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

It’s been a little bit since my last log entry that included the women. With the team set to have its first practice session of the semester tomorrow morning, I figured it was time to catch you up on things.

Player stuff

We ended last term with 8 players on the roster. One of them is going entirely remote from back home in Ohio because of hip surgery, which she recently had. Another recently opted to focus on her job this semester, but is looking to return in the Fall. We did add a walk-on, though. I’m not sure where her playing skills are, but we’ll find out soon enough.

Recruiting

No real updates there. We’re still on the 3 deposited commitments for ’21. Just hasn’t been a lot in the way of action in the last few weeks. It’s a bit frustrating. Lots of work left to do if we’re going to reach the target of 7 for this incoming class.

Scheduling

We’re just about done with our tentative 2021 Fall scheduling. There might be some tweaks here or there, but I think it’s mainly in place. We’ve got 3 weekend tournaments in September (including one we co-host), plus two midweeks. I haven’t been able to find something for the 4th weekend, but considering I added one in October when we have a gap in our conference schedule, it balances out.

In total it’s 22-23 matches, not counting post season.

The plan

Last week the players did initial covid testing. Over the course of this practice season we’ll have to test 25% of the group (including the coaches) each week. Tomorrow, Friday, and Sunday are our first three sessions. We’ll go about 90 minutes for each. Once they get their court legs back under them, we’ll extend out to 2-hour blocks.

As was the case with the men, during the first 7-day block we can only go on alternating days. Then, after that we can go 5 days per week. Because we’re no really going to be in-season, we won’t ever reach 6 days. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if the ladies want to trim things back at some point. We’ll be doing M/W/F 6:30-8:30AM, Thursday evening, plus Saturdays when the guys aren’t on the road.

I’m going to have some LOOONNNNGGGG days!

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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.

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