as a walk-on. This statement immediately makes you attractive because you are cost free - if you are able to bring a strong academic background to the team, then you become even more attractive to the program. Many of the larger public state schools will be extremely selective in their walk-ons simply because they receive a lot of interest - I have been at schools where we had 10 quality volleyball players each year we said 'no' to just because we did not have any slots available. Just like when pursuing a scholarship, be aggressive in reaching out to those schools that fit your needs as a student.
There are tremendous advantages to being a walk-on student athlete; preferential enrollment, athlete only academic services, top flight strength and conditioning facilities, elite medical support and treatment, etc. The important thing is to go into a walk-on situation with your eyes wide open - you may not get a lot of repetitions in practice, you may not travel and you may not suit up for home matches, and you will be at the bottom on the totem pole. But, you do have your foot in the door and a great volleyball future could be yours for the making.
Juniors - Don't Panic. I understand that a few kids in your club have committed and that so and so from such and such a team got a scholarship and you are much, much better - I know these things because I hear and see them each year. Do not get caught up in the scholarship panic - there is time. Right now, the majority of college programs are in a bit of a slow period for a number of reasons - It is before Nationals and thus in the shoulder season of recruiting, most college budgets roll over June 1 or July 1, so the preceding months we have all been told by our AD's not to spend money, and many coaches may be rethinking their recruiting needs after spring season or having taken over a new position. Nationals (AAU or USAV) will allow coaches to re-evaluate the 09 class while finishing assembling the 10 database.
It is important to continue the dialogue with those programs which you have received contact from (which are a good fit for you), along with evaluating the need to contact a wider group of potential colleges. Hopefully you have been able to visit a few schools on your own this early summer or are planning to make visits after Nationals. While a number of scholarships have been accepted, I feel there are so many more that have not even been offered by this date. Stay active, ask direct questions and keep an open mind.
As a Junior, you are entering one of the greatest years of any ones life - The Senior Year of High School. Don't get too caught up in what you do not have control over and that is college coaches. Focus on what you can control - Your effort and intensity at Nationals, having a great learning experience at any volleyball camps you attend and gathering information about those schools that have shown an interest in you. Enjoy being a Senior in high school and all that brings with it - College will come soon enough.
Seniors: Statistically speaking, all the Division I scholarship spots are gone - Yes, there may be just a couple left, but chasing them will be a poor use of time. Division II, while funded as a combination of athletic, academic and merit/need based scholarships is in the same position - the scholarship spots are gone. While I don't know as much about Division III, I would think with the academic slant of these member schools, the challenge would be to gain acceptance to the institutions because of the date. This late in the process, there are two avenues left - Scholarship and Non-scholarship.
If you must have a scholarship to attend college (this is a reality for many folks - the parents make too much to obtain need based scholarships, but not enough to pay for college), then Junior Colleges and NAIA schools must be your focus. Junior Colleges will continue to recruit right up to the beginning of their training and because of they way they are funded, many schools have substantial scholarship support available this late in the process. With NAIA schools, the funding tends to be a bit more scattered, as each school determines the value of volleyball and funds to that value. Some NAIA schools have been done recruiting for months, while others will stay active right through the summer.
With both JC's and NAIA schools, the key is to be aggressive in your efforts to promote yourself. You should be sending out e-mails to any and all JC's and NAIA schools that you feel could meet your needs. Go to www.njcaa.org and www.naia.org to get the complete list of schools that sponsor women's volleyball. Make sure that you either embed a playing clip or link to a playing/skills clip in your e-mail or you are able send our some video ASAP. There are still scholarship spots available with NAIA/JC programs and this must be where your efforts are directed, not at finding the needle in the haystack with a NCAA program. The great thing about JC's is that you still have the opportunity of going to the NCAA level and being prepared with two years of playing experience and academic units in the bank.
If you don't need scholarship support and want to play college volleyball at the NCAA level, then you would be looking at being a Walk-On student-athlete. For men's volleyball, a great number of players are walk-on student-athletes because the NCAA only allows 4 scholarships per team (which can be divided). If you are pursuing a walk-on position, you must make absolutely sure that your selection of a team is based on the school. Academics are going to take up the majority of your day and will provide the avenue that may well bring you the most fulfillment.
Being a walk-on can be tough because of the dynamics of NCAA athletics. By and large, you will just be a practice player and not someone who gets a bunch of playing time in practice. Most NCAA conferences have a limit on the number of players that can travel for matches (as do schools for non-league matches). In addition, the reality is that a scholarship player will be given the first chance in practice and match situations before a walk-on. As tough as this sounds, the program has made an investment in the scholarship player, thus wants to develop that player. A walk-on player is free and does not carry the pressure of a scholarship student-athlete. These real world examples should illustrate the importance of selecting your future home based on academics, not athletics.
That being said, the best way to secure a walk-on position this late in the recruiting cycle is very similar to if you were going after a scholarship: Contact attractive programs and get them your information along with a video tape/link. But, here is the main difference - Make sure they know immediately that you are looking to join the program as a walk-on. This statement immediately makes you attractive because you are cost free - if you are able to bring a strong academic background to the team, then you become even more attractive to the program. Many of the larger public state schools will be extremely selective in their walk-ons simply because they receive a lot of interest - I have been at schools where we had 10 quality volleyball players each year we said 'no' to just because we did not have any slots available. Just like when pursuing a scholarship, be aggressive in reaching out to those schools that fit your needs as a student.
There are tremendous advantages to being a walk-on student athlete; preferential enrollment, athlete only academic services, top flight strength and conditioning facilities, elite medical support and treatment, etc. The important thing is to go into a walk-on situation with your eyes wide open - you may not get a lot of repetitions in practice, you may not travel and you may not suit up for home matches, and you will be at the bottom on the totem pole. But, you do have your foot in the door and a great volleyball future could be yours for the making.
Juniors - Don't Panic. I understand that a few kids in your club have committed and that so and so from such and such a team got a scholarship and you are much, much better - I know these things because I hear and see them each year. Do not get caught up in the scholarship panic - there is time. Right now, the majority of college programs are in a bit of a slow period for a number of reasons - It is before Nationals and thus in the shoulder season of recruiting, most college budgets roll over June 1 or July 1, so the preceding months we have all been told by our AD's not to spend money, and many coaches may be rethinking their recruiting needs after spring season or having taken over a new position. Nationals (AAU or USAV) will allow coaches to re-evaluate the 09 class while finishing assembling the 10 database.
It is important to continue the dialogue with those programs which you have received contact from (which are a good fit for you), along with evaluating the need to contact a wider group of potential colleges. Hopefully you have been able to visit a few schools on your own this early summer or are planning to make visits after Nationals. While a number of scholarships have been accepted, I feel there are so many more that have not even been offered by this date. Stay active, ask direct questions and keep an open mind.
As a Junior, you are entering one of the greatest years of any ones life - The Senior Year of High School. Don't get too caught up in what you do not have control over and that is college coaches. Focus on what you can control - Your effort and intensity at Nationals, having a great learning experience at any volleyball camps you attend and gathering information about those schools that have shown an interest in you. Enjoy being a Senior in high school and all that brings with it - College will come soon enough.
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