January 27, 2012

Pass - Set - Spike

1.  A College Coach's Newest paranoia - The Poison Pill.  That one Student-Athlete who looks innocent enough, but is so toxic that she can kill a season and a career.  You know, the player who is talented and says the right things to the coach, but behind their backs is talking trash, ripping team mates and complaining about everything; this SA turns the players who are mentally weak or indifferent into negative entities.  Too many good coaches, of good programs have talked about the Poison Pill, and it is a phenomenon which is insidious.  

2.  Bad new trend for NCAA Women's Volleyball - Athletic Directors are mandating that Volleyball teams carry a much larger roster, as to offset the number of walk ons in football.  This creates more work for the limited coaching staffs of volleyball, a hit to the budget (the budgets are not increased to offset the larger roster with regards to equipment and pre-season meals), and easily creates a negative team chemistry situation because no player wants to be considered just a number.  This was an issue at my last school, and I know a number of coaches who are also dealing with this demand.

3.  Two Requests, my VolleyFolk - 1)  Please keep sending me your Volleyball action and team chemistry photos from this club season;  a picture speaks a thousand words and I want to get more good photos for all to share!      2)  VolleyFamilies, please pass along the information about my Volleyball Road Camps to your respective high school coaches.  It is a challenge getting in contact with the various high schools, as I believe the number of high school coaches who read this site is limited.  I understand this is a bit self serving, but I also know that the Road Camp is a great way to get high quality summer touches in your gym. I appreciate your help!

9 comments:

  1. From my personal experience, I agree with #1 & #2 100%

    Had the same issues at my last school (and I'm still looking for another job)

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  2. Unfortunately, way, way and again, way too many college coaches are dealing with #1 and #2 (and I mean big name schools, not just Waxahachie State) and it makes for some bad career experiences.

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  3. We had the problem of the poison pill(s) on our team last year at Club. 2 players AND their parents - it was the worst year of volleyball we have ever had. I am surprised my daughter still even plays.....

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  4. Coach,

    At the beginning of this club season, the director told everyone to not be "the poison pill". And I really respect that, so far so good on our team. I am shocked that it is happening the the NCAA level. May be the parents never set good examples and it transfers to their daughters. It sure is not fair got the staff to deal with that kind of petty stuff. What a waste of time?

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  5. I believe that part of the recruiting process should include "reference checks" that go beyond the club coach. During the 2010 HS season a "poison pill" was on my daughter's team - and although the HS coach handled it well - and the player transfered to another HS for 2011 the PP was recruited by a state school. What was amazing was that this college did not circle back and talk to the previous HS coach or a 2010 teammate that was now on the college's VB team before they made their offer. In fact, the college coach was unaware of any of the issues - until my daughter politely informed the school that she would not be interested in being recruited by the school because this player would be on the team. Moral of the story Do your homework (reference checks!) PPs don't develop bad behavior overnight - and most likely have manifested this behavior throughout their club and HS carreers and with enough checking this will come to light so college coaches will know what they are getting in the recruit. As it is this state school now has a 2012 committed recruit that they knew nothing about until it was too late.

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  6. The challenge which collegiate coaches run into with 'reference checks' is two fold, 1) They shoot themselves in the foot because they are so anxious to commit PSA's early, that the do not take the time to research personality, 2) All too often, the Club coaches or Recruiting Directors are not going to be forthcoming about personality negatives because they are getting paid to serve the PSA.

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  7. That is true - however, a PP tends to move around between clubs and in this case high schools. Don't just check with the current coach but dig a bit deeper. When I'm doing checks on job applicants I always go beyond the current employer who may have a vested interest in moving the employee along. The 2010 HS coach was not even contacted even though they were recruiting a 2011 graduate!

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  8. Agree with you coach. When clubs have their players being recruited, all they want is to use that to make more money by attracting more younger players. They won't say anything because they want to be known as the club that has the most recruits.

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  9. Oh, the problems of the PP! My daughter's team had two of them in her last season. (Interestingly enough, both came from the same private high school that is always in the hunt for the state title.) I remember being at one of the last tournaments when the two were next to each other in the back row, and they often just stood there looking at each other while a reachable ball came flying over the net. One of the dad's from the other team gave me a stunned look, and I just told him that had been going on all season. Everybody was glad when the season drew to a close, even though the poor chemistry knocked what should have been a good team way down in the regional rankings.

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