How much does the recent performance of your team factor into how eager you are for the next match to come?

Let me put that another way.

If your team has been winning, are you eager for the next match? What if your team lost the last match? Would you like the next one to come a bit more slowly so you can get more training in?

This is something that came to mind very acutely when I coached in Sweden. My Svedala team won its first 8 matches – 5 in pre-season and then the first 3 official matches. I found myself quite eager for the next match to come. We lost our first match the next time out, and I found myself after that not so eager.

To be fair, I think part of my eagerness was the specific opponent. Maybe too much, as I talked about here. Our three official matches offered only a few challenges. That fourth match was against the defending Swedish champs with a particularly strong attacker who gave us some trouble when we played them in preseason. They were up and down up to that point, so it was hard to judge what kind of performance we’d see from them.

Have you had a similar experience?

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John Forman
John Forman

John is currently the Talent Strategy Manager (oversees the national teams) and Indoor Performance Director for Volleyball England, as well as Global Director for Volleyball for Nation Academy. His volleyball coaching experience includes all three NCAA divisions, plus Junior College, in the US; university and club teams in the UK; professional coaching in Sweden; and both coaching and club management at the Juniors level. He's also been a visiting coach at national team, professional club, and juniors programs in several countries. Learn more on his bio page.

Please share your own ideas and opinions.