This is an entry in my volleyball coaching log for the 2020-21 season.

Back at it for a second week of practice. But first some drama.

On Tuesday I heard from our academic coordinator that she needed to do meetings with student-athletes who were not keeping up with their study hall requirements. One of the guys hasn’t turned in his hours in maybe a month, and has otherwise been completely out of touch. I was not, therefore, surprised by what happened next. Very shortly after I emailed him about the academic thing he posted in the GroupMe, “I quit”.

As much as it wasn’t a surprise, I can’t call it a welcome development. He wasn’t any kind of problem. Plus, with already low numbers it potentially puts us in a difficult positional situation.

Wednesday

Wait! More drama.

During the afternoon I got word we had to shut down athletic activities as of Thursday. We were still allowed to get in the last session, but only four guys were available. Two guys were out because of work and one was dealing with a potential covid situation. So I basically just let them play doubles for an hour.

Actually, we did get some work in at the end on our offensive tempo priority. Two of the guys in the session – one MB, one OPP – missed Saturday’s session where we worked on setter-out situations. So we did some reps of the libero taking second ball and going either 31(ish) or a more second tempo ball to 2. I posted some video to both Facebook and Twitter.

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.

No spam ever. Unsubscribe at any time. Powered by ConvertKit

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.