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Today’s post is written by Randall Kreider, the Head Volleyball Coach at Elizabethtown College. I asked Randall to give me some info so that he could toot his own horn about his team, but he wouldn’t…but I will! His regionally ranked team won over twenty matches this season and almost ran the table in conference. He helped a player earn conference Player of the Year as well as an All-American nod. Want to know how he did it? Read on!
Maybe not frequently, but often enough to call it regularly, I’ll have a conversation with a parent, an opposing coach, or maybe even a player that invokes the word luck in relation to a volleyball match. Comments like, “Boy, you were lucky Sally stepped up when Suzie wasn’t playing well.” Or, “You were lucky your team was able to cover line so well tonight.” Most times I will simply smile and agree, but we’re pretty sure it’s not luck that’s involved here.
A quick internet search on “How to make your own luck” reveals a multitude of articles, books, blogs, and other items. Many of them point back to a Professor Richard Wiseman from the University of Hertfordshire in Britain. According to Professor Wiseman, author of The Luck Factor, only about 10% of life is purely random; the remaining 90% is defined by the way we think.
Professor Wiseman offers the following four principles, which I’ll use as a format on how you can make your team lucky.
· Principle One: Maximize Chance Opportunities
This sounds a lot like being in the right spot at the right time. But it’s more than that. On the volleyball court it can easily relate to know your opponent. If you know the team you’re playing has a tendency to rocket jump serves long, teach your team to protect the end line. Know the likelihood of what may happen in the future base on what the team has done in the past, and then prepare your team for that likelihood. Then, when you’re libero is perfectly positioned to pick up a thundering middle attack, it won’t be just luck.
· Principle Two: Listen to Lucky Hunches
Do not disregard your own intuition. In fact, Wiseman would say work to hone your intuition. Have you ever gone against your gut and then later wished you hadn’t? I think we all have. I’ll translate this to know your own team. The better you know your own team, the more in tune your hunches will be. I don’t recommend blindly following every thought you might have, some of my thoughts are pretty far-fetched. But when your gut is pointing you in a direction, often times you’ll be best served to follow. So get to know your team. Know not only who they are, but what they’re about, and how they respond to different situations. Be ready to make the move that feels right.
· Principle Three: Expect Good Fortune
To me, this is all about being positive. Be that coach with the smiling face. Be that coach giving encouragement. Be that coach that is expecting your team to win. Volleyball is a confidence sport; a team with confidence plays so much better! A few years back, we were playing a team that was much more talented than us. Midway through the match, after we had lost the first set, but were leading in the second, their coach began to get surly, began to “ride” the players and “get in their face” with negative comments. While I believed we had a good chance all along, it was at that moment I was sure we were going to win. What you believe, your players will also believe. So make sure you’re believing good thoughts and voicing them expressively.
· Principle Four: Turn Bad Luck Into Good
On the volleyball court, this means have a contingency plan. In fact, have several contingency plans and test them often in practice. We’re going to encounter our share of misfortune along the way. So, imagine such scenarios and develop plans to offset them. What if one of your primary passers can’t pass tonight. Or worse, what if your star pin hitter tweaks her ankle and is out for the match. What will you do? Imagine as many as you can and practice the practical ones. It’s not luck when a player off the bench is ready to go, or you focus on an alternative option.
There’s more to it, probably much more, but this is certainly enough to get you started. It will all boil down to this…if you know your opponent, know your team, stay visibly positive, and be prepared for as much as you can, then your team might start to look lucky. But we’ll all know, it’s not all luck, it’s good coaching.
Before I close, I’d like to thank Coach Dawn for her consistent posts, and allowing me to add one of my own. I am amazed at how well she plans them and simply keeps them coming. For me, so much of what she’s writing is right on target. Exactly what I would think, only she puts it into words so well. Keep reading Coach Dawn Writes!! There’s a ton of great stuff here.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Best of “luck” to you on the courts!
