I originally purchased an iPad just to aide my volleyball coaching. Granted, there are so many other things I use it for too, but that’s another article. There are a ton of iPad applications in the iTunes App Store. There are many of those applications that can be used for coaching a sport. The problem is, you have to know the name of many of them in order to find them. In some cases, the problem is that developers just don’t add correct tags to the apps when they submit them. But some apps of use to volleyball coaches don’t have the term volleyball anywhere in the descriptions or title. In this article, I’ll point you in the right direction to those apps I use all the time and some I’m looking at getting in the near future.
Category : Coaching Organization, General, Newly Released, Training Aid Reviews
Category : Coaching Organization, Newly Released
Cue the 1950s documentary-style male narrative voice, “I bet you want to know what the future holds for volleyball coaches who love to game plan don’t you? Well, your answer is here. Learn what Rotate123 can do for you in… Rotate123 and You!”
Seriously though, as a suggestion from my only Finnish Twitter follower, Jim Crossett (@crossett), I’m writing this article to help coaches learn how to utilize the software rotate123 (rotate123.com). I have used rotate123 before and love it. So this is a great opportunity to talk about it.
Over the last few days, I’ve been doing some reading on leadership and management. I wanted to find something different to write about than the same old-same old leadership in sports post. Today, I found a great TED talk by Simon Sinek entitled “How great leaders inspire action.” Don’t worry, if you don’t have time to watch it now, I’ll break it down for you in this article, but I think if you have 15 minutes, it’ll be something you’ll be glad you watched. I’ll even use some examples that Mr. Sinek used in his talk as I think his examples are great. First, we’ll go over a corporate example, then we’ll see how the principles relate to volleyball. Continue Reading
My girl’s volleyball counterpart, Coach Mo, at Neenah uses 3 ring binders to teach organization, self-discipline, and accountability to his players. I like the idea and I think a lot more coaches would see positive benefits in using a system similar to it. Much like NFL teams use a playbook, he provides a binder to each player that includes things like team rules, practice and match schedules, plays, statistics, game plans, philosophies, quotes, workout plans, and other team traditions and information. Just about everything they need to know about their team, and how to be successful. It’s a very “college volleyball” thing to do and I think doing it in high school is preparing Coach Mo’s players for success in college and life. Continue Reading
Many people interested in coaching think it’s a lot of fun. Don’t get me wrong, it is. But there is more work in the off-season than the actual season. It’s not a profession for the unorganized. If you want your program to succeed, planning and organization are a key. When players do show up for practice, they want to play volleyball. Not many outside of coaching are aware of how much passion and commitment goes into the process to allow players that simple pleasure. This article is an overview of a high school coach’s management of a program, and specifically in my case, a non-teacher coaching in a high school. This will be a slight biography of my own experiences, but many coaches can relate. Continue Reading
Due to some emails I have received, I have been asked to give a behind-the-scenes look at some things coaches do. In the behind the scenes series, I will discuss things that are important to coaches that, if done right, makes our job easier and less stressful, but doesn’t get any accolades in any media. You never see “Team A beat Team B because Team A had a great practice the day before” and you never will. Coaches know which coaches work hard and which ones don’t. But this is for players and fans who have never coached before. In this article, I break down something that is very important to coaches who try to get the most out of what little time they get with their players, Practice Plans.
Some coaches write practice plans down, some just have them in their heads. I prefer and suggest writing them down or typing them. This is a little more work, but it really helps you keep your practices on track. If you don’t write them down, your practice points can sometimes go on too long and next thing you know practice is over and you haven’t covered half off the things you wanted to. Continue Reading
