I started an indoor volleyball team this year in partnership with Ovations School For The Arts. While I love beach volleyball, the indoor version of the game is just as much fun!
I'm a work-at-home mom who along with my husband home schools our teenage son. I have many loves; playing volleyball is one of them. I began playing in middle school, went on to play in high school, where we won the state championship. I was a starter on that team. As a result, I got a full scholarship to play college volleyball. I have continued to play throughout my life, coaching middle, high school, and home school teams. Most recently, I coached a home school beach volleyball team, ran a summer beach volleyball camp, assisted the volleyball coaching staff at a local high school and started an indoor program. My goal is to build a volleyball program that gives players the chance to enhance their skills, learn to work together as a team, and most important, have fun.
My coaching style is
instructional, using humor and encouragement as motivational tools. I place a strong emphasis on good sportsmanship. My coaching style seeks to foster mutual respect between coach and player, as well as, between players, so we all can reach our potential in sports, as in life.
What is good sportsmanship?
Good sportsmanship is when teammates, opponents, coaches, parents, and officials treat each other with respect. Good sportsmanship includes both small gestures and heroic efforts. It starts with something as simple as shaking hands with opponents before and after a game, and includes acknowledging good plays made by others and accepting bad calls gracefully.
Here are 10 ways to show others what good sportsmanship is all about, as well as, some information on how having fun depends a lot on having respectful relationships.
1. Be responsible for your feelings and your actions. This includes coaches, parents and players. No teasing or taunting. Hurtful teasing and taunting are signs of hostility, doled out in a light-hearted way to add insult to injury. Bullying, whether it's physical or emotional, is a sign the person can't cope with his or her anger so he or she takes it out on someone else. There's nothing wrong with anger. It tells us a lot about ourselves. Learning how to manage anger, and not suppress it for long periods of time or take it out on others, is a healthy life skill that helps the team as a whole. My job as a coach is to draw healthy boundaries so that every player is treated with respect. If teasing or bullying or abuse of any kind occurs during practices or games, please let me know. Studies show shining a light on the problem helps decrease incidents. Being heard around the issue without blame or shame often helps resolve or dissipate the anger and hurt so a return to fun can and does occur. I will be happy to set aside time away from the team to do just that so that having fun and reaching one's potential remains the name of the game.
2. Tell your opponents "good luck" before a game, and "good game" afterwards, whether you win or lose.
3. Don't rub it in how good you think you are. Play your best. If you're good, people will notice.
4. Learn the rules of the game. Show up for practices and games on time.
5. Pay attention when I give instructions or demonstrate a skill. If you have a question or concern, speak up after the instruction or demonstration is over. If there is a day where that is impossible for you to do, take some time off the court to evaluate what's bothering you. Also, follow directions the best you can. If you aren't sure what to do, ask.
6. Don't argue with an official if you don't agree with his or her call. If you don't understand a certain call, ask me or the official to explain it to you. This is best done after the game. However, if there is a concern about the validity of a call in the moment, let me know and I will handle it. That's what coaches are for.
7. Don't make up excuses or blame a teammate when you lose. Learn from what happened.
8. Be willing to sit out so other team members can get in the game — even if you think you're a better player.
9. Play fair and don't cheat.
10. Cheer for your teammates even if the score is 24 to 1. You never know, the momentum can always change, and you could inspire a big comeback!
If you have trouble with any of these guidelines on what good sportsmanship looks like, please let me know. :)
Adapted from several web sites on good sportsmanship.
Resources
What does verbal, physical and psychological abuse look like in sports?
All abuse is debilitating for all involved, including the society as a whole. Unfortunately, abuses can occur in sports as they do in many other institutional organizations, such as the workplace, government, religious groups and the home. Specifically, abuse in sports, whether sexual or not, deters girls and boys, men and women, from participating and developing as athletes and human beings. (1)
The article below defines the types of abuses and gives examples of what each type of abuse looks like on the court, field or ice.
Maintaining awareness around this issue benefits us all. Offering a volleyball program that provides leadership and resources to help improve the physical, mental and emotional well-being of all boys and girls is one of my many passions.
Note: (1) From the Women's Sports Foundation's article on the issue of verbal, physical and psychological abuse.