I came across the following on social media:
Here’s what people don’t understand about club volleyball.
Running lines isn’t punishment, it’s conditioning.
It’s discipline.
It’s responsibility.
It’s preparing athletes to compete when they’re tired… not when they’re comfortable.
Girls don’t lose matches because they can’t play.
They lose because they’re exhausted halfway through a tournament.
Loud coaching, conditioning, accountability, none of it is personal.
It’s intentional.
Because average teams don’t win.
And we’re not here to be average.
Be honest: Do you want a coach who prepares athletes… or one who avoids discomfort?
There’s a lot to unpack here.
I’m in total agreement about not avoiding discomfort. Our jobs as coaches in to push our athletes into places they aren’t comfortable (yet).
Loud coaching, conditioning, and accountability aren’t inherently personal – that’s true. Though they can get personal when coaches make decisions based on their own emotions rather than what’s best for the athlete(s).
I get the point, but the whole thing about average is kind of nonsensical. Of course average teams win. By definition, they win some and they lose some. Saying you’re not about being average belies the fact that necessarily some teams have to be average – or at least closer to average than to either high or low performers. And, of course, average depends on the population included.
While it’s true that teams lose because of player fatigue, this is only one of many potential contributing factors – most definitely including them not being able to play as well as the other team(s). You can be the best-conditioned team out there, but if your players aren’t as good at volleyball as the ones on the other team, you’re almost certainly going to lose. And if you’re the better team, generally it takes less energy and effort to win – so less conditioning required.
Finally, if running lines is a consequence for something negative (letting a ball drop, losing a game, etc.) then that is, in fact, punishment.
As for running lines prepares players to compete when fatigued, I’d prefer that fatigue to come from having done volleyball stuff. That ensures we develop the right energy systems the game and means I don’t take time away from developing them as volleyball players to do stuff I could do off-court.
I’m definitely not opposed to conditioning, accountability, discipline, etc. I just prefer to condition through volleyball to the extent possible, and to develop the other things more in-context
6 Steps to Better Practices - Free Guide
Subscribe to my weekly newsletter today and get this free guide to making your practices the best, along with loads more coaching tips and information.
