As a coach, it is so easy to fall into routine and technical jargon. Those offer safety--and jargon sets up a wall that the uninitiated can't get through...you have to be an insider to understand, so you create a feeling of exclusivity (and superiority)--even though that's not really going to help you coach/teach better.
I always try and force my mind to work in new patterns. I was thinking about this recently reading about McCarthy, the Michigan QB who brushed his teeth and did grooming with his left hand rather than his right--to force his brain to work differently. I thought about it reading on Brock Purdy who completely reworked his throwing and thinking processes after being drafted but before showing up to the 49ers (McCarthy won an NCAA title, Purdy's in the Super Bowl...so it has worked for them)
A long time ago, when we were at the 2015 National Tournament, we were having fun--everyone else was WAY THE HELL TOO SERIOUS. We'd see that and for a second or two, my players would start to think they had to be that way as well--gotta put in the work for all 60 minutes of warmups (blah-blah-blah). I felt that before our first match--so for our second on and onwards, I only spoke in haikus when we were discussing our opponent and for pre-game stuff.
This forced me out of my routine and it amused the players to no end (I really should have written those down...). There was something else that mattered--it's easy to remember a scouting plan if it gets distilled down to a total of 17 syllables!
So for my personal growth--I do a lot of writing (you're reading my blog--so you know that already). Last year, I tried to write one poem per day. I failed--I got to ~290 though...I was happy with the effort. This year, I'm writing poems again--but I'm forcing myself to use poetry forms I've never written before--forcing my brain to work in new ways, hoping that it improves my writing and my critical thinking skills.
My VB poem is below. The form is a 'paradelle'--so the repetition of lines is part of that and lines 5/6 in the first stanzas only use words from the 1st/3rd lines. The last stanza?--nothing but words actually chosen for 5th/6th lines in the previous stanzas. It's the weirdest form I've worked with. Is it a great poem or form? Art is in the judgment of the reader, my friends.
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So what do you do to exercise your brain? Do you like crossword puzzles? How much do you read? Do you play other sports? Do you officiate? --because you aren't me...you don't have to write to do this. You have (God, I hope you do) other passions beyond volleyball. Applying them to VB will make you a better coach--and hopefully, the lessons VB teaches (to players and coaches) helps you succeed outside of the gym.
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Winning the 2015 Regional
All we need is just this one point
All we need is just this one point
Should I call the timeout now?
Should I call the timeout now?
Now! Just this one is all we need:
Timeout.
What am I going to say to them,
What am I going to say to them?
That we just need one good pass?
That we just need one good pass!
I say what we need
"Just one pass."
Oh, we look like we are going to win!
Oh! We look like we are going to win!
Our set is perfect, the hitter's swing impeccable,
Our set is perfect, the hitter's swing impeccable!
The hitter's perfect. Ohhhh!
We are going! We win!
Oh! Now I need a timeout,
Just one.
This is perfect.
We win. We.
We are going!
We—one.
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